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LATEST NEWS
NEW AND RELOCATED TEAMS 2026-27!
Welcome to our new teams for this season:-
Rosie’s Rogues captained by Dave Rogers will be based at the ROSE & CROWN at BOWER HINTON and will play in Division 2.
The YORKIES captained by ADAM GRAY will be based at the DUKE OF YORK, SHEPTON BEAUCHAMP and will also play in Division 2. NB this is NOT the team that was previously called the Yorkies who now play at the Rusty Axe with the very original moniker “The Rusty Axe”!!
HAM BOYS are now permanently based at Eli’ (Rose & Crown, Huish Episcopi)
SKITTLES FOOD 2026-27
Here is the list of who is and isn’t doing food this season. Any errors or changes let Steve Lonton or Pete Wescott know. NOTE TO CAPTAINS OF TEAMS THAT DO NOT PROVIDE FOOD: Please ensure that the opposing Team Captain is aware of whether your team would like food when playing on their alley.
Steve’s Roving Report
WE ARE BACK!!!!
Welcome back everyone as we start the 2026/2027 Martock & District Season and I’m sure you all will have noticed there is a new logo which will be on all reports and the website and updates throughout the season and also tells us when the league was first formed in which we are in our 93rd season and 7 more for our centenary!!
We welcome two new teams to the league in Adam Grays Yorkies and Dave Rogers Rosies Rogues and hope they enjoy the league throughout the season as they embark on life in Division 2.
The opening fixtures in Division 1 showed a lot of intrigue. Reigning league champions Stoke WMC are looking for 3 league titles in a row as they started out with a home match against sticky opponents in VIPS who will want a better start than they had last season as they struggled throughout the first half.
Last seasons Runners Up Duke of York will want to go one better this season and had a very tasty clash first up as they travelled to Fivehead to face promoted team Crown Shanks who are generally very good on their own alley so had all the makings of a classic match.
Arguably the team of last season were Bakers Big Arms who with their own brand of skittles certainly turned heads and fully deserved 3rd last season and will want to push for trophies this season. They started with a home match against last seasons Division 2 champs Lamb & Larks who will want to not be the ‘up and down team’ as they have been in the top division many times.
Another intriguing clash was at Stoke Club on the bottom alley as Seahawks started the season looking to have a similar season to last as they finished 4th with incentives to possibly win a trophy. This opening match had the makings of a quality clash as they hosted effervescent Bakers Rogues who we all know are a team that will always be difficult to beat when you play them and they will be challenging again despite the tricky start they have.
Keeping with the intrigue trend was a opening clash at Bell Ash as Tim Nobbs was back in action which is great to see as he skippered his Nobbys Nuts team into a season where they always one of the fun teams but are a very tough team to beat generally. They hosted maverick Pornstars who are everchanging and hope to have a more settled season this time around and a good start here would be great for them.
Monkey Spankers had the opening bye and will start their season next week.
Division 2 has ‘Intrigue’ written all over it this season and genuinely do not have a clue who will be challenging for champions and promotion this season.
One of the teams who will be up there will be Dolphins who started with a trip to Rose & Crown Bower Hinton to face Rosies Rebels who will continue to have great fun and will see whether they can have an improving season.
Split Pins missed out narrowly on promotion last season so they will be a team to watch again this season and they had a tasty clash as they travelled to face Rusty Axe who were relegated last season and will also be a team likely to be challenging for promotion.
We welcome Yorkies to the league and hope that Adam Grays team have a enjoyable season with us and will certainly be a tough team to beat in Division 2 with the added help of a tough home alley in Duke of York for opponent teams to overcome. They hosted an always strong Division 2 team in Mucky Ducks who are likely to challenge in the top half again this season.
We also welcome Dave Rogers Rosies Rogues to the league and likewise hope they have an enjoyable season with us. Their adventure started with an away game at Lamb & Lark as they faced hosts Hotspots who can be tricky and very up and down so who knows what would happen.
