CITY of Ely bowler Nicky Brett s bid to become world bowls champion continued to gather pace this week after he scored an 8-3 7-6 win over 14th seed Simon Skelton. Brett, 35, is ranked at number 19 in the world but showed no hesitation in dispatching his

CITY of Ely bowler Nicky Brett's bid to become world bowls champion continued to gather pace this week after he scored an 8-3 7-6 win over 14th seed Simon Skelton.

Brett, 35, is ranked at number 19 in the world but showed no hesitation in dispatching his lofty opponent with little fuss in front of a packed crowd at the Potters Resort in Norfolk on Tuesday (Jan 12).

Brett came into the match on the back of an impressive 8-5 7-7 win over fellow qualifier Stuart Airey in the first round of the singles last week

He will now go forward to face teenage sensation Jarrad Breen, who has taken a number of prize scalps already this week, most notably that of world number two, Mark Royal.

Fellow City of Ely bowler Greg Harlow, meanwhile will get his tournament underway from today (Thursday) when he faces off against Welshman Philip Rowlands, who sailed through to the last 32 with a 10-1 7-7 win over Scotland's Jamie Hanlan.

World number five Harlow, received a bye in the first round of the tournament and will hoping he can gather some momentum in his bidd to become world indoor champion for the first time.

Ellen Faulkner's bid to become ladies champion will get underway on Saturday (Jan 16) against experienced Israeli bowler Ruthy Gilor.