MICHAEL MARTIN and Andrew Heaume from Canalside held their nerve when staring defeat in the face to win the Meltham Cup Pairs.

They were 20-17 down against Anthony Harper and Simon Howard of Marsh United in the final and seemingly out for the count.

But in a dramatic finale, the Canalside pair responded to massive pressure with some superb bowling and ran to the title with a count of four.

On a day when all the pairs bowled well on a tricky green at Paddock Cricket and Bowling Club – who were thanked for stepping in to sponsor the event when the previous backer pulled out – it was a tremendous finish to the competition, which started with qualifying the previous day.

At the climax, Harper’s lead was a yard through and Heaume punished it with a foot bowl.

The next woods were pretty similar, which meant Howard was facing two down.

He played his first bowl a yard over and Martin put another one near for three.

With pressure on him, and a small but vocal crowd not helping at all, Howard left his last bowl four feet short giving Martin a chance to bowl for the count of four and the match.

He duly obliged with a matching bowl to his first, responding superbly to the pressure of an exciting final.

Quarter-finals – J Dyson and M Bramall (Netherton Con, 1) 16 L Fallas and T Boothroyd (Crosland Moor, 4) 21, A Wadsworth and I Briggs (Canalside, 3) 16 A Harper and S Howard (Marsh U, 3) 21, M Martin and A Heaume (Canalside, 3) 21 D Jones and J Metcalfe (Moldgreen Con, 3) 14, G Siswick and T Brook (Crosland Moor, 3) 15 D Shaw and P Hulley (Milnsbridge BC, 4) 21.

Semi-finals – Fallas and Boothroyd 16 Harper and Howard 21, Martin and Heaume 21 Shaw and Hulley 12.

Final – Harper and Howard 20 Martin and Heaume 21.

The latest qualifier for the Marsh United £1,400 Competition is Graham Hickey (Halifax), who defeated Dave Fox of Kirkheaton Con 21-10 to go through.

The field for Saturday’s qualifier (6.00pm practice, 6.30pm start) is: Andy Deighton (Bridlington) v Barry Gibson (Meltham BC), Chris McCann (Leeds) v Paul Toon (Almondbury BC), Richard Jackson (Thongsbridge C&BC) v Craig Gant (Netherton Con), Graham Tandy (Longwood BC) v Chris Bielby (Bridlington).

The final of the Paddock Con Floodlight Competition will now be played on Saturday, September 15