Ham Boys now have a permanent home in Rose & Crown (Elis) at Langport and they started out with a home match against Lord Nelson in which high scores can be had and Rose & Crown at East Lambrook had hosts and Wooden Spoon holders Thorns & Roses against Mandys Bell Boys with both teams looking for a positive start.
Who would get their seasons up and running with wins in Round 1! Lets find out.
DIVISION 1
We start 2026/27 season at the home of the league champions as we go to Stoke Club and to hosts Stoke WMC who are in a quest for 3 league titles in a row but there will be rivals looking to knock them off their perch so a big start was required, but they hosted VIPS who are a tricky team to beat and a team that give a hard match to anyone they face so this wasn’t a routine match for the champs first up. Apart from Ricky and Harps it was a very mixed and somewhat rusty start from Stoke WMC as they scrapped to opening hands of 51,60. VIPS opening reply was not much better but Ian started really well as an opening 14 spare and an 8 gave them a decent start but like Stoke it was very much mixed as 62,50 meant a 1 pin lead for the visitors. It wasn’t getting any better for Stoke WMC and in fact was getting worse as a mix of scores from as low as 3 up to 9 was not great at all and 56,51 gave VIPS a real chance of putting the champs under huge pressure. Whether it was the alley playing tricks or just rustiness from both teams it certainly seemed to be a struggle as VIPS just couldn’t quite push on and push the lead further as 5s to 9s wasn’t quite what was required, but 59,51 meant the lead had pushed further but only to 4 for the visitors. It needed a champion last two hands from the champions but a 2 from Ricky derailed the charge and no spares all night for the hosts meant last hands of 57,55 and the real possibility of losing their opening match. Two 54’s were needed for a shock win for VIPS and they played it sensibly all the way through and when it got to anchorman Brian Terry only two 6s were needed to win. The first 6 was achieved but whatever happened on the last hand was quite unbelievable as he hit a 4 and Stoke WMC somehow won by 1 pin 10-2 and breath a huge sigh of relief. They slot into 4th and the out of luck VIPS who were very unfortunate are 9th.
Off to a first view at Bakers Arms at Martock and to the always bubbly team that is Bakers Big Arms. They will be looking to make a serious charge this season for the league title after making positive steps last season and are serious contenders for it this season. They hosted last seasons Division 2 champions Lamb & Larks who know they will want to have a good season in Division 1 this time around and will not want to be the ‘up and down’ team being they’ve been here before so a good start for both teams is essential. A fairly mild start from the hosts until Leon Taylor banged in a 13 spare to give the opening hands an uplift and 57,56 was a decent start to proceedings. Unfortunately Lamb & Larks were 2 short but they started well and Tank with an opening 14 and a 9 to follow was superb and a 12 spare later on meant 63,55 and they led by 5 pins. It was a similar story for Big Arms as it was very mixed scoring until Rooster chipped in with a 13 spare and Leon followed up his good start with two 9s which saved the hands again as 58,53 was a few light of what they wanted. This is where the game turned positively for the hosts as Lamb & Larks scoring deserted them with a mix from a 3 to a couple of 9s but 51,50 meant that now the lead was Big Arms by 5 pins. Big Arms needed to be bold if they were to make this a more comfortable performance and despite lack of spares in the final hands there was a lot of 8s and a couple of 9s which in essence gave decent last hands of 62,51 with Leon top scoring with 55 to give Lamb & Larks a victory target of 60,59. This looked unlikely considering the scoring had dwindled from the visitors and the match was over once a 1 and a couple of 2s were hit from the top half and the rest plugged away, but It wasn’t their night and last hands of 40 and 50 meant a great start for Big Arms as they won 11-1 by 28 pins to start the season top of the table. Once Lamb & Larks get a full side out they will be decent in this division but this heavy loss means they are 12th.
