EAST Lothian bowling icon Alex Marshall’s bid to add to his record six titles in the World Indoor Singles Championship was dashed at the first hurdle as he made a shock first-round exit.

Marshall went into the competition as the fourth seed but crashed out in straight sets at the hands of qualifier Andrew Kelly of New Zealand.

The Kiwi produced a huge upset to win 6-5, 10-2 against the county legend, nicknamed Tattie.

The Dunedin bowler had to play eight matches in New Zealand last year just to reach this stage and showed no signs of nervousness as he soon dominated proceedings on the portable blue rink.

The early signs, though, were good for Marshall as he collected a double on the very first end and looked in no discomfort, but this advantage soon became a four-shot deficit as Kelly won five ends in succession to hone in on a first-set advantage.

Even when he wasn’t winning ends, Kelly still kept things tight, allowing Marshall just two singles to ensure the Tranent star was playing catch-up in the second half of the match.

Going a set down, the huge crowd expected Marshall to come out firing at the start of the second set but it was Kelly who took the initiative, following up a double with a treble to carve out a five-shot lead.

With Kelly drawing consistently to the jack, Marshall was struggling to find a way back into the match and even when the Kiwi had to use weight, he invariably struck gold, with Marshall more than once seen with head in hands contemplating his fate.

A double on end three was the only glimmer of hope for Marshall but the relentless Kelly marched ever onwards, steamrolling Tattie over the the next four ends to eventually topple him.

The first round of play at Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk also saw Marshall’s East Lothian colleague John McCrorie fail to produce his best performance on his debut.

The talented county qualifier failed to master the portable rink and crashed out 8-3, 10-2 at the hands of fellow Scot and number five seed David Gourlay.