Woodman Saltwells retained the Dudley and District Bowls League Ladies Division One League title failing to win just two of their 16 matches played.

Mandy Pagett from Saltwells also collected the Division One average prize.

The Division Two title went to Coombs Wood 'A' who also won fourteen matches out of sixteen the Division Two averages prize went to Elaine Beard from the championship winning club.

Rowley Labour gained a marvellous 100 per cent winning record to lift the Division Three Crown with the Labour's Stacey Homer top of the Division Three averages.

Beech Tree are top dogs in the Lye and District Bowls League. They only lost one match in the fourteen played to take the League title.

They also collected the A Doman Cup beating Hadcroft in the final.

The final of the R.Yates Cup was fought out between Craig Skidmore from Beech Tree who retained the title after beating club mate Jamie Wyer 21/8.

No luck for Warwick and Worcester or Staffordshire bowlers in the Midland Masters played at the Meole Brace BC Shrewsbury. The £500 prize went to former winner Andrew Owen from the Potteries who beat his brother Gary 21/15 in the final.

The opportunity for midland bowlers to test their skills against the best in their own area apart from the usual early and end of season competitions has been for some time virtually non existent.

That has certainly been addressed by the introduction in 2007 of the Summit Garage Dudley sponsored Premier Bowls League.

The response to the league has not only been overwhelming from the clubs taking part and the players being presented with a much needed opportunity, but the organisers are having to cope with an increasing demand to join.

Many years ago there seemed to be an unwritten rule in the local area covered by the new league that the monotony of league bowls on a general basis was the order of the day. I believe that for a number of years the area delivered itself a homicidal shot in the arm by increasing out of all proportion league bowls that by design seemed to be sacrosanct.

Of course there were those who purely play the game for the joy of playing in a winning team to take a league title but the competition is sometimes on an ordinary level and in many instances the same players and teams have been winning the titles and prizes year in year out.

There was for many years comments that there would be no room for anything different to the norm and that often used word in crown green bowls change was frowned upon.

That in itself led in my opinion to a hum drum that took the local scene backwards.

The new league offers a chance for the area’s top players to improve their skills, an opportunity for younger players to watch and hopefully learn. More competition but above all increased interest in the game in the area and long may that continue and who knows what could lie ahead.