We go next to high scoring Crown Inn at Fivehead as we welcome back to the top division Crown Shanks who are also a up and down team when it comes to promotion and relegation so they would hope this season they can buck that trend. They had a very problematic start to the season as they faced visitors and last seasons Runners Up
Duke of York who were so very close to winning the league and just fell away but the determination is definitely there and they will go strong again this season and this match would be good for them to score big early. Talking of scoring big that’s exactly what the hosts did first two hands as lots of 8s and 9s and 2 spares, one from Rob Cornelius who had a 14 and mercurial skipper Darren Cousins who had a 15 spare and opening hands of 76,65 was a brilliant start and certainly gave Duke a lot to think about. Indeed the rustiness was there to see as Duke of York despite lots of 8s and a couple of 9s were missing early spare chances and it looked like there would be aa big deficit, but up strode Martin Lee with his chest out and fired a superb 18 spare to make the deficit a bit more manageable as 54,73 meant it was 1 hand each and Shanks were 14 up. The middle hands didn’t start too well as a 3 from Ollie Wills was not what was required! The alley went surprisingly dead and despite lots of 8s and 9’s and a bolted spare from PT the scores of 61,59 felt as if they missed a chance to put massive pressure on Duke of York and felt a massive reply from them was imminent. Not often that I put something about my teammate but Simon Male hit a rare spare of 15 which gave the top half a decent look in getting back into the game, but the bottom half generally misfired and they felt they missed out as 63,58 meant the gap didn’t reduce much as the lead for Shanks now was 13 and a great chance of an early shock win was on the cards. The alley went completely dead for Shanks though and spares never came and despite
Rob Cornelius top scoring with 52 the last hands were grim reading of two 56’s which gave Duke a very chaseable target of two 63’s to win. Skipper Roger Lee and Simon Male didn’t get off to a great start but what followed after is why Duke are incredibly strong. Maurice Lee rolled back the years with a 14 spare and then the bottom 3 were sensational. Rob Shire who struggled all night got a 15 spare when it mattered, Martin Lee was unbelievable with another 18 spare to hit 63 and then Adam Redwood with a 14 spare made the chase look ridiculously easy as two big hands of 74,77 meant a early season top team score of 399 and a 10-2 win by 26 pins to sit in 3rd and a great start. Crown Shanks showed early promise but fell away and missed a trick here to win the match but they will show a lot of fight at home especially as they are 10th.
We go back to Stoke Club and to the bottom alley as hosts Seahawks always are a threat and finishing 4th last season was considered a good season for them and they can possibly challenge at the top but they will need more consistent form of consecutive wins if they are to be considered near top of the league. This first match of the season would test that theory as the visitors were last seasons mid-table Bakers Rogues who know how to win trophies whether its league or cup competitions, but this was a tough start for them on a difficult alley and strong opposition so had the makings of a classic match. Former chairman Barry Cullimore started off well with 9,7 but the rest struggled with the alley playing usually hard and 57,47 wasn’t the ideal start. Apart from Dave in the middle who struggled with low scores the rest of the Rogues team were decent in their opening hands with most of them averaging 7s and 8s and 54,57 meant a lead of 7 for the visitors. The middle hands fared well for Seahawks top half but the hands needed an injection of higher scoring which wasn’t coming and a 3 from Paul meant they hit two 52’s and were firmly on the backfoot here. Consistency was the key to success here and Bakers Rogues certainly were better at this stage and despite Kev Rawle with a 2 the hands went pretty much to plan and 59,52 meant the lead extended to 14 and the visitors looked in total control. The top half for Seahawks started brightly but Pete with a 1 and James with a 3 damaged the chances Seahawks had to overturn and win this and left Bakers Rogues needing two 46s to win which looked very likely. Skipper Paul Gould got his opening spare of the season with 11 to finish top score with 50 and despite a few little blips on the way they were never in trouble as they won 10-2 by 17 pins to slot into 2nd. Early days for Seahawks but this opening loss means they are 11th.
