CASTLE PRIVATE
Competitions held at Castle Private, Northwich
1983
FIVE HOURS CLASSIC STUFF
Northwich Guardian, Thursday 11th August.
Five hours intense concentration against some of the best players on the crown green circuit earned Mid Cheshire master bowler Stan Frith a handsome £850 cheque at Castle Private on Saturday.
Frith went one better on local colleague Keith Burrows a year ago to win the invitation classic title, this time sponsored to the tune of £2000 by Tetley Bitter.
Frith's final game turned out a thriller against talented 22 year old left hander Mike Robinson of Dewsbury. The Owley wood man was never quite at his best, but showed his sterling qualities of concentration, doggedness and green knowledge to hold on while Robinson threatened to overwhelm him. He trailed 10-11, 10-14, 16-18, peeled at 21 and 25, went behind again at 25-27, peeled at 28 then took the lead for the first time at 30-28, before winning the final end to the delight of the capacity crowd with the floodlights burning brightly at 10:40pm.
Castle private chairman Geoff Bebbington and his staff merit congratulation for staging such a prestigious and successful event.
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1985
CLASSY STAN
Northwich Guardian, Thursday 8th August.
In a repeat of his 1983 final triumph against South Yorkshire county star Mike Robinson, Owley Woods Stan Frith proved the quality of Mid Cheshire bowling by regaining the Castle Private Tetley Bitter Classic trophy on Saturday evening.
Frith couldn’t have had three tougher opponents beginning with a 31-26 card against Leigh Landlord Norman Fletcher, recent winner of the Carr Mill Classic shown on ITV.
Then he took on the outstanding Huddersfield and South Yorkshire county man Gene Bardon and played superlatively to coast home 31-16.
In the final, Frith struggled to find the right mark and his best length, trailing 25-27 at a crucial late stage as the floodlights came on and the green slowed down.
Then everything suddenly came right for him and he ran out with a series of perfectly placed doubles to win 31-27 and collect the first prize of £850 from Tetley regional sales manager David Yates.
Earlier in the week, Stan had landed the £500 top prize in the Bass- Worthington sponsored Potteries’ invitation at Burslem. In the quarter final he beat his old rival Keith Birkett (Owley Wood) 31-27 and then polished off Dave Butler 31-21 in the semi final.
The final saw him up against home bowler Alan Finnan, and won 31-25.
Stan was also presented with a large bottle of Rum for the biggest break, 12 in the final.
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1990
GLYNN LOSES IN BODDIES FINAL
Northwich Guardian, 10th October.
The one that got away, that was the Boddingtons £2500 floodlit handicap competition at Castle Private, as far as Wharton Cons ace Glynn Cookson was concerned on Friday evening.
Approaching the end of a highly successful season, Cookson was hot favorite to collect the £700 first prize after eliminating Alan Gaut (Telford) 21-20 in the quarter final, then Holmes Chapels Jeremy Muff 21-17 in the semi's.
But Cookson was never at his best against Wilmslow Cons, Derbyshire County player Chris McDonald, and went down 21-17 having to be content with the £350 runner up award presented by Whitbread Boddington representative Denise Duggan.
Quarter Finals
C McDonald 21 v 15 Alan France (Stoke)
Alan Broadhurst (Wigan) 21 v 19 Vic Bailey (Wolverhampton)
Alan Gaut 19 v 21 Glynn Cookson
Jeremy Muff 21 v 16 Ken Birtwistle (Castle Private)
Semi Finals
McDonald 21 v 19 Broadhurst Cookson 21 v 17 Muff
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