DELIGHTED Wayne Moseley hopes his Huddersfield Merit win might earn him a recall to the Yorkshire County side.

The 36-year-old Lockwood Con player from Dalton produced some exceptional bowling on his favoured short marks to lift the prestigious title with a 21-14 success against Richard Mozley (Slaithwaite) in the showpiece at Almondbury BC.

It was a second final defeat for Mozley, who also lost to Ashley Daykin at Milnsbridge BC in 2005, and a first win for Moseley, who collected the £300 first prize from sponsors TJ Garden Products but was unable to celebrate because he had to get up for work at 3.30am the following morning!

“I deliver for Marrilliam Flowers of Red Doles Lane up and down the county, so I have to be up and off in good time and couldn’t stay for a few drinks to celebrate after the Merit,” explained one-club man Moseley, who previously ran his own greengrocers business for 15 years.

“I’m sure we’ll get round to it at some stage, but I was really pleased with the way I played on the day and really happy to win it.

“I don’t enter too many comps these days with having a young family and with this being my first of the season I was just happy to get through.

“It obviously then helped to play well on the finals day, but I have always liked Almondbury as a venue, ever since I was a junior, and I was confident of doing well because of that.”

Moseley – who is from a well-known sporting family (he’s the brother of Lee and son of Tommy) – missed half of last summer’s bowling to have a partial amputation of a finger on his left hand after contracting an infection, and that cost him his place in the Yorkshire squad.

“I played the previous four years for Yorkshire, making 20-odd appearances, but because of my operation I couldn’t be available for the whole season so they’ve gone with other people,” he explained.

“That’s fair enough, but hopefully this win will go some way to getting me back in their thoughts again and I would like to get back in the Yorkshire squad, obviously.”

Married to Lyndsey – they have daughters Beth (8) and Katie (5) – Moseley was given a tough time in the first round by Paul Sunderland of Thorpe Green.

“Paul started very strongly and I didn’t, and I was quickly 9-3 down,” he commented.

“I was pretty poor until I got going, but they always say when you can win on a poor day it’s a good do, and that’s how it turned out, because it was a tricky situation to start with.

“In the second round I played well against Frank Griffin (Waterloo) to go through and then I faced Marcus Hill (Almondbury Lib) in the semis.”

Moseley got ahead early in that one until Hill took him into the corners and it was getting quite tight. Then Moseley ran the block and made two and it switched the game around.

“Pulling out something like that makes the difference between winning and losing and it was my day,” he said. “All the little things which help you get the jack back in your hands are what count, and I was able to see it through because my bowling in the corners was better than it sometimes can be as well. It’s about playing your own game.”

In the final, Moseley was again in front early, bowling short marks across the crown superbly well, and he eventually ran out to 14.

“I’ve played Richard Mozley quite a few times down the years and know him quite well, so I knew it would be a tough game,” he added. “Richard played well and so did I, but in a competition final like that the formbook goes out of the window. I got in and made a good start and I was able to go on and win it.”

First round – Richard Mozley (Slaithwaite) 21 Ashley Tattersley (Moldgreen Con) 18, Andrew Heaume (Canalside) 21 Paul Ingleby (Lockwood Con) 11, Adam Douglas (Canalside) 21 Kevin Brown (Milnsbridge Lib) 17, Mick Armitage (Linthwaite C&BC) 20 Rob Wiltshire (Netherton Con) 21, Andrew Wadsworth (Canalside) 10 Frank Griffin (Waterloo) 21, Paul Sunderland (Thorpe Green) 13 Wayne Moseley (Lockwood Con) 21, Marcus Hill (Almondbury Lib) 21 Mick Higgins (Lockwood Con) 9, Steven Haigh (Netherton Con) 21 Andrew Pollard (Kirkheaton Con) 18.

Quarter-finals – Mozley 21 Heaume 18, Douglas 14 Wiltshire 21, Griffin 7 Moseley 21, Hill 21 Haigh 7.

Semi-finals – Mozley 21 Wiltshire 13, Moseley 21 Hill 14.

Final – Mozley 14 Moseley 21.