David Lamb of Halvergate won his first Bure singles title, at Horsford BC on Thursday, after an epic final against defending champion Chris Mann of East Tuddenham which went down to the final bowl in a repeat of last seasons final where Lamb got his revenge in a similar outcome. In a match that was fairly high scoring spectators were entertained to a match where both players jostled for the lead and produced great shots. The first end saw Mann captalise on short woods from Lamb to take a 3-0 lead. Lamb still struggled for weight early on but Mann could not captalise and gifted two shots to Lamb. A better end for Mann saw him make contact with the jack with his last wood to claim two shots to lead 5-2 after three ends. Lamb started to play better come end four and with Mann unsuccessful at attacking the head saw him concede two shots. With a single picked up on end five the match was level at 5-5 but another good end by Mann on end six saw him pick up another three shots to lead 8-5. End seven proved to be the fatal end for Mann where his third wood opened up an oppourtunity for Lamb to take the jack back which he duly did. With the pressure on with his last wood Mann failed to change the situation which gave Lamb four shots as he drew in with his last. The match took yet another turn as Mann played another solid end back up the mat to claim his third three of the match but Lamb was not finished yet and scored two solid shots to level the match at 11-11 going into the final end. In a fascinating last end Lamb drew shot wood and then a toucher with his second to take control but a good driving shot by Mann opened the head up with the jack exposed to lay shot. With Lamb still confident of the draw he still left the jack exposed for Mann to run into but missed and instead played Lamb's toucher into the ditch. Lamb's final wood still saw him draw to put the pressure on Mann as he knew that a running wood could see the jack go to his toucher in the ditch. Mann's last wood was on target and looked like taking shot but the connection with the jack saw it suprisngly spring into the ditch to see Lamb win 12-11. Keith Cooke of Halvergate made a shock exit in the first round as he lost on an extra end measure to Melvyn Barker of Kirby Bedon. In the semi finals David Lamb cruised to a 16-1 win over Barker while Mann beat Windows Keith Halford 13-7.
