MENS BOWLS WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21st
Twenty-four hardy souls turned out this Wednesday for social bowls in what turned out to be fairly dreary weather. The sky was heavily clouded and the forecast was for possible rain around four o’clock. A fairly stiff breeze was coming out of the north and its blustery nature made bowling that much more difficult. Play had been assigned to the synthetic Waratah Green, and that slick surface, combined with the wind made for challenging bowling.
The now legendary eighteen end challenge between team Cummins and team Rubie took place on rink 8. Laurence Vipond, John Fleming and skipper John Cummins were determined to retain bragging rights over Graham Denman, Bill Pope and skipper Paul Rubie, and they set about the task immediately. They jumped out of the blocks grabbing 10 shots in the first four ends to lead 10 – 2. Team Rubie then steadied things and, with Bill working a miracle or two, slowly worked their way back into the match. (There is a rumour doing the rounds that a frustrated skipper Cummins used a rear-end anatomical word to describe one of Bill’s miracle bowls!) By the thirteenth end, Paul and his boys had reduced the lead to four, and with one end remaining had cut it to two! For the last end, John Cummins called on his team for a response, and they came through taking shot with the final bowl. Victory for the third week in a row to team Cummins, this time by 17 – 14.
No doubt a miracle bowl from Bill!
On the adjacent rink, Graham Hartnup, Paul McInerney and skipper Mick Flynn did battle against newcomer Denis Lees, evergreen Keith Edwards and the affable skipper Don Chapman. And what a topsy-turvey start there was to this match! Team Flynn grabbed seven shots in the first three ends, only to concede an eye-watering eleven in the next three ends! Although Mick and his boys took four of the next six ends, they still found themselves trailing 15 – 16. From then on, however, team Flynn took control of the game. With Mick providing his usual precise instructions, he and his boys collected a massive 20 shot haul over the last nine ends to run out comfortable winners 35 – 21. To the casual observer, it seemed that both skippers had very sound games.
Mick Flynn had a very good day! Probably a toucher from Keith!
In the Lewis Vs Staples clash on rink 10, Terry Norwood, Glenn Giese and the remarkable Gordon Lewis went head to head with Arnold Lenczuk, Richard Denman and the equally remarkable Robin Staples. After a steady start over the first four ends to lead 5 – 2, team Lewis then seemed to lose its way. Having difficulty getting shots in the head, and having to contend with quality bowling from their opponents, they lost the next five ends and found themselves floundering at 5 – 12. However, finding slightly better touch, and with skipper Gordon getting some good shots in, team Lewis edged to within three shots of their opponents by the fifteenth end. Despite this, and with Richard continuing to bowl excellently (including some wonderful looping forehands), Arnold chipping in effectively and skipper Robin in scintillating form, team Staples won all but one of the remaining ends. The final score of 24 – 13 was a clear indication of the difference between the teams as each member of team Staples out-bowled his opponent.
Another excellent bowl from Richard!
The final match was on rink 11 where Ian Crow, Owen Williams and the skipper ‘miracle-man’ Peter Morales took on Joe O’Donnell, Tony Oakes and skipper ‘it’s an easy shot’ Bob Edwards. In another topsy-turvey game, Peter and his boys got off to an excellent start to lead 8 – 1 after five ends. However, with the luxury of a magnificent 5 shot haul along the way, team Edwards had drawn level 9 – 9 by the ninth end. Although both teams kept battling for supremacy in the second half of the match, Bob’s team had grabbed a five shot lead by the fifteenth end. Not to be denied, Peter rallied his troops and they squared the game 17 – 17 by the eighteenth. Two single shot ends to team Edwards then gave them a two shot lead with one end remaining. In a gripping last end, the ‘miracle man’ and his men grabbed three shots and victory by 20 – 19. With all bowlers contributing well, this was a ripper of a game!
Peter Morales in action! The wily leftie Bob Edwards!
OTHER NEWS
In other news, this coming Saturday, September 24th, will see the commencement of the Bowral Men’s Major Singles Championship. On this first week, there will be three matches with the remaining entrants receiving a bye until the following Saturday. The three games on the 24th will be:
Chris Forrester Vs Jim Neely
Dugald Braithwaite Vs Peter Morales
Nathan Boyers Vs Mick Anderson
The full draw for this competition is now posted on the notice board. There should be some excellent bowls on display over the next few weeks and members are encouraged to support the bowlers by getting out and viewing the proceedings.