Off for our first trek to Lord Nelson and to always fun Nelsons Nomads who embark on another season in the top division and if you had trophies for the wackiest team they would win every season but they are great fun and a very decent and competitive team. They started the season with a home match against fellow strugglers from last season S Club 8 who if there were the same teams would’ve been playing in Division 2 but with the extra teams S Club 8 have another go in the top division. From the get-go the alley looked like it played tough for both teams and maybe some early season rustiness thrown in. The hosts had a smattering of low scores and the odd 9 and a couple of 8s which led to opening hands of 42,49 and a very rocky start. S Club 8 similarly were very patchy but Guy with a 8,9 and skipper Mark Aylward with 7,8 were the only bright sparks but that gave them both opening hands with 44,51 and a 4 pin lead. Nomads couldn’t be any worse really but in the 4th hand they really were as they had one 8 and the rest 6 and below as the hand was 38 but the previous of 55 made up for that a little bit but they were still in trouble here. The low scores continued to spread heavily as S Club 8 caught the bug big style as the highest scored was a 7 and was a real struggle throughout as low hands of 42,44 meant that Nomads led by 3 in this low scoring affair. This match was a case of who would fall over the winning line but Nomads did get a little bit better when it mattered and 49,50 meant S Club 8 needed 51,52 to win. It just wasn’t happening for the visitors and low scores kept happening and 46,43 wasn’t enough as Nelsons Nomads won 9-3 by 13 pins to go into 5th. This was certainly a match to forget for S Club 8 as they are 7th.
Bell Ash is the next venue to open the season as hosts Nobbys Nuts had their captain fantastic back at the helm in Tim Nobbs amid health issues and wish him all the best but he’s doing what he’s good at which is skittling and that’s great for his team as they are a force when he’s playing. They opened their season hosting Pornstars who despite their woes in the league last season ended up with 2 trophies as they were Nomination Plate & KO Cup champions so the pedigree is there and they will hope to have a better season in the league.
The hosts were ok at best as they scored decently without any spares until Tim Nobbs was back to his best with an opening 13 spare as Nobbys hit 62,55 which is not a bad start. It was a very similar start for Pornstars as they were battling away for a early lead which was achieved as Brook hit a 13 spare which led to hands of 66,55 and a 4 pin lead for the Stars. The middle hands for the hosts were nothing but extraordinary as the 4th hand was spectacular as Keith B hit a 15 spare, Adam Westlake hit an 18 spare, and Keith M with a 14 spare and that meant a massive 86 hand! To go along with a 61 hand they put the visitors under huge pressure. Pornstars had to try and keep the game close after those big hands from Nobbys and they were pretty decent and made it even better as Farmer hit a 16 spare which gave similar hands for them of 66,57, but despite being 3-1 up on points they were now 20 down. I think Nuts bag emptied in the middle hands s the last two were back to normal, but Adam Westlake hit another spare with 13 to finish with an impressive 61 and hands of 61,55 left a target of two 68s to win for Pornstars. The chase was impressive with Kevin hitting a 12 spare and Farmer with another spare hitting 14 for his total of 58 but with 17 pins needed to win they agonisingly missed out hitting 15 and hands of 69,66 meant they won both hands. Nobbys Nuts though won by 1 pin and a very rare score of 7-5 in a brilliant match. Nobbys Nuts start 6th and Pornstars loss means they are 7th.
Monkey Spankers had the first bye of the season and because they haven’t played they are bottom in 13th.
Division 2
The 2026/2027 version of Division 2 leaves me no clue who could be the promotion contenders but we start the roundup with one of those teams in the mix.
