ONE of the best tenpin bowling clubs in the country hosted the nation’s best young bowlers as Blackburn Youth Bowling Club once again underlined its credentials.

Blackburn was chosen to take on members of the England Youth team – which included Accrington’s Becky Daly – ahead of next month’s European Junior Championships in Denmark.

A total of eight England players – four boys and four girls – made the trip to the Bowlplex on Peel Leisure and Retail Park, Blackburn for the warm-up match.

However, they day started with younger members of Blackburn YBC getting a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to play alongside an England player.

The format saw each England player captain a team who then played two matches.

The two teams with the highest total pin fall then met in the final.

“It was a real hive of activity,” said Blackburn YBC coach Les Daly, father of England player Becky. “Some of our youngest players were only seven or eight so it was an occasion for them to remember, saying they got the chance to play alongside an England player.”

In the afternoon, Blackburn YBC took on England in a handicap competition with the hosts winning both the boys and girls events.

Blackburn YBC, which was national club of the year last year, attracts players from across the North West as demonstrated in the girls team which included Harriet Harmon, Jennifer Rhodes and Sarah Foster from Wigan and Olivia Tyms from Llandudno.

The boys team included Burnley pair Jack Holmes and Callum Carver and Curtis Proctor and Thomas Grose from Manchester.

“The match was heavily handicapped in our favour but the England players got the workout they were looking for,” added Daly. “I think the event went better that expected.”