Blackball (2003)

Blackball is a 2003 British comedy sports film, borrowed from the Australian film, Crackerjack about Cliff Starkey (played by Paul Kaye), a fictional rebellious young bowls player. His dream is to play for his country, but always preferred to play by his own rules, much to the disapproval of the local bowls club. After winning the local bowling competition he is subsequently banned from competing in the sport for fifteen years by the head of the local lawn bowls association, Ray Speight (James Cromwell), for writing an expletive on an opponent's scorecard. Picked up by sports agent Rick Schwartz (Vince Vaughn), Starkey is re-branded as the 'bad boy of bowls', turning the normally sedate sport into a glitzy, in-your-face competition. He and Speight take on Australia's unbeaten Doohan brothers in 'The Ashes'; a one-off tournament in a custom made bowls arena in Torquay. They make a remarkable comeback thanks to Speight's experience and Starkey's extravagance, while Cliff also bends the rules to the maximum to force the game into extra time, much to the disbelief of Carl and Mark Doohan.