Stanley bowler Chris Palmer has been chosen to play for England in a prestigious three-match Test Series in Australia in February.

The 37-year-old White-le-Head player will travel with Mervyn King, of Norfolk's Hunstanton club and Chris Young (Cheam Fields, Surrey), along with team manager John Bell, of Cumbria.

Palmer has been an England international since 1993, playing regularly at international level for three years. His next call-up was in 1998 and proceeded to win selection ever since.

Palmer was runner-up in the EBA National Fours in 1981 and won the English Indoor Triples in 1996 and England Indoor Fours in 1997.

He has been a regular indoor international since 1992 and he will be playing on the carpet "Down Under".

It was originally intended that the Test Series should be played outdoors at the St Johns Park Bowls Club in Sydney, where the event was staged this year.

But due to the interest of television, which will screen the event live, the next Test Series between the two countries will be held at the impressive Tweed Heads Bowls Club on Australia's Gold Coast.

Each Test will consist of a Triple Match, two bowls per player over 18 completed ends, a Pairs Match, two bowls per player over 21 completed ends, and a Singles Match, four bowls per player, best of three sets, nine shots up. There will be a different singles player for each Test.

Each Test on each day will stand alone and the first country to go two Tests up will win the Series.

King, 37, has twice been the English Indoor Singles Champion and was World Indoor Singles runner-up in 1998. Young, who is only 22, has won a number of country championshipos and this year played for England in an Under-25 Test Series against Australia.

lThe Northern Counties Bowling Association is well represented in the final England Trial, to be held at Rushcliffe IBC, Nottinghamshire, next Saturday.

Gary Smith and David Bolt, of Sunderland, join Durham County team-mates John Leeman and Chris Palmer, of the Stanley Club, while the powerful Cumbria club,based in Carlisle, are representeted by Stuart Airey, Trevor Taylor, Craig Docherty, Paul Barrow and Steve Farish.

lThe England junior team defending the Joyce Brimble Trophy in the UK Under-25 Series at the Midlothian and West Lothian clubs on January 13-14 includes Thornaby's Mark O'Riordan and David Bolt, of Sunderland.

lThe final of the Christmas Fours Tournament at Hartlepool IBC saqw five of the club's Denny Cup squad in action. The event was won by Robbie Emmerson, John Williams, Mike Hagon and Terry Barnes, who beat Graham Adams, James Rudge, Barry Playfor and Steve Packham 17-11. The play-off for third and fourth place was won by the Mal Barker unit, which beat John Briscoe's quartet 22-15