YORK'S Iain Boyle had a disappointing start to the New Year when he missed out on selection for the England indoor bowls team to play in the International Series in Belfast in March.

Boyle had been invited to the England team trial just before Christmas in Northampton, where each prospect played seven ends against other trailists.

In his first game Boyle only just lost 6-5 to Blackpool Borough's Noel Burrows. He then faced two tough games, the first against BUPA world bowls champion Greg Harlow, which he lost 14-6.

Next pitted against the 2003 world champion Billy Jackson, Boyle demonstrated why he had been invited to attend by toppling his opponent 9-1.

Ryedale's Mark Walton also faced the same three players as Boyle. Walton narrowly lost 8-5 in the first game to Jackson, 10-4 to Burrows, then 6-3 to Harlow in the last. However, following a successful last two years he had been selected as a reserve.

In York's New Year's Day pairs competition there was nobody more surprised than Alf Cahill, who only came in to the club at the last minute for a "roll-up" and was asked to play in the competition after one of the entrants failed to turn up.

Cahill was partnered with Kevin Harris and faced a tough first game against Frank Turner and Janet Cahill, picking up a two on the last end to win 5-4.

In the next game they won comfortably against Doreen Feetenby and Irene Paylor 13-7, then in their third game they beat the only other team with a 100 per cent record - Selwyn Paylor and Peter Grosvenor 10-3.

In the semi-final, Harris and Cahill faced another team who had been unbeaten (won two and drawn one) in Margaret Smith and David Robinson. But they only lost two ends, winning 12-2 to once more encounter Frank Turner and Janet Cahill, who had beaten Peter Lawrence and Michael Allen 7-6, thanks to Turner's last wood on an extra end.

Harris and Cahill had gelled well and played the final as they had their previous three games, winning with ease 16-3 to take the title.

In the plate competition last year's pairs winners Tony Thornton only just scraped through the group stage by a small shots difference of four.

This time partnered with Sue Grosvenor, they fended off a late surge in the semi-final from Selwyn Paylor and Peter Grosvenor after being 10-3 ahead to win 10-8.

They then played Phil Parsons and Tim Cahill in the final after they had beaten John Clarke and Marjorie Elvidge in the other semi-final 8-4.

The Plate final was as similarly one-sided as the main final as Thornton and Grosvenor won 11-3.

Updated: 10:46 Thursday, January 06, 2005