BBC BROADCAST WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 3rd         (Terry Norwood at the desk)

Some bits and bobs to chew on for a start:

1. The final of the Minor Singles competition was played on Wednesday afternoon with Ted McPhee shaping up against Chris Forrester. More on that below.
2. We have had a good response to the running of a BBQ on the afternoon of Saturday December 13th, so that will go ahead. We’ll have a game of bowls followed by the BBQ late afternoon.
3. The second round of the Southern Highlands Cup between Bowral, Bundanoon and Robertson will be held on Sunday the 7th at Bundanoon. After the first round, Bowral leads the competition on 11 points from Bundy on 5, but the very different conditions for this second round will present quite a challenge. Best wishes for a successful day go to Bowral’s two triples and two pairs teams.
4. The opening round of the Major Fours Championship will be staged on Saturday the 6th, with the the teams skippered by Mick Flynn and Al McGhee having a bye through to the second round. There should be some very good bowls on display on  Saturday for anyone wishing to have a peek!
5. The nomination schedule for the Consistency Singles, to be played in January, is still open for those who are wishing to enter. This is a handicap event where the newer bowlers are given a start against the more experienced bowlers. The event is all about drawing to the jack which stays on the spot throughout the end, and the closest four bowls to the jack earn points.
6. The draft minutes of the latest meeting of the Men’s Bowling Committee executive have now been posted on the notice board for those who are interested.

Minor Singles Competition

With NZ bound Graham Hunt as marker, Ted McPhee and Chris Forrester took to rink 8 of the Waratah Green in the final of this keenly fought event, and it was Chris who drew first blood taking the first three ends and collecting seven shots. Ted notched up his first shot on the next end, but by the tenth end Chris had advanced his lead to 13 – 4. At this point, Ted found his line and length and began to grind out the ends and keep Chris at bay. A single on the twentieth to Ted levelled the scores at 17, and when he cracked a double on the next end, he led for the first time. With some terrific draws, Ted edged out to 20 – 18, but a double to Chris had the scores again locked, this time at 20 all. In a real cliff-hanger, Ted grabbed a single, but struck disaster on the next end when Chris clocked up a full house of 4 shots and a lead of 24 – 21. In the box seat, Chris was holding game on the next end until Ted  drew  shot with his last bowl and kept himself alive. Alas, it wasn’t to be for Ted as Chris took the match on the next end with a single. What a fitting finale with all the ebbs and flows of a cracking game! Congratulations to both bowlers, with special congrats to Chris on successfully rounding off a great event.

Champ Chris on the mat . . . and displaying the victors trophy! Congrats big fella!!

 

Wednesday Social Bowls

Social bowls on Wednesday saw the second last round of the competition for the ‘Spirit of Bowral Bowling- FOSS Awards’, with thirty-two bowlers taking to the Waratah Green. In the perfect bowling conditions, there were two games of pairs and four of triples, with two visitors in Mick Fawkner from the UK and Mick Fisher from Avalon joining in.

In a pairs game on rink 7, Don ‘gentleman’ Chapman and Owen Williams took on Paul Rubie and the cobbler Gordon Lewis, and it was Gordon and Paul who set the early pace to lead 8 – 2 after seven ends. They still led comfortably at 11 – 5 after twelve, and looked to be in the box seat. However, the game was then turned on its head as Don and Owen really got the upper hand and won end after end. Such was their dominance that they  dropped only one end as they blazed their way to an emphatic 25 – 15 victory. So, 2 competition points went to each of Don and Owen.

In a triples on rink 9, Graham ‘shaken not stirred’ Bond, Barb Wainberg and Peter ‘Virgin’ Flight battled for points against Wal Markow, Mick Faukner and Ian Duncan, and Flighty’s team bounced from the blocks to lead 10 – 3 after three. With the teams then exchanging pairs of ends, Peter’s team retained its lead, although a four shotter to the Duncan trio put them to within five on the sixteenth. Their run then fizzled completely however, as team Flight swamped them and charged home at 30 – 14. So, with a win by 16 shots, Graham, Barb and Peter all collect 3 competition points, including the bonus point for a win by fifteen shots or more.

In the next game, Mark ‘wheel’ Barrow, Mark Shelvey and Viv ‘top’ Gear shaped up against Graham Hartnup, Mick Fisher and Mick ‘potters’ Flynn, and despite dropping the first couple of ends, Mick’s team were soon into stride to lead 8 – 3 after five. The game then settled into a close battle and, by the twelfth end, it was Viv’s team in front by four shots. Mick’s team then regained the lead and a four shotter on the seventeenth put them four in front. However, a pair of  doubles by Viv’s team locked the scores with one end to play, and it was Mick’s team that prevailed with a single. Great finish to a great game! So, 2 competition points went to each of Graham, Mick and Mick!

In a pairs game on rink 11, Shane Harvey, and Richard ‘bowling ball’ Denman faced up to Barry Werfel and Bob ‘wily’ Edwards, and both teams started well for the scores to be 6 all after seven ends. It was then that Bob’s team began to get the upper hand and, by the thirteenth, led 16 – 8. With Barry in fine leading form, he and Bob continued to win more ends than they lost and they pressed on relentlessly, so that they finished the twenty-first very solid victors at 22 – 12. So, 2 points went to each of Bob and Barry.

In the next game, Brian ‘misère’ Bailey, Paul McInerney and Joe O’Donnell tussled for points against Grahame ‘dragon’ Denman, Peter Martin and Peter Morales, and the first few ends were shared for the score to be 4 – 3 after five. Peter’s team, with Grahame leading well, then grabbed a four shotter, but by the twelfth end, Joe’s team had levelled the match at 10 all. Peter’s team then had a successful run and held on for a 21 – 15 victory despite dropping the last four ends. So, 2 competition points went to each of Grahame, Peter and Peter!!

In the final match, Joel ‘AC/DC’ Hunt, Mark Rundle and Robin ‘maestro’ Staples took the battle up to Rick Reynolds, Denis ‘rowdy’ Lees and Terry Norwood, and Robin’s team had the better of the start to lead 6 – 1 after four ends. However, Terry’ team then clicked into gear and levelled the scores by the eighth. In a dogged battle from that point, there were few shots separating the teams and it was all locked up at 13 all with three to play. And, it was Robin’s trio that then prevailed, taking the final ends and running out winners at 19 – 13. So, 2 competition points went to each of Robin, Joel and Mark.

After the day’s matches then, the leader in the FOSS Award competition is Barb Wainberg with a very impressive 8 points, followed by Robin Staples and Peter Flight on 7. However, there are other bowlers on 6 points, so, with one week remaining, there are a number of players who could take out the three prizes come Wednesday the 10th of December!! Bowl well and enjoy, enjoy . . . enjoy!!