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All the up-to-date news from the Boston and Skegness EBA Bowls
League 2005
Latest reports from the 2006 season |
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Click here: Latest results and tables |
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Week ending August 27 The season is now officially at its
conclusion. And Wyberton are the worthy new champions of Division One. They
finished 17 points clear of Burton House with title holders Foreshore a
further two points behind the Wainfleet Road team. But in May, no one started
better than Horncastle. Four wins from five outings saw them heading the
table. But then a disastrous run of seven defeats from eight games saw them
drop to a middle table position. By the end of June, Wyberton were at the
sharp end of the table just two points ahead of Burton House with Foreshore
in third after a mediocre start. Sleaford Road never looked like making a
challenge. And by their record over previous seasons, they had a poor term,
the BBC had their usual run of results to finish once again in mid-table
accompanied by Stickney who hit a bad patch in mid-season when losing six
games on the run. But they recovered to win their last four matches. Freiston had mixed fortunes and regular
useful home points kept them well clear of the relegation zone where both
promoted teams Friskney and West End went on to find themselves. They could
not get to grips with the move into better company and now drop back to
Division Two. Kirton and the Sun Castle replace them. The
former led the table from the word go but their lead was cut down in the
latter stages when they only picked up 10 points from a possible 40. Then the
last game of the season saw them make sure with an 8-2 result at Skegness
Town. This left the second promotion place wide open. And despite losing 2-8
at home to Wrangle, the Sun Castle held on by one point from the village team
and West Skirbeck. The latter finished on a high with four
straight wins. But they fell 10-0 at the hands of Norprint that cost them
promotion. It was the same story for Wrangle. They lost 2-8 at home to Alford.
And despite taking 36 points from a possible 40 in their last four outings,
they were one point short. Norprint paid the price of a bad start. By losing
their first three games and banking just six points, it left them behind the front-runners
and they never recovered. Alford suffered from bad results in June and like
the printers were left trailing the top three. Skegness Town and BBC II who could only
record four and two wins respectively filled the bottom places. |
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Week ending August 20 Heavy rain put paid to virtually the full
programme in Division One this week. Matches are due to be re-arranged for the
next few days. Once completed, details should appear in next week’s round-up.
The Division Two schedule has already been completed. |
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Week ending August 13 The new champions of Division One in the
Boston and Skegness EBA League are Wyberton. And as a result of their triumph
they will now progress to the county league finals representing section
three. There is still one week’s fixtures left but
Wyberton are uncatchable after two maximum results. The first was an
important win over Burton House on the latter’s Wainfleet Road green where
skips S Reeson (19-10), M Tomlin junior (16-12) and M Tomlin senior (22-14)
held the hosts at bay with comparative ease. Then at home, they hit the out-of-form
Horncastle on two rinks through skips M Tomlin junior and senior with cards
of 31-8 and 26-11 while skip S Reeson and partners just made it home 15-14
against the visitors’ G Marshall, R Deans, S Maltby and G Lancaster. Second in line Foreshore were, on the night,
too strong for West End who came away from Skegness with just one point — the
result of a 15-15 draw between skips J Morris and R Holmes. The other nine
were left behind when skips J Orton and G Kitchen sent in cards of 21-10 and
21-15. Burton House recovered from their home defeat by Wyberton to record an
8-2 away win on the BBC green. Skips K Porter (13-9) and S Asplen (18-10) did
the damage leaving A Buxton, K Whyers, E Kirk and R Lewis, to save face with
a 14-9 win. In a village encounter between Friskney and
Freiston the latter won 6-4 thanks to P Hallam, R Sharpe, K Posey and B
Nightingale’s 23-8 being 11 more shots than the hosts’ skips N Salmon and D
