TEACHER and pupil came face to face in Wigton – and it was the pupil who came out on top in the opening match when the might of England's Commonwealth Games bowls team came up against a North Select side.

Ruth Cullum, a former pupil of England star Amy Monkhouse at Tollbar BEC, hit top form in partnership with Holbeach ace Annalisa Bellamy on Saturday and the promising Lincolnshire duo upstaged Ellen Falkner and Monkhouse 9-7, 3-10, 3-2.

"They played very well," said Monkhouse. "They caught us before we had time to settle to win the first set and, although we got it together in the second set, anything can happen in a tie break and they pipped us 3-2."

Cullum and Bellamy won the national Under-25 pairs title two years ago and when they 'click' they are a formidable unit.

They gave a good account of themselves in the second round, losing the first set by just three shots at 10-7 and tying the second 6-6, and the England pair were relieved to get home without being subjected to another tie break.

England, who fielded their full Commonwealth Games side throughout the weekend, faced an entirely different team yesterday, when Falkner and Monkhouse chalked up a couple of confidence-boosting victories over Vicki Forster and Carole McClean.

Coming out with all guns blazing, they scorched to a 9-5, 11-4 win in the morning and followed up with an even more emphatic 9-2, 14-6 win after lunch.

"That was just what we needed," said Monkhouse. "The two close encounters with Ruth and Annalisa got us on our mettle and we really went for it against Vicki and Carole."

Across the green, in the six disciplines, England's 12-strong Games side suffered only two defeats in 24 matches, leaving performance director John Bell with a big smile on his face.

Commonwealth Games team v North Select at Wigton (England names first):-

MEN: Singles: S Tolchard bt C Gale 11-7, 10-2; bt Gale 7-4, 9-5; bt R Chisholm 8-5, 7-7; bt Chisholm 7-9, 10-3, 5-0. Pairs: M King & S Airey bt J A Bell & J Parkinson 8-7, 7-6; bt Bell & Parkinson 13-8, 13-2; bt D Tager & A Kirtland 11-9, 9-9; bt Tager & Kirtland 9-5, 8-6. Triples: M Bantock, G Shadwell, R Newman bt M Spencer, B Powell, V O'Neill 7-8, 10-5, 4-1; bt Spencer, Powell, O'Neill 6-6, 7-4; bt C Black, D Fenwick, D Bolt 9-4, 4-10, 3-1; bt Black, Fenwick, Bolt 10-7, 7-11, 7-0.

WOMEN: Singles: N Melmore lost to T Pearson 7-8, 3-7; bt Pearson 8-9, 13-2, 3-2; bt A Anderson 9-6, 2-9, 2-1; bt Anderson 14-0, 8-2. Pairs: E Falkner & A Monkhouse lost to R Cullum & A Bellamy 7-9, 10-3, 2-3; bt Cullum & Bellamy 10-7, 6-6; bt V Forster & C McClean 9-5, 11-4; bt Forster & McClean 9-2, 14-6. Triples: J-L Winch, S Hazell, S Gordon bt K Proctor, J Eley, A Anderson 5-10, 10-8, 7-3; bt Proctor, Eley, Anderson 10-2, 6-6; bt R Forster, S Moffatt, T Pearson 11-4, 10-3; bt Forster, Moffatt, Pearson 7-7, 11-3.