Wonderful Warboys White Hart have retained their national crown.

The Huntingdonshire representatives lifted the Durham Centenary Trophy for the second successive year last Saturday.

They powered to a 103-82 victory against Durham opponents Jarrow at the English Bowling Federation Finals in Skegness.

White Hart triumphed on three of the four rinks with Ed Elmore skipping his trio, including Phil Swannell and Simon Leader, to the most emphatic success.

They prevailed by 12 shots while Lewis Baker led Steve Farrant and Tom Swannell to an 11-shot verdict.

Ross Martin, Ross Tomlinson and skip Rob Elmore triumphed by seven shots which meant a nine-shot defeat for the rink of former world indoor champion Nicky Brett, his daughter Chloe and Richard Stevens was irrelevant.

Nine members of the team also played in the 2017 final. Chloe Brett, Phil Swannell and Ross Tomlinson were the new members for the 2018 success.

Playing White Hart chairman Stevens said: “We are a close-knit team and the confidence was high on the day after winning the trophy last year.

“The final went really well. We were always going well on three rinks which meant that myself and the Bretts just had to keep our rink close.

“It was a great feeling to win it again and it’s also brilliant to have been part of such a fantastic day for Huntingdonshire bowls with the Under 25 team winning the Reg Wright Trophy for the first time.”

White Hart previously beat Peterborough outfit Parkway of Northants in the Southern section final.

Their run to glory also featured a dramatic Southern semi-final triumph against Suffolk side Ipswich BC – a match in which they trailed by 30 shots at one point before fighting back - after receiving a walkover against Norfolk team Wooton Park in the opening round.

The Warboys side will again represent Hunts in the competition next year when attempting to complete a hat-trick of titles - a feat never previously achieved.

Stevens added: “We’ve already qualified by winning the county competition and we’re into the national stages again.

“It was brilliant to win it once and fantastic to repeat it, but we’d all love to be back at Skegness again next year.”

DURHAM CENTENARY SHIELD

Final

Warboys White Hart (Hunts) 103, Jarrow (Durham) 82.

Warboys rinks: Phil Swannell/Simon Leader/Ed Elmore won 29-17, Steve Farrant/Tom Swannell/Lewis Baker won 32-21, Ross Martin/Ross Tomlinson/Rob Elmore won 25-18, Chloe Brett/Richard Stevens/Nicky Brett lost 17-26.