ANDREA BUCKLEY showed determination and resolve to become one of only two lady bowlers to retain the Ladies’ Yorkshire Merit title for the Hyman Morris Trophy.

The Meltham ace matched the achievement of Mrs D Rothera, of Horton Park (1962-63), to win back-to-back titles.

And she adds to the list of fellow Huddersfield League players – Doris Dunning (Marsh Utd, 1997), Suzi Ladbrooke (Marsh Utd, 2000), Linda Gledhill (Marsh Utd, 2004) and Laura Bond (Meltham, 2005) – to have kept the Huddersfield flag flying in recent years.

Buckley first won the title – which is now played out during one day comprising six games – at Zeneca last year.

And she lifted her second consecutive title at Lund Park, Keighley, with a 21-18 victory against Jane Hollingworth, of Almondbury BC, in this year’s all-Huddersfield final, as the players, once again, did Huddersfield proud in the 64-player field.

Yorkshire county star Buckley said: “The final probably wasn’t the best exhibition of bowling by either player, but the game was close all the way to the end.

“I think, maybe, that I just had a little bit more experience and determination which pulled me through.”

She added: “The greens were park greens and not as manicured as greens in Huddersfield so it was quiet hard to adjust to the running.

“I prefer very fast greens and short marks, but as the green could be pushy, Jane stretched the mark and I struggled a bit with the length.

“But, I’m absolutely over the moon to be going back to the Champion of Champions at Blackpool on September 28.

“I lost in the second round at Blackpool last year and was disappointed with my performance, but I’ve got a second chance to prove I can compete at this high level with the women at Waterloo.”