HAMPSHIRE will be minus three established Middleton Cup skips for this season's campaign which starts with a trial at Atherley on Sunday (10am).

As reported last week, Atherley's Nicky Smith is ruled out this year with a knee injury but they will also be missing Russell Morgan and Bill Ward.

Morgan has given yeoman service since his Middleton Cup debut in 1984 and though his dream is still to win the outdoor inter-county championship with Hampshire at Worthing the Boscombe Cliff member has been forced to drop out for business reasons.

Though he has become a Liberty Trophy regular Ward has yet to play outdoors for Hampshire but his Middleton Cup record with his previous county Warwickshire speaks for itself.

During nearly 60 appearances for Warwickshire he was used in all positions and was one of their skips before moving to the New Forest late in 1999.

Apart from outings at the Bournemouth Open, where he was runner-up in the pairs with Middleton Cup boss John Plomer last summer, Ward has only played indoors since leaving the Midlands because of a shoulder injury.

However, following surgery a year ago he was set to resume his outdoor career. But after joining New Milton and being selected for the county squad Ward - no relation to Southampton Sports Centre's Peter Ward - is giving bowls a miss this summer because of a family holiday to Australia.

The loss of Smith, Morgan and Ward plus Matthew Marchant and Graham Standley's decision to spend another summer on the sidelines adds up to quite a blow to Plomer's plans.

Morgan, 38, said: "I have five businesses on the go and another project in the pipeline. I would love to have time to play Middleton Cup because I enjoy the competition so much but I have a wife and family to support and bowls does not pay the bills.

"Because I am devoting so much time to my work I could not guarantee when I would be available and I felt it would be messing people about to say I was available and then to have to pull out.

"It is disappointing but I wish John Plomer and the team all the best. I shall be playing in the county competitions but I don't envisage being involved in anything else."