CROWN Victorians were the only team in the top six of the first division to win in the Puriton & District Skittles League. Their away victory over Nomads gave them an eight-point lead with seven games to go.

The leaders were 15 pins down with three hands to go but finished 84, 89, 81 to finish with a good score of 539 and win by 28. Tony Porter top-scored for Crown with 82, his last three hands being 16, 17 and 17.

Third-placed Somerset Vaults pulled pins on only two hands and lost by nine away to Foxes and Ferrets. Les Macriner did the damage, hitting three spares in his 79 for Foxes. Crusaders (fourth) lost at home to second-from-bottom but one team Herdsmen, pulling pins on only the first and sixth hands to lose by ten.

Brent Knoll Rebels lost away to Stop-Outs when, needing 76 to win, they hit thee spares on last hand but still missed out by one.

In Division Two, Old Railway beat second-placed Haymakers away to move within four points of them.

Thursday's results: Div One - Crusaders 469 (Bert Pole 73), Herdsmen 479 (Dave Barlow 75); Foxes & Ferrets 456 (Les Macriner 79), Somerset Vaults 447 (Tony Slade 70); Nomads 511 (Peter Burt 76), Crown Victorians 539 (Tony Porter 82); Polden Bears 460 (Colin Higgs 69), Woolavington Boys 443 (Nigel Frith 64); Ruggerites 413 (Buster Fisher 58), Likely Lads 438 (Rich Miles 66); Stop-Outs 450 (Jason Ratcliffe 64), Brent Knoll Rebels 449 (Nigel Whitehouse 65); Wasters 413 (Murray Parsons/Mike Baumgardt 57), Wheatsheaf 420 (Andrew Roberts 61); Barstewards beat Pirates.

Div Two - Farmer Boys 442 (Chris Puddy 71), Polden Turkeys 457 (Shaun Watts 65); Haymakers 395 (John Vowles/Jeff Puddy 54), Old Railway 410 (Richard Lee 57); Oddsquad 396 (Ollie Puddy/Rich Vowles 54), Irregulars 455 (Steve Burrow/Paul Baker 64); Swannies 424 (Pip Tucker 60), Knowle Hillbillys 377 (Paul Jarinski 51); Wanderers 496 (Chris Gould 71), Huntspill Boys 452 (Rob Davey 73); New Burtle beat Cross Your Hart; Rofugees v Three Cees, postponed.