MOONRAKERS threw a spanner in the works of the Mowers’ title charge in the Wellington Ex-Services Skittles League’s Chris Bullock Championship with a 7-pin victory over their stablemates at the Football Club this past Thursday.

B. Hookway was the star player of the match, hitting a decisive 55 for the Rakers to see them over the line. G. Milton had scored 46 for Mowers.

This was an unwanted bump in the road for Mowers, especially with Scuppas picking up a victory to close the gap to two points. However, the title is still in Mowers’ hands, as victories in their next two matches will seal the title with a game to spare. Scuppas will be hoping for another rare Mowers slip up. Mowers 326, Moonrakers 333.

Marc Bright reports - Home Guard IV 344, Scuppas 372: Scuppas picked up a vital 3 points to keep their title hopes alive with a 28 pin victory over Home Guard IV at the Conservative Club. N. Payne was the top scorer for Scuppas with 52 to help his side race to victory and leave with the points. C. White had scored 47 for HGIV to help them set a decent enough target, but it was no match for a title chasing Scuppas side. The win, coupled with Mowers’ loss to moonrakers, sees Scuppas close the gap to 2 points. They have a bye next week and will hope United Services can do them a favour against Mowers at the White Horse.

All Stars 396, Ex-Servicemen 367: Ex-Servicemen’s title dreams are over after a loss against high-scoring All Stars at the Victoria Arms. A. Chappell scored 56 for All Stars with the home side positing an imposing total on the night. X-Men skipper, A. Perry, scored 54 for his side, but it wasn’t to be with X-Men going down by 29 pins. They are 6 points off the top with only 5 points left to play for. Attention now turns to the Ken Bright Cup as Ex-Servicemen’s last hope for silverware this season.

Here 4 the Beer 345, Odds and Ends 330: Here 4 the Beer picked up a 15 pin win against Odds and Ends at the Institute as they continue to record their best season in their history. W. Brewer scored 50 for H4tB to help them set a decent target on the Institutes tricky alley. Odds and Ends saw R. Stanyard score 48 in reply, but the travelling side saw the match slip away from them in the end.

WRFC 337, United Services 350: United Services won by 13 as they took on WRFC at the Conservative Club, with D. Groves and G. Smith the stars of the match with 47 pins a piece for the away side. D. Harper scored 46 for WRFC, but the home side struggled a bit on the night compared to their usual standard. A good win for United Services though, who could have an important say in the title race when they host Mowers next up at the White Horse Inn.

Gerald Thorne Championship - Holywell Lake 406, Fireguard A 336: League leaders, Holywell Lake, won by a huge margin of 70 pins as they put Fireguard A to the sword at the Victoria Arms. D. Howell, enjoying a high-scoring purple patch for the Lakers, scored 62 to help his side past the 400 mark for the third home game in a row. Dan T scored 47 for Fireguard A in reply, but the away side could not keep pace with the Lakers who are aiming to follow up their Payne Cup success with a defence of the division title.

See remaining results next week.