A MidGlos quartet skipped by Mike Woodbridge reached the semi-finals of the All-England mixed fours bowls championship in Northampton with a 20-14 win over a strong side from Egham, skipped by England star Barry Jenkins.

With Joan Surman and Maryan Pye laying the foundations at the front end, and Nick Holliday operating shrewdly at third man, Woodbridge steered MidGlos to a 20-12 first round win over Watford, then edged home, 17-16, against Barking.

Their quarter-final win effectively avenged the narrow 21-20 defeat sustained by Sharon Davies, Nova Edwards, Andrew Cowlin and Neil Kunc of Bridgwater BCL at the hands of Egham in the previous round.

Meanwhile, eight Dorset youngsters, with Nick Voss and Ben Paulley at skip, are limbering up for today's national under 25 double rink inter-county final, in which they meet 2003 champions Norfolk at Northampton.

In what is Dorset's first appearance in the final, Voss will be supported by Martin Puckett, Ryan Stone and Jamie Lockwood, while Paulley skips Carl Fountain, Michael Hutley and Philip Lawrence.

National indoor bowls championships at Northampton – Mixed fours 2nd rd: MidGlos bt Barking 17-16; Egham bt Bridgwater BCL 21-20; Birmingham bt Ipswich 29-17; Northampton bt Exonia 22-15; Lincoln bt Wisbech 21-16; Acle bt Swale 24-12; Adur bt Banister Park 22-21; City of Ely bt Nottingham 23-16. Quarter finals: MidGlos bt Egham 20-14; Birmingham bt Northampton 22-10; Acle bt Lincoln 25-16; City of Ely bt Adur 21-18.

After limbering up with two provincial matches, England's bowlers, with Graham Shadwell playing a key role, won their first full-scale Test match against South Africa, 9-7, in Johannesburg yesterday.

The Wiltshire star skipped Sam Tolchard and Stuart Airey to a hard-earned 14-12 win in the triples, then played third to Berkshire's Rob Newman, as England tied 18-18 in the fours.

First Test Match at Johannesburg – England bt South Africa 9-7 (England names first) Men's Singles: S Tolchard bt G Baker 21-16. Pairs: M Bantock & R Newman lost to S Addinall & Baker 15-19. Triples: Tolchard, S Airey, G Shadwell bt W Perry, C Roets, B Donnelly 14-12. Fours: Bantock, Airey, Shadwell, Newman t/w Perry, Addinall, Roets, Donnelly 18-18.

Women singles: E Bessell lost to J Jones 8-21. Pairs: Bessell & E Falkner bt Jones & S Nel 17-10. Triples: J Christie, S Hazell, C Popple lost to S Burns, L Victor, P Landau 16-21. Fours: Christie, Hazell, Falkner, Popple bt Burns, Victor, Nel, Landau 17-11.