Gary Starks’ rink hold nerve as leaders Waverley have titanic Portsmouth Bowls League struggle against Rowner

With one end left in the match, Waverley led by two shots.

Barry Stafford’s Rowner rink must have had hopes of winning as they had picked up four shots on their last two ends.

However, Gary Starks’ men kept their nerve to limit their opponents to a single shot to take the match by just one shot.

Waverley were indebted to a seven-shot win by Paul Cooke’s rink for their victory.

Alexandra hosted a Priory side who had looked shaky on their previous two outings.

And that form continued, as Alex did themselves a power of good in their fight against relegation with a 13-shot victory.

They won on three rinks, led by the 12-shot success on Steve Feilder’s rink. Richard Smalley’s rink prevented a whitewash with a nine-shot win.

Those two results mean Waverley now have a 16-point lead over Priory and the two still have to meet.

There were other important games affecting clubs in the relegation zone.

Lee-on-the-Solent put a big dent in Fareham’s hopes of moving into the top two when they triumphed by just two shots. With both clubs winning on two rinks, it was the 15-shot win on George Abraham’s home rink that covered the 12-shot loss on Fareham bowler Charlie Bailey’s rink. However, the result didn’t lift them out of the bottom two.

The two carpet clubs met at Waterlooville with the home club hosting bottom side Cowplain. With four ends to go on all four rinks, Cowplain boasted a 14-shot lead.

But all the Ville rinks staged a fightback, picking up 20 shots overall to win by six - winning on two rinks and tying another.

Ville are now out of the bottom three, but have played more matches than others at the bottom. They have only two games left, including a home fixture with Waverley.

It’s looking grim for Cowplain, but two of their final three games are at home to relegation rivals.

Division 2 leaders Milton Park boosted their title hopes with a 10-shot victory over Gosport. With both clubs winning on two rinks, it was the 21-shot win by Dave Brown’s rink that did all the damage.

Vospers avenged the previous week’s defeat to Star by beating them by 32 shots at their Northern Parade home. They won on all four rinks, led by the 13-shot victory by Dave Young’s quartet.

Milton lead Vospers by six points, with each having two games to play. They meet in their last match at Northern Parade.

Naismith’s 42-shot home defeat to Portsmouth Water confirmed their relegation. There were big rink victories for Brent Riste and Pete Musson, while Kelvin Chandler’s rink prevented a whitewash thanks to a tie.

With Division 3 leaders Denmead having the night off, Gas Social kept up the pressure with a 13-shot win at Purbrook Heath. Whilst both clubs won on two rinks, both Gas rinks enjoyed big wins.

Gas now trail Denmead by 25 points, so the title might be settled next week when Denmead travel to Gas Social.

The two bottom sides met in Old Portsmouth, with Pembroke Gardens hosting Bridgemary. With both clubs having only won one match each all season, it was a chance for one of them to double their total - and it was Pembroke who claimed a 10-shot success, winning on two rinks.

Victory also cut the gap between the two to a single point, but Pembroke have played a game more.