SOCIAL BOWLS WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7th
This first Wednesday in September provided the bowlers with a pleasant day for being on the green. Although it would have been an exaggeration to call it definitely a Spring day, it was at least free from the bitter Winter weather of the weekend just gone. The breeze was coming out of the north-west (to switch to north-east as the afternoon wore on) and was gentle enough to not interfere with proceedings. The green, however was a different matter! With the renovation work on the synthetic surface of the Waratah Green having started, all matches were allocated to the Lewis Green. Running at a sluggish 10/11, this surface provided a real challenge for most of the bowlers.
Thirty-six bowlers turned out on this occasion, continuing the good roll up of recent weeks. It was great to see Julie Hayden amongst the numbers again, and also to be able to welcome again Steve Goddard as a visitor from St Ives.
With the shift from the Waratah Green, the weekly clash between team Rubie and team Cummins found them on a slower grass green for the first time in at least a month. Not surprisingly Laurence Vipond, Kel Limbrick and skipper Paul, along with opponents Graham Denman, Bill Pope and skipper John, struggled for the first six ends. With the score 6 – 6 at that stage, team Cummins found the better form and, in winning the next six ends, took control of the game. Down 18 – 6, Paul’s team finally got the mat and threw short ends to much better success for his team, and especially Kel. Although team Rubie closed the gap on the scorecard, John and his team wrestled bragging rights back with a 21 – 12 victory.
On rink 20, Gary Mitchell, Col Stone and Jim Starkey battled against Steve Goddard, Mike Hooke and Paul McInerney. Although team Starkey won three of the first four ends, they then found themselves really under the pump. Paul and his boys then won the next seven ends, including eye-watering hauls of 5 and 6 shots. Down 20 – 3 after eleven ends, team Starkey won a couple of ends, only to see team McInerney grab another ten shots. Behind 30 – 5 Jim got his team off the floor for them to win three of the last four ends and improve the final score line 31 – 10.
On the adjacent rink, Graham Hartnup, Barry Werfel and skipper Owen Williams took on Brian Bailey, Joel Hunt and skipper Joe O’Donnell. Team Williams got off to much the better start to win five of the first six ends and jump to a lead of 9 – 1. Team O’Donnell then got things together, and with a couple of two shot hauls, had reduced the lead to 14 – 10 by the halfway stage of the game. With Owen giving clear guidance, his team steadied and regained control of the mat. Although Joe’s team won an impressive four on the eighteenth end, they were unable to bridge the gap on the score board. The victory went to team Williams 26 – 19.
The next game, on rink 18, was a match between Ian Crow, Tony Oakes and skipper Viv Gear, and Peter Morales, Chris Forrester and opposing skipper Mick Flynn. The teams got away to a fairly even start with only one shot separating them after six ends. At that point, Viv and his boys seemed to come to grips with the tricky surface a little better and pushed out to lead 10 – 5 at the eleventh end. This dominance continued with a mouth-watering 5 shots on the fourteenth end which took them to a massive 12 shot lead. With his usual never-say-die approach, opposing skipper Mick then hounded his team into a fight back. However, despite winning five of the last seven ends, team Flynn were unable to bridge the gap. Victory went to Viv and his boys 21 – 15.
In another game, skipper Clive Neutze and the two Dons, Coleman and Chapman, met Richard Denman, Julie Hayden and Mike Holmwood. Getting away to a flyer, Mike and his team won the first five ends to lead 7 – 0. However, grabbing a 4 and a 3 on the next two ends team Neutze stormed back into the match. With large hauls on most ends, the two team battled to a score line of 16 – 16 by the fifteenth end. The ends then became more competitive and shots harder to come by. By the nineteenth end team Holmwood had gained a four shot lead and, despite losing the last two ends, held on to win 21 – 19.
The final match saw Terry Norwood, Glenn Giese and skipper, the unrelenting Gordon Lewis oppose Arnold Lenczuk, Graham Hunt and the equally unrelenting Robin Staples on rink 17. Team Lewis made an impressive start to lead a frustrated team Staples 7 – 0 after the first three ends. Despite then getting on the scorecard and sharing the next eight ends, Robin and his boys found themselves behind 12 – 8 after eleven ends. It was then that a massive change came over the game. With Arnold, Graham and Robin all dominating their opponent over the next four ends, they amassed a massive twelve shots including an excruciating (for their opponents) six on the twelfth end. Down 21 – 12, skipper Gordon spoke to his team and asked to get something from the last six ends. They responded, winning five of the remaining ends and closing the gap on their opponents. It was a close one in the end with victory going to team Staples 23 – 21.
