England joy for Hallett (From Dorset Echo)

England joy for Hallett

5:30pm Friday 15th March 2013 in Sport

DORCHESTER star Annette Hallett has finally achieved her ambition of representing her country at her chosen sport.

Travelling to the Home International Series at Stanley Indoor Bowls Club, County Durham, as a travelling reserve her debut came in the final and deciding rubber against Scotland.

Both England and Scotland had defeated Wales and Ireland, and were locked horns with two wins apiece and an identical shot difference of 114.

Having played against Ireland and Wales, Liz Tunn the Colchester player was not selected for the vital showdown game against “the auld enemy” and after a career wait of more than 20 years, Hallett finally pulled on the coveted England shirt.

Fellow Bournemouth international Julie Leake took Tunn’s place at lead, Hallett slipped into the vacant two spot, with Sara Seymour (City of Ely) at three and Wendy King, the Swale (Kent) player, skipping the rink.

The dream not only came true for Hallett, but she was part of a top winning rink performance in a thumping 30 shots to seven hammering of the Scottish quartet of Maureen Morrison (Perth), Leanne Furye (Arbroath), Emma Brown (East Lothian), and skip Lynn Stein (East Fife).

The anchor win helped England defeat Scotland 137-76 to win the series for the fifth consecutive year.

Hallett first took up the sport when encouraged by her then “boss” Frank Gwatkin the long-time member of the town’s bowling club, and former director of the Dorset Youth Association.

Gwatkin said: “Annette was a natural and needed little coaching in the fundamentals of the game.

“Having supported her over the years and seen her achieve so much success, I am so pleased at her ultimate recognition.

“All of us at the Dorchester Bowls Club are thrilled with the fact that we now have a full ladies’ indoor international bowler in the town.”

During her extensive career, Hallett has regularly qualified for National Finals and was runner-up in the National Champion of Champions in 1995, and won the title in 2009.

She was in the final of the National Fours in 2000, and was runner-up in the ladies’ National Singles in 2010.

At club level, she has lifted the ladies’ Singles Cup on no less than 16 occas-ions.

As a county skip she has regularly represented Dorset in the Atherley Trophy.

Hallett, of Little Bredy, recently retired from work at Kingston Maur-ward, and now hopes that she will continue to be selected as a full member of the England squad.