THE fight for the title in Wellington Ex-Services Skittles League’s Gerald Thorne Championship is heading for a dramatic winner-takes-all clash with joint leaders Cottage Pies and Holywell Lake playing each other at the Cottage Inn on Friday, May 30.

Both won their matches last Friday, the Lakers cruising past Fireguard A while the Pies won against in-form Bell Green, ending their seven-match winning streak.

Fixtures for Friday, May 30: Club Rockers v Report Centre A (at RG Institute), Cottage Pies v Holywell Lake (Cottage Inn), Fireguard A v Home Guard 11 (Wellington Football Club), OBA v Queens Legs (Victoria, upstairs), Oaks v Bell Green (Bell Ball), Relyon v Reservists (Conservative Club, downstairs), Shooters v Rebels (Victorioa, downstairs).

Scores: Holywell Lake 383, Fireguard A 332, Both team captains led the way with Steve Dowson hitting 59 for the Lakers and Dan Taylor hitting 50 for the away side. Holywell Lake set a strong score for Fireguard A to chase, and the away side couldn’t quite get into their rhythm.

Bell Green 360, Cottage Pies 367: Mike Johnson scored a solid 54 for the Bee Gees, who hit a decent score on the night. Cottage Pies played well to pick up their pins and it was their captain, James May, who was the top scorer with 53 to help them over the line to take the game by seven pins.

Reservists 351, Oaks 356: Reservists slim title hopes are over as they went down by five pins to Oaks at the Institute. Glen Escott hit a great 58 for the home side while Steven Burge for Oaks hit a vital 53 to help his side to the win and the points on offer.

Home Guard II 331, Shooters 321: Home Guard II picked up two points as they beat Shooters by 10 at the Football Club. Steve Symons scored a good 56 for Home Guard II, helping the home side to a competitive score. Keith Harcombe scored 48 in the Shooters chase, but the away side struggled to make an impact with the pink balls.

Rebels 362, OBA 330: Rebels played well to beat OBA by 32 pins at the Cottage, with Baz Winter the player of the match with a well taken 53 for the home side. Paul Beer hit 49 for OBA in reply, but the away side found the alley tougher going and the game slipped away from them despite a good effort.

Queens Legs 394, Club Rockers 398: Club Rockers hit the joint highest away score to get the win over Queens Legs on the upstairs alley of the Conservative Club. Adam Hill was the player of the match with a fantastic 74 for the home side, helping Queens Legs to a great score. The Rockers knew they would need to play well to get anything from the game and they did just that with Jim Morrison hitting a strong 60 to cap off a great win.

Report Centre A 371, Hot Shots 398: Hot Shots came away from the White Horse with a 27 pin win and Rich Chivers hitting a stunning 72 (including two double floppers) to become the highest scoring away player this season. P Bright had scored 55 for Report Centre A, with the home side going on to hit a decent score.