Last year's champions King Alfred were stunned at the start of their defence of the Ulverston and District Bowling League, as they were thumped 12-2 by Glaxo.

Chris McIlroy was the top performer for the works side, with Rod Lewis and Stuart Price (who was part of the King Alfred title-winning squad) backing him up in a great team performance.

Red River have again found themselves being touted for the title, but they also had a tough start, as they were defeated 9-5 by Lindal, who are also fancying their chances of winning the league.

Young Sam Naylor showed who is the best bowler in his house with a tremendous 21-5 victory while his dad Darren was routed by the same score by an in-form Tony Whitehouse. Jonty Richardson and Paul Kissock backed up Sam with good wins for the home side.

Salthouse showed they could challenge near the top again, as they opened with a 10-4 defeat of 2017 champions Ulverston Cons.

The “old timers” Joe Wardman, John Taylor and Martin Carpenter all rolled back the years for the Raglan Street outfit. The Billys Harding and Keating replying for the Cons.

The closest game of the night was between Roose and Post Office, where having won five games Roose managed to take the aggregate by just three points, resulting in a 7-7 scoreline. They had Phil Kelly to thank for this, with his brilliant 21-7 victory showing he has wintered well.

Last year's promoted teams, Co-op A and Dalton CC, met at the Dane Avenue green and with the Cricketers strengthening in the post season, they dominated the game to take the early top spot with a 13-2 victory.

Young Billy Thornton and Keith Banks both recorded 21-7 wins for the away side to help them on their way.

The Coop first team also suffered defeat when they visited Walney Park, Kev Dixon and Paul Hewitson helping the Island outfit to a 9-5 victory.

The final game of the week saw Hawcoat Park entertain Askam and the home side had just a little too much for the villagers. With Bob Stewart winning 21-2 and Barry Christian 21-4, they were set up for a comfortable 9-5 win.

Results

Division One

Walney Park 9 Coop 5, Salthouse 10 Ulverston Cons 4, Roose 7 Post Office 7, Lindal 9 Red River 5, Hawcoat Park 9 Askam 5, Glaxo 12 King Alfred 2, Coop A 2 Dalton CC 13.

Division Two

West Shore 12 Roose A 2, Westmount 10 Walney Park A 4, Kirkby 9 Glaxo A 5, Dalton CC A 11 Kings Head 3, Barrow Island 6 Salthouse A 9, Askam A 4 Hawcoat Park A 8.