BOWLS: TWO unanswered doubles and a single at the business end of the final settled the Widnes Bowls Association's Queens Nurses Handicap.

With the score tied at 17-17, Farnworth's John Rennison broke away from Ball's Keith Taylor to take the trophy 21-17 and crown an excellent climax to the competition at Victoria Park.

The quarter-finals had seen Taylor beat Jimmy Leadbetter (Green Dragon) by a surprisingly comfortable 21-13 and Rennison (Farnworth) overcome Division Three opponent Charlie Lamb (Wellington) 21-11.

Lamb had started well enough and after 10 ends led 11-9. However, he could not live with Rennison from then on and the latter finished with five consecutive twos.

Mick Cosgrove (St Bede's) beat an out-of-sorts Ken Swindley (Ball) 21-13, but the contest between George Smith (Halewood) and Campbell Riley (Farnworth) was a much closer affair.

Riley opened the better and was 10-6 in front after nine ends.

Both won seven ends each of the next 14, but this left Riley 20-15 ahead.

Smith wasn't finished and he won the next two ends, twice scoring doubles, to reduce the gap to just one chalk. However, he led a poor wood which Riley beat easily to win 21-19.

The semi-finals matched Riley and clubmate Rennison in a very tight match. The difference between them was Rennison's ability to couple up on his ends, while Riley often had to settle for singles.

Indeed, after 16 ends, Rennison was leading 14-13 despite having won fewer ends than his opponent.

He then bowled magnificently to finish with four more twos to run out a 21-14 winner.

In the other semi-final, Mick Cosgrove took on his third bowler from the Ball Hotel in this year's competition in Keith Taylor - this was the most dramatic match of the evening.

It started serenely enough, with Mick having the early advantage 10-7. Then Taylor won the next nine ends with some magnificent bowling on a tricky mark.

This gave him a lead of 18-10 before Cosgrove finally got the block back.

The latter hadn't been bowling badly but hadn't enjoyed a great deal of luck. But, with his position looking hopeless, he found a mark across the green to his liking.

Taylor also relaxed too soon and Mick suddenly was fighting back.

He won the next eight ends to take the lead at 19-18. Taylor, suddenly in a crisis situation, bowled a great wood to within six inches of the block to regain the initiative.

However, Cosgrove was not finished and pulled one back to lead 20-19 after 26 ends.

He then led his worst bowl of the evening, allowing Taylor to draw to within a yard of the block.

When Cosgrove left his next wood woefully short, it gave Taylor the easy option to double his advantage and win the game.

The final was also a thrilling and close encounter, with Rennison preferring the shorter lengths while Taylor went for a much longer game.

Perhaps the most crucial ends were the two Taylor bowled into the corners.

He was within six inches of the block each time - and Rennison won with his last wood on both occasions.

Results: Quarter-finals: K Taylor (Ball) 21, J Leadbetter (Green Dragon) 12; C Lamb (Wellington) 11, J Rennison (Farnworth) 21; M Cosgrove (St Bede's) 21, K Swindley (Ball) 13; G Smith (Halewood) 19, C Riley (Farn-worth) 21.

Semi-finals: K Taylor 21, M Cosgrove 20; C Riley 14, J Rennison 21.

Final: J Rennison 21, K Taylor 17.

* The first title issue of the season has virtually been settled, with Green Dragon A streets ahead in Division One. Only Pirelli can now catch them on points and it would take a spectacular collapse to deny Dragon the trophy.

Ford A are almost certainly relegated - they must win all their remaining games for an outside chance of surviving.

In Division Two, St Bede's A can still stave off relegation if they win both their remaining home games.