Glenn Williams’ first involvement in the National Bowls finals men’s singles at Royal Leamington Spa ended in a valiant first-round defeat on Thursday.

The Royston Bowls Club member, representing Hertfordshire’s A team, found himself quickly 13-3 down in the first-to-21 encounter to Wiltshire B’s Neil Smith.

Then came the stirrings of a comeback as Williams shaved seven points from his deficit to trail 18-15.

However, Smith took the win in the following end to advance and leave Williams, who competed in the U25 singles at the finals two years ago, mulling over what might have been.

Williams told the Crow: “I lost it a bit towards the end [of the match].

“I played some good bowls in the middle and I was a bit unlucky in the first half but Neil played some really good bowls when I held shot.

“He’s a good player and he’s been around a long time and been on the verge of the international scene indoors as well.

“I could have had an easier first round.

“I just wanted to play a bit better than I had by the time the score had got to 13-3.

“You spend all year trying to get here and no-one wants to come up and get well-beaten so I’m glad I made the scoreboard a bit more respectable.”

Williams admitted that he has more success on the indoor greens and has had national success in recent times.

He continued: “Indoor bowls has been kinder to me than outdoor bowls.

“We [Royston] lost in the national indoors triples final this year and I also lost in the national players’ final the year before that.

“Hopefully I can win one next year.”