KINGSCLERE Quails have been crowned Whitchurch Bowls League champions and Basingstoke Town Spades finished second.

Division Two winners are Whitchurch Yellows, with Marnell B getting the runner-up place at the expense of Andover A on shot-difference.

Basingstoke Diamonds won Division Three, with Thornycroft achieving second place, having substantially beaten Friary by a 65-33 scoreline.

Andover C are the Division Four winners, with Littleton Lemurs grabbing second place from Oakley C after beating them 54-38.

As reported earlier, both the Alton clubs leave Division One, Whitchurch Blacks and Howard Park C are relegated from Division Two and Old Basing Roundheads and Marnell A drop from Division Three.

However, other teams, like St Mary Bourne Hawks and Old Basing Cavaliers could still drop down.

The structure for the Whitchurch League next season is somewhat fluid, as it will depend upon the number of teams dropping out or coming back in.

The final evening of the Basingstoke District Bowling Association League Division One could not have been more exciting.

Oakley needed to take all five points from Howard Park to pip Basingstoke Town for the championship.

Under leaden skies, the match proceeded as expected, with two Oakley rinks well in charge but the third, skipped by Ted Brown, were never in front from the start.

However, on the penultimate end they managed to draw level, setting up a nerve-jangling finale.

With raucous support from supporters of Town, Park and Oakley, the result was in doubt, as Park held a one shot lead until Brown delivered his first wood for shot.

John Atkinson, the skip of the Park rink, could not change the course of events with his two woods and so Oakley ran out winners, to wild celebrations.

The semi-finals of the Stan Hardman took place at Odiham last Thursday, where Hook Sapphires beat Whitchurch on all three rinks.

In the other tie, Basingstoke Town beat Cove 43-42 in a tight match, but more importantly by two rinks to one.

In their latest friendly, Loddon Vale lost 107-103 to Newbury-based West Berks.