Michael's a big Cheese in county bowls (From Romsey Advertiser)

Michael's a big Cheese in county bowls

9:00am Thursday 5th April 2012 in Sport

MICHAEL Cheeseman overcame his morning disappointment of losing the Hampshire Indoor Bowls Association singles final by retaining the under-25 crown in the afternoon at Riverside.

The Atherley bowler was always playing catch-up against Victory’s Steve Robertson in the senior singles. From being just 5-4 down Cheeseman trailed 13-5 before staging a revival brought him back to 13-11 boosted by a three on the 16th end after trailing the jack.

However, no sooner had Cheeseman got to within touching distance than he dropped a four on the next end as former junior international Robertson moved to the title 21-12.

Cheeseman again faced a Victory opponent for the junior honours in 12-year-old Louis McCubbin, a promising tennis player who has now switched his sporting expertise to bowls.

The youngster shows maturity above his years and was involved in a high quality tussle of expert drawing from both finalists before Cheeseman triumphed 21-16, the 21-year-old Atherley bowler’s greater experience proving vital over the closing ends.

During the first 18 ends there was never more than three shots between them. Cheeseman led 8-6 before falling behind to a McCubbin full house.

The Victory player went 14-11 up after drawing the shot with his last delivery on the 16th but Cheeseman levelled at 14-14 on the 18th and five shots over the next three ends virtually sealed the outcome with more breathing space than last year when he had pipped Atherley teammate Leigh Allen 21-20.

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