FOLLOWING last week's success by Heswall RBL in the Cheshire County's Norman Cup, Tixall have won Merseyside County's Len Standen Trophy by beating Halewood BC in the final.

Tixall had to give their opponents a 50-point start, but this was no problem to the powerful Wirral team and, with all ten of their players recording wins, they took the trophy by the huge margin of 61 points.

Tixall's best winners were Nigel Hughes with a 21-03 win and Peter Jones a 21-04 win.

In the Birkenhead and Wirral's Afternoon Section's Centenary Cup final, which was played on Friday on the Lever's green, Birkenhead Park SC had to give a 15-point start to their fellow second division opponents Royden Hall.

But after a close game they had manage to overcome this deficit and take the trophy by the narrow margin of just six points.

The Birkenhead team were very indebted to two of their players, John Hollywood and Alan Hughes, who both managed to record 21-06 wins.

On Sunday, the first of this season's "Winter Flyers" tournaments was played in Birkenhead Park.

After the morning's play, the winner was New Brighton Queens Royal's Eddie Dutton, who defeated Kendall's Colin Portis in the final.

To reach the final, Dutton had won a close quarter-final game against Paul Roberts, over from Wales, and he then got the better of Gladstone's Joe Edwards in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Portis had had two excellent wins, both against players who turn out for Our Ladys Club; Frank Leach Snr and Ritchie Marshall.

The final was another close game for Dutton but he came through to clinch the match 21-18.

Results:

Quarter-final: C Portis 21, F Leach Snr 08; R Marshall 21, N Woodward 09; J Edwards 21, G Marshall 16; E Dutton 21, P Roberts 18. Semi-finals: Portis 21, Marshall 11; Dutton 21, Edwards 16. Final: Dutton 21, Portis 18.

After successes for local bowlers in the first set of qualifying sessions of the Heswall RBL Pairs Tournament, it was a different story this week with only the pairing of Peter Jones and Peter Hammond making it through to the finals next Sunday at 1pm.

Yet again Wirral Council is asking for our opinion on proposed cuts to many of the services provided.

They are again threatening to reduce maintenance on all public bowling greens in Wirral, except those in Birkenhead Park.

If this were to happen, it could have a really adverse effect on the game we all enjoy so much.

I urge everyone to object to these proposals by filling in the Wirral Council's "What Really Matters" questionnaire: The relevant section is “Promoting Independence”, Parks and Countryside Maintenance.