THERE were two very close games in the Milford and Dormor league at Chard.

Canaries, from Merriott SMBC, were pitched against Magpies and had an excellent start. But by the halfway point Magpies had drawn level at 8-8.

The lead continued to alternate and at the last end the teams were locked together at 10-10. In a tense finale Canaries took the final end by one shot to continue their climb up the table.

Greyhounds started well against Hurricanes and were 9-0 up after the first five ends.

Hurricanes then dug deep and got back into contention only to lose 13-12.

Tied ends in bowls are quite rare so it was unusual that in this match two ends were tied. One of these ends was the final end which is how Greyhounds retained their lead.

First and second in the table were matched with Harlequins against Royals.

Harlequins started well but Royals caught up so that again the score was tied after ten ends. But Royals pulled ahead to win 12-9.

Harlequins remain top of the table but the gap is narrowing.