SKITTLES - Lodge Farmers edge thriller in Redditch Skittles League

LODGE Farmers lost top spot in the Redditch Skittles League despite edging a thrilling back-and-forth contest against Bernie’s Bolts.

Bolts took a five-pin lead at the end of the first leg only for Farmers to overturn the deficit and lead by two pins after leg two.

The Bolts responded to win leg three and lead by two pins as Farmers once again came back fighting to lead by three pins heading into the final leg.

A last leg score of 61 looked likely to seal the win for Bolts only for Farmers’ last three bowlers to secure victory at the cost of some valuable points.

For Farmers, Glyn Morley and Tim Jones (both 35) while Lynne Long and Paul Cotton (both 34) top scored with Mark West (37), Jessie Andrews (36) and Dave Williams (35) on form for Bolts.

Elsewhere, Engineers moved top of the table with a comfortable win against C and G Show, racing in to a 12-pin lead at the end of leg two.

And Engineers then won the third leg by 23 pins and leg four by 13 pins before C and G Show claimed the final leg to secure a consolation point.

For Engineers, Ian Greenaway (42, 16 stack), Brandon Kelso (40, 14 stack) and Toby Bennett (37) top scored with Dave Charlesworth (35), Angela Guest (34) and Dave Orton (33) on form for C and G Show.

Lastly, Nomads secured just their second win of the season against The Borough despite the latter side taking the first leg by seven pins.

However, Nomads responded well to lead by eight pins at the end of leg two before pulling away with a 23-pin lead after three legs as The Borough took leg four by two pins and Nomads claimed the final leg.

For Nomads, Mac Eaton (41), James Marshall (40, 12 stack) and Alan Cummings (38, 13 stack) top scored with Kim Workman and Steve Court (both 37) and Sarah Edwards (34) on form for The Borough.