Bowls: England take Home title

England ended Scotland's hopes of a record seventh successive title in the Home International Indoor Championships when they claimed the crown after powering to a 135-113 victory in Ballymoney. The margin of England's victory left the Scots with the wooden spoon.

Unbeaten England began the title decider knowing they could lose to the Scots by up to 15 shots and still take overall victory, but they led from the opening end to wrap up their first overall win since Prestwick in 1990.

Top English scorer was Greg Harlow, who powered to a 29-10 victory over Jim Muir, followed closely by Gary R Smith, who beat Robert McCulloch 34-16.Andy Thomson beat the Commonwealth gold medalist, Richard Corsie, 28-17, having raced to a 20-1 lead after 10 ends, and the world outdoor champion and England's captain, Tony Allcock, wrapped things up with 23- 19 victory over Alex Marshall.

Scotland's consolation successes came from Graham Robertson, who coasted to a 34-7 win over the former UK champion Gary A Smith, and Willie Wood, who finished unbeaten for the championship with a 17-14 victory over David Ward.

The hosts, Ireland, ended their campaign by battling to a 128-103 victory over Wales, their first success in the series and finish second overall. Wales started well and gave their slim title hopes a boost when they led 30-25 after five ends. But Ireland hit back to take a 59-48 lead at the halfway mark and they pulled away over the second half for their 25-shot victory.