By Bill Atkinson

ON A day which was not really conducive to the game of crown green bowls, your correspondent, West Kirby Victoria's Bill Atkinson, proved that some old dogs can still have their day when he braved rain and hailstones to beat Bailey Hill's John Jones to win his first Flyers Tournament for more than a year in Birkenhead Park on Sunday.

In the quarter finals, Atkinson had to come from behind to beat a previous winner, Kings 2000's John Hignett Jnr, someone who is always a formidable opponent, and then in the semi-finals he proved to be just too consistent for the Port Sunlight Works and Village player Peter McGhee .

Meanwhile Jones, clearly taking inspiration from the Welsh Rugby Union side, had had two fairly straightforward wins firstly over Hoylake Central's Tommy Walker in the quarter final and then the player who was third in the points table Tixall's Nigel Hughes.

As the two players got ready to start the final the hailstones battered down and the game was started on a white green but undeterred by the conditions Jones took advantage of some slack play by Atkinson and soon established a reasonable lead.

However as the hailstones melted the West Kirby player managed to eliminate the mistakes and he eventually ran out a 21-16 winner.

Results: Quarter-finals: N Hughes 21, E Dutton 16; J Jones 21, T Walker 15; P McGhee 21, T Cavanagh 13; W Atkinson 21, J Hignett Jnr 19.

Semi-finals: Jones 21, Hughes 13; Atkinson 21, McGhee 14.

Final: Atkinson 21, Jones 16.

Players can now enter the first tournament of the new season; the annual Wirral Charity Handicap which, this year, will be making a donation to McMillan Nurses.

The qualifying rounds will be on Monday, April 15; return on Wednesday, April 17. These start at 6.15pm with a 6.30pm scratch.

The final is on Saturday, April 20, at Manor Road, with a 2pm start.

All club secretaries have an entry form and the closing date is Saturday, April 6.