Weighty issues bring down Nick

NICKY DONALDSON'S hopes of adding the British Isles indoor singles title to the WIBC world indoor crown he won in Belfast last April were dashed at Thornaby-on-Tees yesterday, when he was beaten 21-14 by Ian McLean, a 23-year-old Scot. The normally ebullient Donaldson was strangely subdued after the final, in which he made a disastrous start, before hitting back to make a game of it in the second half.

'I just could not get started,' he said.

'Struggling for the weight, I was bowling heavy for the first few ends, and when I tried to compensate, I was dropping short. It was very frustrating.'

In four quick ends, McLean found himself 9-0 in front, having hit Donaldson with a 2-1-3-3 sequence and although the Guernsey star scored on 11 of the next 19 ends, he could not make serious inroads into McLean's lead.

'I never give up and I was pleased to get back into the game, but it was an uphill struggle and the odds were stacked against me,' Donaldson admitted.

'In one six-end spell Donaldson, playing much better, scored eight shots to McLean's two and when he clawed back from 18-6 to 18-10, then from 20-10 to 20-14, the young Scot was beginning to show signs of pressure. But on the 22nd end, Donaldson's form deserted him again and he was disappointed with his very last bowl, which he aimed to get within two feet of the jack for shot, but which finished more than a metre short.

'I must confess that I am very disappointed,' he said. 'Not about losing, you understand, but because I played so badly.'