Bowler Billy Cochrane says he and his Airdrie Central teammates just ‘clicked’ as they won the British Isles Championship earlier this month.
Cochrane, vice-president Jim Prunty, 68, treasurer Jim Fraser, 78, and 72-year-old Allan Patterson won the senior fours competition in Llandrindod in Wales, beating the host nation.
Billy, 74, says they were so far ahead half-way through their match with Saundersfoot team Alan Brain, David Davies, Myrddin Dennis and Steve Dick, that they knew they were going to win.
And he says it’s a remarkable achievement to land Airdrie Central’s first British Isles title, as the club has only 28 members.
Billy said: “It was brilliant, a great achievement for us.
“You can’t win anything bigger than the British Isles. That was our first time.
“We beat Wales 24-7, absolutely hammered them.
“We never gave them a chance. The four of us all clicked, everybody on the team clicked on the day.
“We played great, actually, to be truthful.
“Halfway through the game we were so much in command that we knew we were going to win it.”
Cochrane says the team have been together for a while but have achieved a lot in that time.
“We won the Scottish Championship two years on the trot, before Covid,” he said.
“I’d say we’re the best team in the local area, with quite a lot of good players.
“We’re a small club, we’ve only got 28 members, but we’re the strongest team in the area.”
The Club was founded in 1952 and from humble beginnings, they now regularly participate in District, County and National Finals. They have been represented in the Lanarkshire County Team, and have Junior International honours.
If you would like to join the club or find out more, visit the club website https://airdriecentralbc.webs.com/ or you can also find them on Facebook by searching Airdrie Central Bowling Club.
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