HAMPSHIRE have received a massive Middleton Cup boost with the news that Martyn Sekjer has had a change of heart and will be playing bowls this summer.

The 2002 national singles champion had planned to give the outdoor season a miss but has now entered the county competitions - with Boscombe Cliff.

International Dean Morgan - an indoor colleague at East Dorset - has persuaded Sekjer to join him for the Hampshire pairs, triples and fours as a late replacement for Russell Morgan who has decided not to play this year because of business commitments.

It was an offer Sekjer could not resist - and the bonus for Hampshire is that he will almost certainly make himself available for the Middleton Cup campaign.

Sekjer, who lives in Verwood, near Ringwood, had been a Southampton Sports Centre member for the past two summers after moving from Kent to work in Southampton.

But he has not rejoined Sports Centre as, for the last 15 months, he has been employed at Hamworthy, on the western side of Poole, which caused him great difficulty travelling through rush-hour traffic for midweek matches in Southampton last year.

Sekjer explained: "I intended to have a summer off and the prospect of joining a new club and getting combinations sorted out for the county competitions made it easier not to bother playing.

"However, Russell's decision not to play meant there was the chance of being involved in three decent set-ups with Dean in the pairs, with him and Julian Haines for the triples and with those two plus another for the fours which appealed to me.

"The county comps apart, I will only play in a few other matches - I will be very selective - because at the moment I am not in the right frame of mind to play outdoors - though when I get out there on the green, that will probably change."

As for the Middleton Cup, Sekjer added that, although he originally told manager John Plomer he would not be available, he reckons he would play - if asked.

"If Hampshire want me, I hardly turn anyone down but first I want to have a couple of games to make sure the hunger is still there and that I would give 110 per cent."

At present, Sekjer is in no rush for regular outdoor action as he is nursing a damaged knee, the legacy of a hockey injury sustained when he was a teenager.

It affected his later performances for East Dorset in the national fours at Melton Mowbray and also for his club when they won the Famous Grouse title at Darlington over Easter as well as for Hampshire in the Home Counties League indoor final.

However, the knee seems to be on the mend and he was expecting to have a roll-up with his new Boscombe Cliff teammates this week.

A delighted Plomer said Sekjer's decision was just the lift the county needed and he would be speaking to him about playing in Hampshire's second and final friendly against Dorset (at Dorchester, May 23) in the build-up to next month's Middleton Cup programme.

Before that Hampshire have their first warm-up match against Wiltshire at Atherley on Sunday, May 16 (2pm). Rinks will be published next week.

Martyn sad to go

AS he joined Boscombe Cliff this week, Martyn Sekjer spoke of "the big wrench" at leaving Southampton Sports Centre.

"I have really enjoyed my time at Sports Centre - they are the type of bowls club that I like: well organised, competitive and with a real desire to win things," he said.

"I settled in really well after moving to Hampshire from Kent and it showed in my first season when we won the Southampton Championship League and I became English champion at Worthing."

That was in 2002 when Sekjer, pictured right, was employed in Southampton, which made getting to the Sports Centre green a piece of cake after work.

However, by the time the 2003 outdoor season opened, Sekjer, who lives at Verwood, had changed jobs and the stress of driving from his new work-place on the 'wrong' side of Poole in midweek rush-hour traffic to play at Southampton took its toll on his form.

He went out of the county singles very early and 'blew' his chance of an international recall with an England trial performance that simply didn't do him justice.

With so many of his East Dorset indoor colleagues playing for Boscombe Cliff, it was inevitable he would end up with the Bournemouth champions - especially as their green is so highly rated.

"The travelling from Poole to Southampton was terrible and to have continued doing it would not have been fair to myself or Sports Centre," he said.