SOCIAL BOWLS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24th
Who would have thought that we’d have a bright sunny day for Wednesday bowling after the cold and sleet of the previous afternoon/evening! But we did, and despite the very chilly breeze, thirty-four boys were happy to step onto the Waratah Green for the afternoon of bowling.
In their usual 18 end match, Laurence Vipond, Bill Pope and skipper Paul Rubie took on Graham Denman, John Fleming and John Cummins. In control of the jack from the start, Paul had his team on top dominating the long ends. Winning seven of the first eight ends, they jumped out to lead 10 – 1. Team Cummins then got hold of the jack and rolled some short ends. This enabled them to win some ends and cut the lead to three. However, back in control of the length, and with skipper Paul bowling excellently, team Rubie pushed on to victory 17 – 10.
On rink 9, Eric Willacy, Glen Giese and a spritely looking Gordon Lewis went head to head with Ted McPhee, Chris Forrester and an equally spritely looking Robin Staples. And what a battle this turned out to be! With the benefit of a four shot haul on the fourth, Gordon and his team went to a five shot lead by the ninth end. Team Staples then turned the game around taking nine shots over the next three ends, and securing the lead 13 – 9. Far from done, and with Glen steering those bright red bowls with more guile, team Lewis regained control and the lead over the next three ends. Locked in a tight struggle, the scores remained close until the twentieth end when team Staples grabbed four shots and the lead by three. Despite a valiant effort on the last end (including a very lengthy discussion about the possibilities with the last bowl), the two shots to team Lewis left them one short of the opposition. Very sound bowling by the skippers kept each of their teams in this game which finished 20 – 19.
Arnold Lenczuk, Graham Hunt and Peter Morales played Don Coleman, Clive Neutze and Mick Flynn on rink 10. The game got away to a fairly even start, and, despite a 4 and a 3 against them, Mick’s team led by a single shot after ten ends. Team Flynn then had the better of the next few ends to push out to what looked like a comfortable four shot lead after fourteen ends. However, the sixteenth end proved decisive and turned this match on its head. Peter and his team grabbed a haul of seven shots (wow!!) and the lead. Team Flynn hung in over the remaining ends, but with Peter bowling extremely well, his team went on to win by 25 – 20.
In a pairs match on rink 11, Joel Hunt and Terry Norwood took on Richard Denman and Tony Oakes. In an extremely tight opening to the match, only single shots were scored on the first seven ends. Tony and Richard broke the sequence with a couple of twos as they went to a lead of 10 – 5 after twelve ends. With Joel then putting down some good bowls, he and skipper Terry took six shots on the next two ends and edged to a lead of one shot. The game had been played over long ends, and this continued as Richard and Tony steadied, and with Tony bowling particularly well, they clawed back the lead. Three shots on the nineteenth end assure them of victory, and the final score of 16 – 13 gave Richard and Tony skiting rights over after game drinks.
In the next game, Graham Hartnup, Wal Markow and skipper Jim Starkey battled against Mike Hooke, Col Stone and Paul McInerney. Both teams got away to a steady start for Jim’s team to edge to a one shot lead by the seventh end. An impressive five shots on the next end had team Starkey jump away from the opposition. Far from done, Paul and his team hung in commendably, and with their own five shot haul on the fourteenth end, they moved to a one shot lead. Not to be denied, and with skipper Jim bowling astutely, team Starkey dominated the run home to run out winners 23 – 15.
In the last of the games, Barry Werfel, Brian Bailey and skipper Joe O’Donnell took on Garry Mitchell, Kel Limbrick and Don Chapman. Good to see you back in sunny Bowral after your trip north Don! Joe and his team got off to the better start to lead 6 – 3 after six ends. They then scored an impressive five shots on the eighth on their way to a very strong lead by the halfway point of the match. Unfortunately for Don’s team, they still couldn’t get any traction, and team O’Donnell pushed on to lead 18 – 5 after fifteen ends. Full of determination, team Chapman came good and grabbed seven shots over the final ends, and were rewarded with a more comfortable looking final score. Joe’s team finished on top 18 – 12.