WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19th
SOCIAL BOWLS
So here we are, the third Wednesday in October, and finally Spring has arrived! A warm sunny day greeted the bowlers, much to their pleasure. It was slip, slop and slap for for the first time in many months as bare arms and, for a few, bare knees were on display. And even the weather gods played a positive role by keeping the storm that had been forecast well away from Shepard Street. With the Lewis and Wilson Greens out of commission and awaiting restoration, play was set down for the Waratah Green. Running at about 17/18, the Waratah provided a ‘no excuses’ surface for the twenty-eight bowlers.
In the weekly 18 end challenge match between teams Rubie and Cummins, skipper Paul Rubie welcomed a new bowler in Denis Lees side and immediately reaped the benefit. Displaying the game of a veteran, Denis led team Rubie to a big lead of 10 – 3 after five ends and then 15 – 6 after eight ends! On the ninth end, Laurence Vipond, Joel Hunt and skipper John Cummins finally hit their straps and scored a massive 7 shots, and then one end later hit the lead with a three. It was end for end from then until, on the 16th end, Paul and his boys scored an excellent 6 shots and seemed to have the game won at 27 – 23. So it all came down to the last end where, with Denis and the Pope bowling well, team Rubie held shot through a fine bowl from the Pope. With the skippers on the mat and with real championship form, John took out the Pope’s bowl and levelled the game at 27 all! What a wonderful high scoring game!
The ‘Pope’ held shot on the last end! Skipper Cummins takes out the Pope!
On rink 8, Ted McPhee, Chris Forrester and skipper Bob Edwards took up the challenge of Richard Denman Steve Day and Gordon Lewis. And what a one-sided opening there was to this match! Despite taking a shot on the first end, team Edwards lost the next five ends to find themselves under pressure at 9 – 1 down. With the super-calm Gordon providing his team with clear advice, team Lewis then extended their lead to 15 – 5 by the eleventh end. With skipper Bob then calling the shots, his team closed the gap to 15 – 11 and breathed some life into their game. The come-back fizzled however and team Lewis regained control. And just to rub salt into the wound, Steve Day put all three of his bowls to within a few inches of the jack on the eighteenth end! After photos being taken, the haul was 4, and the lead to team Lewis 23 – 12. Bob and his team managed a five shot haul on the last end, but this was only window-dressing as team Lewis were comfortable victors by 25 – 18.
Steve put 3 yellows on the jack on end 18! Chris trying to match Steve!
In another triples game, Col Stone, Don Coleman and skipper Don Chapman went head to head with Graham Hartnup, Joe O’Donnell and Jim Starkey. And what a start was made by Col and the two Dons! Opening with a three shot haul on the first end, they won end after end to lead 10 – 1 by seven ends. Not to be denied, Jim and his boys then found their line and length to take the next four ends and reduce the lead to 10 – 8. Team Chapman then steadied, and with Col leading soundly, they regained control. They lost only two ends in the run home and were final victors by 23 – 13.
Jim Starkey rolls one down!
On rink 11, newcomer Rob Dean with skipper Paul McInerney clashed with Graham Denman and Barry Werfel. And what a hard-fought match this turned out to be. With Paul coaching Rob along the way, they made an excellent start and led 6 – 2 after the first four ends. With Barry providing his usual clear and supportive advice, Graham and he slowly found their touch. By the eleventh end, they had reduced the lead to just one shot, and the game was wide open. In this very tight encounter, the teams went end for end until the game stood 16 – 16 with three ends to play. It was team Werfel that then prevailed as they won the remaining ends and ran out victors 21 – 16.
A competitive Barry Werfel!
The final match was a triples encounter where Arnold Lenczuk, Neville Tanner and Steve Goddard battled against Terry Norwood, Graham Hunt and Glenn Giese. Team Giese opened with confidence and collected five shots on the first two ends. Team Goddard then grabbed five shots on the next two ends and the battle was on. Despite losing the next two ends by single shots, team Goddard then found fine touch and outbowled their opponents over four ends to lead 13 – 7. The teams then won end for end and, with the scoring fairly even, Steve and his boys were still in front 17 – 12 with four ends to play. Consolidating their position, team Goddard then gained three shots on the eighteenth end and really had the opposition gasping for breath. Requiring all eight shots on the final end to tie the match, team Giese could only manage a face-saving five; deserved victory to Arnold, Neville and Steve 22 – 19.
OTHER NEWS
The final of the Mens Major Singles Championship was decided last Saturday. The winner was Dugald Braithwaite who defeated Ashley Lewis 25 – 18. Dugald will now represent Bowral in the Zone 5 singles championship event.
The Mens Major Fours Championship will begin (weather permitting) next Saturday with the quarter final clash between team Anderson and team Braithwaite. The semi-finals will be held on Saturday 29th of October.
The AGM of the Mens Bowls Committee will be held at 11am on Saturday 29th October. Members are encouraged to support the functioning of the club by nominating for positions on the committee. Nomination forms can be found near the entrance to the Club where visitors sign in.