THE new season in the Wellington Ex-Services Skittles League has got underway at the Football Club with Payne Challenge Cup holders Scuppas beating league champions Holywell Lake to win the Jim Blackmore Cup.

Scuppas captain Chris Morter won the toss and opted to put Steve Dowson’s Lakers in first. Holywell Lake found the Football Club alley tricky in the opening stages, with spare opportunities proving hard to come by. They returned scores of 54, 58 and 64, with Scott Newberry hitting a well-taken 14 spare to help Holywell Lake finish strongly.

Scuppas, meanwhile, showed more consistency. Despite Chris Morter being unlucky to see a spare ball sail straight through the pack in their opening hand, his side found valuable eights and nines across the board. A 14 spare from John Barker rounded off their third hand and helped them to scores of 55, 62 and 69, giving Scuppas a 10-pin advantage at the halfway stage.

Knowing they needed a lift in the second half, the Lakers responded through Scott Newberry, who struck a second 14 spare in hand four. But further frustration followed when Terry Dowson saw his spare ball go through in the sixth hand. Their second-half scores of 60, 54 and 55 left them with a total of 345, a tally that felt low compared to the Lakers potential for big scores.

Scuppas sensed their opportunity and wasted no time pressing their advantage. Craig Newstead opened the reply with a 12 spare, and Roger Howe added a fine 14 in the same hand to build momentum. Morter finally got his spare in hand six, bringing in 12 pins. With closing scores of 64, 56 and 58, Scuppas finished strongly to post 364, ensuring they didn’t lose a hand on the night.

It was a cracking contest and the perfect way to launch the season.