TWO YEARS AGO, the foursome of sisters Lucy and Katy, their father Neil Smith and Ian Jefferies were agonisingly pipped at the post when competing for the national indoor bowls mixed fours title.

Despite leading for three-quarters of the game the Westlecot quartet saw glory snatched from their grasp at Lincoln IBC.

The Westlecot foursome quickly got over the disappointment and are back firing on all cylinders again in the national mixed fours competition this season having won Area 14 again and qualified for the last 16 at Loddon Vale (Basingstoke) where this year’s finals are being held.

The quartet will be hoping for better luck this time around and to go one stage further than in 2015/16 and lift the trophy which would be the first national mixed trophy success for the Old Town indoor bowls club.

They begin their bid for glory today (Friday) when they face Ipswich at 2pm. Should they be successful awaiting them in this evenings quarter-finals (6.30pm) would be Northampton or Torquay United.

The semi-finals and final are scheduled for 10am and 3pm respectively tomorrow (Saturday).

The Westlecot quartet are one of the favourites for the competition.

Last season the Smiths plus Jefferies lost in the Area 14 final to a four from Reading club, Whiteknights skipped by Andy Knapper, who went on to lift the crown for the first time.

However, in this season’s Area 14 mixed fours competition Smith & co. have beaten a fellow Westlecot team led by Craig Hatherall 21-7 and in the semi-final edged past Banbury skipped by Andrew Docherty 18-17.

Then in the area 14 final at Loddon Vale (Basingstoke) they accounted for a different Whiteknights, Reading quartet of Cheyl Colby, Caroline, Francis and Chris Hitt recording a 23-8 win to book a trip to the finals for a second time in three years.