We go to Rose & Crown at Bower Hinton and to hosts Rosies Rebels who had a much better season last season and had some decent results along the way but finishing in the bottom half was better than bottom. They hosted Dolphins who will definitely be one of the promotion challengers again as they missed out last season finishing 4th but they will hope to get off to a winning start here. The alley plays as it does always difficult and the opening hands were tough for the hosts as they scrapped for any score but anchorman Wayne was in good early form as an opening 14 spare meant hands of 51,52. Dolphins opener Joe gave the perfect start as he hit a 12 spare but Buttsy with a duck soon brought them back to earth and sparky Marc Webber had a wacky start of an 11 spare followed by a 2 as hands of 57,36 meant a 10 pin lead for the hosts. The middle hands went downhill fast with a duck from Nadine, but Wayne continued his form with an 8 and a 9 which was a good job really as 42,44 meant a big opening for Dolphins to take advantage. There wasn’t any spares this time around but the consistent scoring was much better especially the bottom 3 and hands of 56,53 gave Dolphins a healthy 13 pin lead and 3-1 up on points. That knocked the stuffing out of Rebels as they just couldn’t get anything going and even Wayne was not great despite hitting a brilliant 53. Hands of 44,48 left Dolphins needing a poultry two 40 hands to get their season off and running. Joe was superb for Dolphins as another 12 spare gave him a top score of 51 and they cruised to hands of 56,52 which meant a good 11-1 win by 29 pins to start top of Division 2. Will they stay there! Rosies Rebels were outplayed here and the loss means they are 10th.
This next match is a bit weird for some as we go to Duke of York in Division 2 as we welcome Adam Gray and his Yorkies team to the Martock League and we hope they enjoy the season. Duke will be a big challenge for all teams as the alley is very difficult and will certainly see how results fare here. Yorkies first match was against a difficult opponent in Mucky Ducks who finished 5th last season and are certainly a team to watch this season again. Yorkies found the start difficult getting used to alley conditions and the highest scores were 8s with lots of mixed scores as hands of 45,48 was not the best start. Mucky Ducks likewise struggled with mixed scores and had similar hands of 49,43 as Yorkies led by 1 pin. It was getting more difficult for the newbies as scoring was hard but there was 8s and 9s but again a lot of low scores as 42,52 gave opportunity for the Ducks to capitalise. Ducks didn’t really do that but were slightly better as hands of 44,53 meant they led by 2 going into the final hands. It got worse for Yorkies as scoring was horrid with lots of 3s and 4s and 42,41 meant they were very unlikely to get off to a winning start. A 12 spare killed the game despite a duck as well and hands of 53,47 meant Mucky Ducks won 11-1 by 19 pins to go 2nd. Yorkies will take every week as it comes and I’m sure will get better as they are 12th.
Our next venue is Rusty Axe as the home team embark on a season in Division 2 after relegation and will hope to have an improved season, and could be one of the teams challenging for promotion. Likewise their opponents Split Pins were very unluck not to be promoted last season as they narrowly missed out on the last week of last season as they finished 3rd but will be a definite challenger again for this season. A early spare from Shaun with 12 gave the hands a decent look as they opened with 55,54. Split Pins started decently as well with 7s, 8s and 9s including a bolted spare from Tom but with hands of 57,54 they only led by 2 which could’ve been more. The middle hands changed the match as Rusty Axe struggled and couldn’t get anything positive to happen. Hands of 50,47 meant a chance for Split Pins to accelerate. It was topsy turvy from them but Harvs weighed in with a big 15 spare and despite some mixed scores from others, hands of 52,57 made the lead bigger to 14 and a good win was on the cards here. Rusty Axe needed a big finish to have a chance of winning and they were much better with 9s happening frequently but 52,59 was light and leftSplit Pins needing two 49s to win. Shaun top scored for Rusty with 52. Consistency was good again from Split Pins as they managed the chase well and finished with hands of 57,55 to win 11-1 by 15 pins and start positively in 3rd. Rusty started very rusty! As they start the season in 11th.
