Alison's best yet not good enough

ALISON MERRIEN came close to qualifying for her first World Bowls Tour event – the Scottish Open.

She reached the semi-finals of the qualifying event in Bristol to equal the best run ever by a local player.

Despite her impressive performance, Merrien was disappointed.

'This is the furthest I have ever been in these qualifiers, but I should have won and I let it slip from my grasp.'

Meanwhile, Merrien's husband Ian began his campaign with a straight sets victory over Steve Knight, but wasn't 100% happy with his performance.

'I played better than that in the two games that I lost,' he said.