York RI Amateurs Bowling Club are revelling in three of their teams advancing to the national championships in Worthing from August 14 to 28.

In the fours, Mike Bruce and team-mates Stuart Smith, Russ Barton and Paul Humphreys qualified for the third time in four years by seeing off last year’s winners, Nigel Brignall (Nafferton) 24-13 in the quarter-finals and then downing Alistair Cook’s four from Holderness BC Hull 23-13 in the semi-finals.

Bruce’s team will take on Worcestershire ‘B’ in the national first round, the stage at which they bowed out to Norfolk ‘A’ last year.

Alan Close and Paul Mooring were comfortable winners in the pairs over Ben Render and Mick Stocks (Nafferton).

Humphreys capped off a good week for York RI Amateurs and himself, by qualifying in the singles.

He beat 2008 and 2009 champion Vinnie O’Neill (Middlesborough) 21-10 in the quarter-finals and 2007 champion Stephen Dilks (Nafferton) 21-16 in the semi-finals.

Before the trips to Worthing, each team takes to the green at Middlesborough BC on July 25 to play in the respective Yorkshire finals.

Bruce’s four face O’Neill’s Middlesborough BC side; Close and Mooring play Scott Burrell and ex-England international Mark Walton (Nafferton); while Humphreys plays Walton in the singles.

The triples final is an all-Nafferton affair with Walton, playing in his third final of the day against Nigel Brignall.

Yorkshire just failed to qualify for the Middleton Cup quarter-finals despite beating Lancashire 16-6 in Manchester on Saturday.

The white rose ranks needed Northumberland to slip up but they prevailed to end Yorkshire’s qualification hopes.

Title-holder Amy Monkhouse stayed on course to retain her women’s champion of champions crown with victory at York RI.

The former York-based England star won the regional finals in York, beating Teresa Pearson 21-13 to progress to the nationals at Leamington Spa.

In the semis, Lincolnshire bowler Monkhouse beat county colleague Catherine Smith 21-12, while Durham’s Pearson beat fellow North-Easterner Susan Forster 21-11.

Meanwhile, York RI will host the regional finals of the Bowls England Double Rinks for the Walker Cup this Sunday, starting at 10am.

The semi-finals are Northumberland v Cumbria and Lincolnshire v Yorkshire.