Bowls: Kerr blimey, I can hardly believe my luck, says McKail after his success in semi-final

Summerside star Kerr McKail is the first to admit that an outrageous fluke that yielded him 4 shots from a wayward strike set him on the road to a 21-12 victory over Stuart Hogarth of Sighthill in last night’s semi-final of the E&L Under-25’s for the James S Fleming Trophy.

The clash at Corstorphine was edging in Hogarth’s direction at 12-10 up, but McKail hit the front with that 4 then added 3, 2, 1, 1 to win in 16 ends.

The other semi-final played at West End saw Sean Alexander of Colinton Mains win 21-13 from 10-9 down, but the match ended in with Danny McKendrick of Bainfield being taken to hospital after feeling unwell.

Drama-packed action in the Pairs at West End saw Raymond Smith and James Hogg of Carrick Knowe finish 3, 1, 1, 1 to pip John Bell and Paul Veitch of Parkside, 13-12, with Hogg tipping the scales two late strike conversions.

The other semi saw Gary Connelly and Jamie Gracie of Sighthill add 1, 3, 3 to break to 11-4 and they went on to score an 18-15 win over Brian Davies and Cammie Cairn of Colinton.

The Ramsay brothers of Slateford – Ronnie, Gordon, and Andrew – crushed Juniper Green 24-3 in the Triples, while George Ganson, Andy Sneddon, and David Snodgrass of Tanfield edged a 2-19 win over Gary Swain of Niddrie. Pilrig’s Darren McKenny beat Ally Mackay of Leith, 21-12 in the Fours while Tanfield’s Robert White beat Joe Blair of Corstorphine, 14-12.

n CRAIGENTINNY tonight (6-45) will host the finals of the Edinburgh District 11 National Championships and the top-of-the-bill action features the clash between Andrew Caldwell, of the host club, and Gary Muir, of Hillside, in the Singles.

Both 26-year-olds have impressive records with Caldwell capturing the national junior (Under-25) title in 2005 at Ayr and Muir losing in the 2010 final.

“This final is a real crowd-puller, as it involves two well supported clubs, and it has all the promise of being a thrilling encounter,” said District Secretary Stuart McFarlane of Craigentinny.

The top-supporting act is the clash in the Junior Singles involving the impressive talents of Leith challenger Nicky Brown and host club star Josh Spalding who won the district title last season then went on to reach the national final.

Robert White skips Stuart McLean for Tanfield against Chris Steven and Darren McKenny of Pilrig in the Pairs, while Pilrig’s Graeme Hislop, Keith Mitchell and Scott Noble face Grant Abercrombie, Mark Wilson and Keith Taylor, of Summerside, in the Triples.