Hanwood whitewashed in their first fixture

They were whitewashed, going down by 118 on aggregate.

The villagers did go desperately close to a victory when Phil Lyttle took Ian Metcalf to 21-20, while Greg Smith managed 18 against Craig Griffiths.

It's not likely to get any easier on Friday, when Hanwood host champions Newport, but joint captain Mark Shore remains upbeat about his charges' chances.

He said: "I have said all along that I want us to avoid the wooden spoon, enjoy the season and to begin to build this club to be a force in Shropshire bowls in the future.

"I feel with the team we have assembled – which is a great mixture of experience and untested players at this level – and the great green we play on, we have every chance of having a successful season."

St Georges raised some eyebrows with a 10-4 win at Chester Road, pleasing captain Tony Rhodes. He said: "We had a great start to the season.

"The green was soft and heavy, so it suited us. Martin Lloyd (of Chester Road) said it was about three weeks behind and it showed. There were great wins for Nige Evans, Andy Morgan and Paul Beer.

"Lewis Scott just missed out but played well, while Simon Madeley played very well against the ever-classy Andy Moss (winning 21-9). So, all in all, a good time to go there, but we made it count."

Potential title contenders Sir John Bayley produced a good performance to beat Bylet 11-3 at home.

Bayley captain Spencer Clarke thought the green "ran well," adding: "It was a solid start, so happy with both performance and result.

"It's very early season, so I'm just pleased to get through the first game unscathed. Bylet fully deserved their three winners (Tim Ealey, Jamie Taylor and Andy James).

"I thought Gary Cooper caught the eye for us versus Scott Harries (winning 21-14). Overall a solid start but we have difficult away games coming up, starting with Meole Brace (on Friday)."