BRIMFIELD and Little Hereford Bowling Club are three games away from being crowned national champions after ousting the reigning holders to march into the quarter-finals.

Captain Karen Tandler’s team have beaten clubs from Herefordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Oxford and Worcestershire to reach the Bowls England Championships last eight.

They will now head to Leamington Spa at the end of August for the quarter-finals and, hopefully, semi-final and final of the Tony Allcock Trophy, named in honour of the multiple world champion.

Brimfield came from behind to beat defending champions Banbury Central in the regional final, which was held at the neutral venue of Hewell Bowling Club, near Redditch.

“Reaching the national finals is a fantastic achievement for the club,” said team captain Tandler.

“We’ve shown great team spirit and have had to win six games to reach this stage. Everyone is looking forward to competing at Leamington now and we hope to go all the way to the final.”

The two-rink format saw Helen Skinner, Lester Bennett, Alec Tandler and Marian Wheatley take the initiative against Banbury after a slow start and there was never more than a couple of shots in it.

It was a different story on the other rink where Karen Tandler, Dave Evans, Howard Turberfield and Barbara Griffiths dropped behind after a strong start.

However, they roared back, restricting Banbury to a one-shot win and setting up a grandstand finish on the neighbouring rink.

Banbury needed three for a draw but Brimfield drew one and took the match overall by four shots.

Their journey started with wins against local rivals Ross and Ledbury before thrashing Bristol-based Canford 42-28, beating Stroud club Victory Park and then St Dunstan’s of Worcester 36-31 in the regional semis.