York 'B' team kept the club's hopes alive in the National Over 60s Double Rink Championship with a magnificent 44-29 victory at Hornsea.

Frank Turner, Peter Littlewood, Dave McCowan and Doug Mitchell opened up a 15-4 lead by the ninth end which took the pressure off the other rink of Fred Clayden, Barry Walker, Noel Cammidge and Dudley Williams, who were losing 12-2 at that stage.

Four ends later York were 22-20 behind on aggregate, but then Clayden's rink won all but two of their remaining ends to lose only 18-14 and Turner's rink scored a further 14 shots to win 30-11.

York 'B' team's next match in the competiton is away to the winners of the Selby 'A' versus Hull tie.

New Earswick remain on course to win their group in the North East Ladies League after picking up six points from an excellent 81-64 victory over Selby.

At Selby, New Earswick's Shirley Hopwood, Gill Clark, Audrey Shingles, and Margaret Blows lost only six ends in winning 33-7, while Peg Walker, Diane Hardy, June Barker and Mavis Hardcastle won 16-15.

In was a different story at New Earswick as Margaret Moss, Margaret Matthews, Maureen Cooper and Dot Kay, trailing 18-13 with two ends to go, lost only 18-17 and Lys Jerrum, Kath Sykes, Barbara Brigham and Ann Thompson went down 24-15 after being 8-1 behind after only four ends.

York Ladies were unlucky to lose 74-67 against Hornsea but, thanks to winning three rinks, they took six points to Hornsea's four.

At home, Margaret Smith, Doreen Fennell, Ann Fowler and Audrey Wragg scored a five on the fourth end to lead 6-2 but were made to fight for their 22-18 victory as the visitors scored 12 shots during the last eight ends.

Joyce Gee, Marilyn Andrews, Norma Reed and Ida West turned a 12-7 deficit into a 17-14 lead and scraped home 17-16.

At Hornsea, Cath Blease, Doreen Arnett, Pat Lofthouse and Marjorie Elvidge were losing throughout their game until the last end when they scored a two to win 16-15.

Pat Bracken, Clarice Johnston, Sue Jeffrey and Pat Teasdale led 8-1 after seven ends and then 9-7 after 12 ends but then the home team scored 15 shots over the next five ends to lead 22-9 with four ends to play and won 25-12.

Yorkshire 'B' team scored a resounding 131-97 victory against Lancashire 'B' in the Roses Challenge match at Blackpool last weekend.

There were seven youngsters in the Yorkshire 'B' team, including York's Philip Scott and Liam Cahill and New Earswick's Steven Long, along with his fellow club members Harry Rhodes, Barry Johnson and Ray Clark.

Cahill's rink led 17-12 with three ends to go but then dropped two singles and a five on the last end to lose 19-17.

Scott was leading in Clark's rink, who were 13-12 ahead with six ends to play and won all of them to take the game 23-12.

Rhodes' team lost 19-18 after dropping a five on the penultimate end.

Long and Johnson were in the winning rink thanks to scoring a six on the second end followed by a three and a single to lead 10-3 after four ends on their way to a 27-14 victory.

Updated: 12:18 Friday, January 11, 2002