GORDON White narrowly missed out on reaching the knockout stages of the World Champion of Champions competition.

The Aberlady bowler finally made his debut at the event in New Zealand last week after winning the 2020/21 Scottish Singles.

The champion has had to endure delay after delay before finally getting his call to take part at the international event.

The ‘ladder’ stage of the competition saw competitors from around the world pitted together in a sets format of singles.

An impressive week, which saw White win 14 sets out of a possible 20, saw the county star in contention for the knockout stages as they entered the last day of play.

But three narrow defeats by way of a match tie-break proved devastating for the Scot as he narrowly fell short of a place in the knockout stage.

White said: “I met some great people who added to the experience.

“To miss out on the knockout stages by just one win after losing three matches by a tie-break was hard to take. Coming to New Zealand without previous experience of playing on these types of greens meant a quick learning curve.

“I felt I improved as the week went on and it hopefully made me a better player for the future.”

Meanwhile, Stuart Thomson made his return to the Scottish Singles last weekend at Inverclyde.

Cameron Wilson, of Galleon Bowling Club, provided his challenge as he looked to make the showpiece final.

Unfortunately, Thomson was unable to replicate the fine form that saw him make the semi-finals.

Wilson adjusted the better to the carpet on the day and it saw him open an ominous 15-4 lead.

The crowd were buoyed by a triple to reduce the arrears to 15-7 and looked to lift an out-of-sorts Thomson.

It was to prove in vain as the Galleon man produced an excellent display to claim a 21-8 victory.

Elsewhere, Billy Mellors and Scott Kennedy have been recalled once again to the Scotland squad for the upcoming trial match ahead of the 2023 series at Abbeyview.

They will be joined by the returning Commonwealth Games gold medallist Derek Oliver.

Thomson has also been rewarded with a call-up to the trial match after his successful run to the last four of the Scottish Singles.

Finally, East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club gents make their season debut in the Scottish Knockout cup.

They head to neutral venue Headwell to tackle Premier League opposition Aberdeen in an expected tricky opener.

Selectors have named the following team for the fixture: Calum Darling, Chris Brock, Danny Stevenson and Glenn Blair; Andy Jeffery, Logan Kennedy, Mark Johnston and Scott Kennedy; Lennon Rafferty, Kevin Cunningham, Jamie Higgins and Derek Oliver; and Mark Yuill, Keiron Dodds, Aaron Betts and Stuart Thomson.