Top four march on

After being level on 6-6 following the 11th end of a tight contest the home rink of Stacey Dickinson (Dorchester), John Crabb (Greenhill), Doug Rumble (Dorchester) and Greenhill skip Barry Patterson slipped three shots behind on the 14th end but then got their game together with a vengeance to win 18-11.

Gloucestershire skip Andy Wills, a former under-25 international, was the main thorn in Dorset's side during those early ends, very often depriving the host county by drawing the shot after Patterson's men were holding three or four.

Dorset are now at home to Worcestershire - date and venue to be finalised.

Dorset also went through in the under-25 double rink championship after a 38-37 thriller against Warwick-shire at Coventry.

"A terrific all-round performance in a really excellent game," was the summary of team

manager Brian Davis who had no hesitation in naming an unchanged line-up for the regional final at Bath on Sunday, June 23, when two wins would earn a place in the national stages on the hallowed greens at Worthing.

With one end remaining at Coventry, Dorset were two behind overall. Jamie Lockwood (Dorchester), Martin Lawrence (Wessex), Paul Pomeroy (Lyme Regis) and Poole Park skip Craig Shepherd had lost 20-14 but Clive Johnson (Dorchester), Chris Weeks (Poole Park), Craig Johnson and skip Martin Pavey (both Dorchester) pulled the match out of the fire with three shots to triumph 24-17.

Some of the Dorset youngsters were somewhat jaded the following day when they lost 4-1 to Somerset at Frome in the first round of the South-West Counties junior top team championship.

Lockwood was Dorset's solitary winner taking the two-wood singles 16-13. Pomeroy lost the singles 21-14, Martin Lawrence and Shepherd were pipped 17-16 after an extra end to the pairs, Philip Lawrence, Clive Johnson and cousin Craig Johnson went down 22-15 in the triples and Ben Paulley, Liam Metelko (both Blandford), Weeks and Pavey fell to a 21-15 fours defeat.