A nice surprise for Frenchman Mathias Sarmadi, 30, from Tours as bowling his heart out competing in Barcelona for the first time,

he amazed even himself by being the leader of Squad 10, emulating the feat of fellow countryman Yoan Alix earlier in the week. He now sits in second place overall behind Verbruggen.

He did well, too, with 173 'over' to post 1373, seven pins above previous leader Luz Adriana Leal of Colombia before she was eclipsed by the formidable Gery Verbruggen earlier today.  A high game of 275 helped him considerably along his way, of course but a 179 in the fifth prved to be the stumbling block from attaining the dizzy heights of being in the 1400 club.

"I've played the EBT a few times but this is the first time that I have been the squad leader,@ beamed Sarmadi. "I'm very surprised and very happy to be here."

The remaining two squads are now fully booked with extensive waiting lists. With the famous Barcelona FC's Camp Nou stadium next door, the bowl bar the cheapest hostelry for the 100,000 fans, it is going to be a very busy and noisy location for those on the final squad up to the 22:00 kick-off time tonight.