THE SMITH clan – father Neil and his two daughters Lucy and Katy – plus Ian Jefferies have qualified for the last 16 in the national mixed fours competition.

They booked their place at Lincoln & District at the end of the month with a comfortable 22-11 victory over Area 15 champions Whiteknights (Reading) in the inter-area final staged at Oxford City and County late last week.

The Westlecot foursome and Area 10 champions were 4-1 down early on but pulled back to 6-6 before stamping their authority on the match.

They moved 10-7 up before pulling in a five on the next end to increase their advantage to a healthy 15-7.

Smith and his team pulled further away to lead 22-11 and at 18 ends, with defeat staring them in the face, England international Andy Knapper and his Whiteknights team conceded, despite three ends still remaining.

The triumphant Westlecot foursome move forward to Lincoln on February 26-27, where they are due to face a team from either Taunton Deane or Clarrie Dunbar (Somerset).

Area 10 champions Terry Walton, Dave Snell and skip Mel Biggs are through to the final stages and last 16 in the national Over 50s triples.

Following their narrow 17-15 victory over Malvern Hills in the area final a fortnight ago, the Westlecot trio earned a place in the inter-area final against Area 15 winners Dave Simpson, Brett Long and Gordon Knapper (Desborough, Maidenhead).

They played them last Saturday at Oxford City & County Indoor Bowls Club and were victorious 19-12.

Biggs and co led 8-4 at five ends and 12-8 at nine, and they just edged away with singles and the odd count of two for a comfortable 19-12 success after 17 ends.

Walton, Snell and Biggs move forward to last 16 at the national championships in Nottingham from 28-29 March.

Westlecot trio Josie Lloyd, Wendy Anderson and Janet Willis qualified for the last 16 at Nottingham in the over 60s two wood triples in March when coming from 12-6 down at ten ends to win the inter-area final 18-15 against Bromsgrove trio Gill Cliff, Angela Farrar and Chris Griggs.

However, on Wednesday, Anderson and Willis were second-best to Bromsgrove duo Cliff and Griggs in the over 60s pairs inter-area final, going down 23-21 at Cotswold (Stroud).

On the same day, Katy Smith also suffered an inter-area loss in the ladies singles championship to Welford-on-Avon’s England and former world U25 champion Amy Stanton.

Smith led Stanton 18-15 at one stage but finally lost 21-19.

However, she is also through to the inter-area final in the pairs with elder sister Lucy and will face a duo from either Welford or Bromsgrove.

LUCY and Katy Smith have been pitted against each other in the battle for the ladies U25 national singles championship title.

The Westlecot duo, who both played superbly to win their sections in Bristol in the west regional finals and progress to the last 16, are due to face each other at 12.30pm today at White Oak (Swanley, Kent).

The winner moves forward to the quarter-final at 5pm, against either Lucy Cooke (Spalding, Lincolnshire) or Devon Cooper (Riverain).

WILTSHIRE have been forced into a late change to the side originally selected to face Northamptonshire at Westlecot today (10am).

Christie Miller’s Steve Snook has had to withdraw at lead in the rink skipped by his son Wayne through illness and he has been replaced by Jordan Moody, from the Five Rivers club in Salisbury.