Grandfather/grandson duo cause huge shock

Bowlers hoping to reach the 2022 National Finals at Royal Leamington Spa began the long process in late April andtherehasbeenoneshock already.

At Lee-on-the-Solent, the grandfather and grandson pairing of Roy Cullen and Joshua Thompson stunned a Waverley pair consisting of England international Matthew Marchant and Hampshire Middleton Cup bowler Paul Cooke 15-14

Meanwhile, in the 4Wood Singles, a rerun of last year’s Area Final saw 2021 surprise package, Mark Berry of PurRay brook Heath, again defeat Priory’s Roly Bloy, this time 21-12.

In the Portsmouth League, it was a busy time for Division 1 clubs as they had two games to play in a week.

Division 1 Tuesday matches: The Waverley juggernaut continued with an 82-shot home thrashing over luckless Waterlooville - AND Ville even managed to win a rink!

Two Waverley rinks topped the 40-shot mark, but Danny Smith’s rink took all the plaudits with a remarkable 49-3 win. Richard Allen (Ville) won by 10 shots.

Second place Rowner beat Lee-on-the-Solent by 29 shots. They won by double digits on three rinks, led by the 12-shot win by Phil Pinder’s rink. Martin Ellis’ rink prevented a whitewash.

Cowplain heaped more misery on Alexandra, winning by 40 shots. It was only one rink that let Alex down, as Don Lilley’s men crashed to a 33-shot defeat. Carl Baggott’s rink spared Alex’s blushes with a single shot win.

Fareham got their season underway with a tight fourshot home win over Leigh Park. With both clubs taking two rinks, it was the sevenshot win by Charlie Bailey’s rink that turned the match Fareham’s way.

Friday’s matches:

Waverley were made to fight hard before beating Leigh Park by four shots. With both clubs winning a rink with the other two being tied, it was the 10-shot win on Danny Smith’s rink that overcame the sixshot win for Mark Miller’s rink.

Rowner lost by eight shots at Priory. In a tight game, Priory triumphed on three rinks.

Fareham followed up their win over Leigh Park by thrashing visiting Cowplain by 54 shots. They won all four rinks, with large scorelines for Charlie Bailey and John Travers.

Finally, Alexandra got their act together with a 50-shot home win over Waterlooville. The size of the victory was thanks to the 28-shot win on Steve Feilder’s rink.

Derek Holt’s rink picked up seven shots on the last three ends to get Ville a point by getting a draw.

Division 2: Vospers took the spoils with a 34-shot home win over Milton Park. Vospers won all four rinks, but it was the size of the victories on the rinks of Dave Young and Terry Smith that boosted the final margin.

Naismith triumphed at Portsmouth Water by six shots. They won on three rinks, led by Howard Davis’ quartet. Brent Riste’s rink spared PW’s blushes with a nine-shot win.

However, they couldn’t carry on the good form on Friday, as they crashed to a 44-shot defeat at Star & Crescent.