Shropshire bowlers struggle in Wrockwardine Wood Open

They secured just two of the eight places up for grabs in sessions at the Telford club on Saturday and Sunday.

Bowring Open runner-up Dave Rhodes and Tom Roden of Premier League champions Sir John Bayley were the Sunday success stories, meaning raiders from outside the county make up the bulk of the finals day line-up this coming weekend.

Rhodes (Newport) had two-in-a-row County Handicap champion Rich Lawson, the captain of County Cup winners Bowring, as a 21-12 victim in his qualifier.

Roden, a 21-3 away hero in Shropshire's ill-fated Crosfield Cup final against Yorkshire in September, had an equally impressive scalp in his vital game, beating reigning County Merit champion Wayne Rogers (Burway) 21-15.

Elliot McGuinness (The George) and 2014 Wrockwardine winner Matt Fellows (Florence) took the other qualifying tickets on Sunday, 24 hours after a clean sweep by non-Shropshire raiders.

Only Nick Wyer out of the four to make it on Saturday played in the county this year, the Staffordshire-based man turning out for Hadley USC as they slipped out of the Premier League.

Others to get through were Aimee Allcock, Kevin Hocknull and James Seville, leaving organiser Stuart Rutter with a tally of seven Shropshire hopefuls in the last 16.

Television coverage of the Flowfit Champion of Champions continues today with second-round action screened at 3pm on BT Sport 2.