WOOLHOPE Short Mat Bowling Club are the new County Triples champions after seeing off Weston.

For the past three years, teams from Ross have won the championship and another victory was still on the cards until the smei-final stage when Les Williams' trio were beaten by Woolhope's John Mills and Shirley and Becci Cox.

In the other semi-final, a victory for the Weston team of Fran Jones and Betty and Harold Aubrey over Tony Vitale’s Larruperz triple meant that Harold would contest his second county final in eight days following his run to the singles final the previous week.

The final was a see-saw affair with Weston starting strongly and establishing a commanding six shot lead with two ends to play.

But scores of four and two brought Woolhope level and took the final into a tense tie-break end.

Consistently accurate bowling took the jack gradually back towards the ditch and Harold seemed to have clinched the match with his pinpoint final wood.

But Becci delivered a stunning final wood of the match which crept around Harold’s to take the shot and the match for Woolhope, leaving Harold with his second runners-up spot in a week.

The County Premier team meanwhile completed a double over Avon with a comfortable 28-12 win to consolidate second place in their Inter-county Championship qualifying group and ensure that progression to the main competition knockout stages is in their own hands.

Just home match against Oxfordshire remains to determine who will finish runners-up.

The A team are also well placed to progress following a 24-16 home win against Hampshire to avenge their earlier away defeat.

Their fate will rest on the double header against Gloucestershire.