BANISTER Park reached the quarter-finals of the English Indoor BA over-60s’ double-rink championship with an emphatic 46-30 victory against Folkestone.

The travelling rink were the Hampshire club’s heroes with Cliff Higgins, Brian Barber, John Joslin and Graham Standley winning 30-13 in Kent.

That outstanding performance dwarfed the 17-16 home defeat suffered by Neville Scovell, Ken Foulkes, Barry Bendall and Denny Graydon.

In the last eight Banister Park play Wey Valley by January 27 when the incentive is a place in the national play-offs at Northampton on February 17. The Guildford club are also their next opponents in the London and Southern Counties Shield.

On Saturday Banister Park have another national quarter-final, this time against Kingsthorpe from Northampton in the Denny Plate at Oxford City.

Banister Park’s continuing good bowling brought them success in two more national championships.

In the over-60 singles Steve Whitehead held a 9-3 lead but fell 13-12 behind after Richard Holden (Chawton Park) picked up two threes and two doubles.

However, Whitehead responded by taking six of the last seven ends to go through 21-14 and book a date with last year’s qualifier Brian Jones (Bournemouth) for the area final, the winner of which goes to the nationals (last 32) at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, on February 25-28.

In a one-sided over-60 pairs area semi-final Higgins and Standley overwhelmed Roy Cooper and Holden 24-1, the demoralised Chawton Park duo throwing in the towel after just 10 ends.

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