A MEN?S skittles team from Okehampton put up a good fight but were knocked back over two legs in its bid to qualify for the 2007 Blackthorn British Skittle Championships grand finals. Where The Fox Hat team played host to the Willows from Newton Abbot but it turned out to be a away win for the Willows, who scooped an impressive 29 pin advantage to make it Fox Hat 358 Willows 387. The return match started with the home side electing to play second. The format was played with each team playing three legs first with each player skittling nine balls at a time. This puzzled the home team who are used to a more team format of one leg at a time. The visitors took time to acclimatise to the different alley notching up legs of 48, 56 and 69. The Willows ceased their chance to take the lead by achieving legs of 63, 62 and 76. With a 37 pin lead going into the final two legs, Fox Hat knew that a comeback of 37 was going to be extremely hard coupled with the 29 pin deficit from the previous match but ended the game in great spirits with high banter all round. The final score was Willows 350 Where the Fox Hat 294. Man of the match was Willows Kevin Relland with 52 including an 18 spare, closely followed by Where The Fox Hat player Rob Perkins with 50 boasting two 14 spares. Mike Woodridge, Where the Fox Hat captain, was disappointed with the result but can?t wait to enter again for 2008. He said: ?We have really enjoyed playing against so many new teams and on unusual alleys. We improved on last year when we failed to progress from the group stage so this has been an improvement so maybe next year we can get all the way to the finals.? The winning team is hoping to go onto the grand finals which take place at the Sand Bay Holiday Village, Weston-Super-Mare on September 22. The winning team in each of the three categories will receive a cheque for £1,000 and runners-up teams will receive £500 all sponsored by Blackthorn Cider. Any teams requiring further information or wishing to pre-register for the 2008 Blackthorn Championships should contact the organisers, Shoot Out Club on 01803 883500 or visit its website at http://www.shootoutclub.co.uk/bbsc">www.shootoutclub.co.uk/bbsc.
