MENS SATURDAY BOWLS OCTOBER 1st
A fairly gloomy day weather-wise greeted the bowlers on this first Saturday in October. The sky was heavily overcast and rain was forecast for most of the afternoon. The one saving grace was that there was very little wind to influence the movement of the bowls. With the Lewis and Wilson greens still unfit for play due to the continued poor weather, games were assigned to the Waratah Green. The Waratah is running very well since its renovation a couple of weeks ago and provides a true surface for all bowlers. On this Saturday, four matches in the Mens Major Singles competition were set down for play, and as well, there were two social games on the outside rinks.
MENS MAJOR SINGLES
In the first game to get underway, the vigilant Chris Forrester was marker for the encounter between the wiley leftie Bob Edwards and the melodious crooner Arnold Lenczuk. With the weather threatening, Bob made the better of the start and had his opponent under some pressure at 9 – 2 after seven ends. Arnold then steadied and started to match Bob with some fine draw shots. As the game wore on, Arnold pegged his opponent back, and with a three shot haul on the eighteenth end, took the lead by a single shot. Arnold maintained the pressure and, after another four ends, had extended his lead to six shots. Far from done, Bob wrested the initiative from Arnold and dominated the next six ends to lead by four shots and be within two of victory. Two ends later Bob gained the two he needed and ran out victor by 25 – 20.
Arnold on the mat! Probably a toucher from Bob!
On rink 9, the highly ranked Jim Neely and the also highly ranked Dugald Braithwaite battled under the watchful eye of marker Glenn Giese. The very steady leftie Jim made an excellent start and pushed out to a lead of 8 – 1 after seven ends. The determination and quality skills of Dugald then came to the fore as he won the next five ends securing ten shots. Not to be denied, the calm Jim retrieved the situation with accurate drawing to the jack, and the scores were level at the sixteenth end. Still drawing beautifully, Jim dominated the next five ends and held the lead by three at 17 – 14. It was then that the magic of Dugald appeared! Firing down some wonderful bowls, Dugald grabbed eleven shots over the next four ends and took out victory 25 – 17. This game was an intense battle of a very fine standard of bowls.
The Jim Neely delivery! Dugald’s follow through!
In another game, the crafty Andy Connor took on the patient Gordon Lewis with the ever-precise Ted McPhee as the marker. With his yellow bowls seemingly drawn like magnets to the kitty, Andy made an excellent start in this match to win the first four ends. Although Gordon then found some touch and got onto the scorecard, Andy had pushed out to a five shot lead 10 – 5 after ten ends. It was then that a complete change came over the game! With Gordon drawing magnificently, he totally dominated the game from that point. Losing only one end in the run home, Gordon ran out a very impressive winner 25 – 11. This was a topsy-turvey game with Andy on top early, and Gordon supreme in the second half.
Well down Gordon! Andy getting one away!
In the final Mens Major Singles match, the evergreen Noel Fraser was pitted against Terry Norwood. The very efficient Graham Hunt was the marker for what most observers thought would be good battle. Both players made a steady start and the early ends were quite tight. After the first five ends, each bowler had five shots on the scorecard. Terry then scored a shot on the next end to take the skinniest of leads, only to see Noel bag a mouth-watering nine shots on the next three ends. Now comfortably in the lead 14 – 6, Noel certainly had his opponent under pressure. Despite conceding three shots, by the fourteenth end Noel had extended his lead to nine shots. Under increased pressure, Terry then staged a minor fight-back to get within four shots of the lead at 22 – 18. With some precise draws, Noel finally scored the three shots he needed and ran out deserved winner 25 – 18.
Noel at his best! Terry gets it away!
SOCIAL BOWLS
In the first game, Graham Hartnup and skipper Barry Werfel took on Graham Denman and Keith Edwards. As happens so frequently, this proved to be a game of roughly two halves. Despite trailing on the scorecard after the first couple of ends Graham and Keith won eight of the first eleven ends and held a comfortable lead of 13 – 5. From that point, they won only one more end and were totally smothered by their opponents. With Barry giving some excellent coaching and providing clear instructions to his lead Graham, they dominated the run home. The final score after twenty-one ends of 24 – 15 was testimony to their fine bowling.
The wily Barry Werfel! Graham Denman gets one down!
The second social game turned out to be a short affair as the drizzly uncomfortable weather convinced some that inside was preferable to being on the green. Ian Crow and skipper Mick Flynn took on Harold Wall and Tony Oakes in a ten end encounter. And what a one-sided match this turned out to be! Winning seven of the ends, including two hauls of six shots, Harold and Tony secured a crushing victory of 23 – 3!
Ian Crow on the mat! The Tony Oakes delivery!
OTHER NEWS
The annual general meeting of the Mens Committee is set down for Saturday the 29th October at 11am. Members are encouraged to nominate for the committee and so spread the workload in running the affairs. Nomination forms can be found at the entrance to the club on the tables where visitors sign in.
Members will have received notification by email of a survey being undertaken by the executive of Zone 5 Bowls. Everyone is encouraged to respond to this short survey seeking members’ preferences for staging events.