We go next to Lamb & Lark where hosts Hotspots are a serial division 2 team that always seem to bob up and down the division and are very sporadic with results so you never know what their form will be like. The visitors are our 2nd new team in Rosies Rogues and we welcome Dave Rogers and his cohorts back to the league after a while out and we hope they enjoy the season ahead, this was a difficult start with a difficult alley for them. Hotspots started ok with decent scores throughout without any spares but 8s and 9s were prevalent and opening hands of 48,56 were ok to start. It was very mixed from Rogues which is the reason why the hands of 42,54 were hit and that meant Hotspots were 8 up. Hotspots turned the pressure up a notch in the middle hands with plenty of 9s involved and they hit 53,60 to put Rogues under a lot of pressure. Rogues continued to struggle scoring but a 14 spare from anchorman Dave Rogers helped the scores to 55,52 meant the lead for Hotspots was now 14 and a home win was on the cards here. There was a duck in the last 2 hands for Hotspots but a 14 spare as well countered that and 59,51 gave a big challenge to the Rogues as they needed 62,63 to win. Low scores early meant it was too difficult but Dave finished with an 11 spare as he had a superb score of 54 but hands of 46,51 was not enough and Hotspots won 11-1 by 27 pins to sit in 4th. Rosies Rogues will look to improve after a difficult start as they are 9th.
Our first look at high scoring Elis as permanent hosts Ham Boys are now settled in their new home and will enjoy the benefits of getting decent scores here. The problem with that analogy is that visiting teams also like the alley too and visitors Lord Nelson were the first to taste the action here and they are a perennial mid-table team who are always difficult to beat so this looked like a decent game on paper. Ham Boys started strongly but couldn’t get a spare until Bex waltzed up and showed them how to do it with a big 17 spare to give hands of 65,57 were not too bad. The reply from Lord Nelson was very good as they hit plenty of 9s and skipper Chris Westwood hit a 12 spare and hands of 60,66 gave a 4 pin lead for Lord Nelson. Ham Boys kept plugging away and Archie banged in a 14 spare to keep momentum which slowed towards the end of the hands as 66,55 were ok but felt they needed a bit more. Lord Nelson replied very well as Nic with a 13 spare and Mike with a 12 spare was superb and Chris with two 9s meant hands of 64,65 extended the lead for them to 12 and a likely away win. Ham Boys needed an avalanche of pins to give themselves a chance to win and jeez did they go big as Tony weighed in with back to back spares of 15,16 to finish with a cracking score of 62 and Archie slotted in a 13 spare to finish with 55 as the hands were superb of 72,68 to leave Lord Nelson needing a tricky 64,65 to win the match. Peter P with a 14 spare and Pete K with a 14 spare saved them a little as there was a mix of scores in the chase but they just squeaked over the winning line as 60,70 last two hands meant a narrow win of2 pins and a 9-3 win and are 5th. Ham Boys played very well and were unlucky to lose here as they are 8th.
We now go to Rose & Crown at Lambrook for the first time this season as we look at Wooden Spoon holders Thorns & Roses who certainly struggled with winning last season but let’s hope they can get off to a good start here. Their opponents are always fun Mandys Bell Boys and always enjoy every season they play in this league, come win or lose they always smile and have a great laugh which is the essence of this league. Scoring for both teams were evidently a struggle but Dazz had a 9 spare as the opening hands were 41,48 and an ok start. The reply was tough for Mandys as well they struggled for any decent scores as two 44s meant a 1 pin lead for the Thorns. Dazz was becoming a hero for the hosts as he blasted a 15 spare amid a few mixed scores from others and 63,43 was a lot better and put pressure on the visitors. A 12 spare from Dan S was the only real decent score Mandys had and 51,40 hands meant the lead for Thorns was now 16 and there was a big chance for last seasons bottom team to win here. Maybe that pressure was hitting them as a duck from Craig and a few ok scores meant 42,48 gave Mandys a chance needing 54,53 to win. The pins just didn’t fall for them in the chase and hands of 45,49 meant thatThorns & Roses surprisingly won 9-3 by 12 pins and go to the giddy heights of 6th. Mandys Bell Boys unfortunate loss means they are 7th.
Stoke Buoys had the opening week bye and no game so far means they are bottom in 13th.
A brilliant start to the new season with some expected results and surprise results and the new teams lost but will hope to get going in Week 2!
Cheers All
Steve
