CORNWALL'S male bowling team returned to form with a good victory over Hereford in the Middleton Cup.

During the match played in Taunton, Cornwall took 18 of the 22 points available as they defeated their opponents 121 - 82.

England international Mark Read was unavailable for the tie so Ian Ball stepped up to skipper the side with Dave Grose coming in at three.

Simon Pollard also came into the team ahead of the match to replace the injured Ollie Bennett.

In the other rink, John Stafford's team who had suffered a heavy loss in the previous game with Devon turned things around brilliantly, earning a 32 shot victory.

Ball and Colin Binny made steady progress throughout the match, but Tim Phillips fought hard for his win by overcoming a two shot deficit after 18 ends to eventually gain a three shot victory.

Cornwall's next opponents will be Somerset who travel to St Austell on Saturday.

Scores: (Cornwall skips first): D Roe 15, D Magness 20, I Ball 18, M Smith 15, C Binny 18, M Ricketts 11, I Drew 20, S Jones 21, T Phillips 14, R Gwilliam 11, J Stafford 36, M Herbert 4. Cornwall 121(18 points) Hereford 82 (2).