Wells returns of 19-16 and 19-18. Sleaford Road, of late, have lost their way
and Stickney took advantage to record an 8-2 win. The visitors claimed two
rinks through skips C Clarke (25-17) and R Rout (15-14¼). The latter’s close
result came about because the hosts could only field three players and it
cost them a quarter of their 19 shots. Next door, their quartet of G Upsall,
C Palmer, K French and B Featherstone rescued two points with another close
20-19. Kirton came back after two defeats to seal
the Division Two title and clinch promotion when taking eight points from an
encounter on the Briar Way green of Skegness Town. A match-winning 25-11 from
the visitors’ G Harris, A Crowder, R Chapman and S Lawrence put them in the
driving seat. This was complemented by skip B Bannister’s 19-17 leaving E
Kirk, E Mellors, T Riggall and B Kingham to rescue two points with a 19-11 win. Behind the top dogs, Sun Castle just made
second spot despite going down 2-8 on their own green at the hands of
Wrangle. The latter’s skips K Bailey (18-12) and J White (15-12) put the
Skegness team on the rack but a fighting 18-11 from G Grewcock, J Costall, E
Crooks and A West gave them the two important points they needed to gain
promotion by one point from both Wrangle and West Skirbeck. The latter needed
a clean sweep over Alford to snatch that promotion spot and were on the right
path when skips K Thorlby and B Bagley sent in cards of 31-8 and 25-10
respectively. But the hosts fell on the other rink to A Brace, J Brace, M
Chacksfield and A Dunn by 20-13, leaving the score 8-2 to Skirbeck. Just a note of interest to both of the joint
third placed teams: Had they been on level points with the Sun Castle, the
latter would still have had the better shot difference — 15 more than Wrangle
and 32 better than Skirbeck. Lower down the table BBC II fell 8-2 when
entertaining Norprint. The Peacocks’ M Horton, A Dunnett, S Maddy and W
Mortlock, sent in a 15-13 card, this being swamped by returns from skips B
Barton (20-11) and B Trigg (21-10). |
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Week ending August 6 Champions Foreshore took advantage of the late
fixture switch for main rivals Burton house and Wyberton by moving into
second spot with a buoyant clean sweep over BBC. The latter, with only one
defeat in their last seven outings, were exposed on the Sun Castle green when
skips J Orton (20-14), I Morris (15-14) and G Kitchen (21-15) sent them home
without a bean. Not the same story from the Peck Avenue camp
where residents Sleaford Road came away from a visit to Freiston with just
two points earned by C Palmer, G Hardstaff, G Parker, and A Coupland’s 17-10.
The other two rinks next to the village side’s skips J Stray (24-17) and B
Nightingale (25-18). This result has all but put paid to the Road’s little
chances for this season. Stickney who could not buy a win in
mid-season have now chalked up three on the trot. The latest to fall to their
improved farm are Horncastle who have been back-pedalling of late. And their
hosts took advantage to return cards of 21-8, 21-8 and 23-10 from skips A
Harrison, C Clarke, and R Rout, respectively. Also recording a maximum were West End who
returned from a bottom of the table encounter with Friskney after claiming
all three rinks. Skips G Barnes (23-14), R Holmes (16-13) and J Sellers
(18-16) made it a good night. But like the village team, they have not had
enough winning nights. And both face a quick return to Division Two. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this week’s
vital top-of-the-table clash between Burton House and Wyberton in the Boston
and Skegness EBA league Division One has been moved. It is due to be contested
on Tuesday August 8. The results from the penultimate fixtures in
Division Two have thrown the promotion race wide open. Wrangle are right in the mix, their cause
helped by a 10-0 beating of Kirton. This has thrown the race wide open. And
respective returns from skips K Bailey (20-11), J Skelton (21-16) and M Buck
(22-11) has seen them throwing their hat in the ring. Second placed Sun Castle also turned the
screw on Kirton with a fighting 9-1 win on the Norprint green — a good result
this with skips B Pearson (22-11) and A Shilleto (29-6) doing the damage. All
the printers could muster was one point from a 16-16 draw between skips R
Motley and G McNally. This puts the Castle team on level points with Kirton,
the latter holding the hot seat with a better shot difference. West Skirbeck had a chance to draw closer to
the leading pair but were held at home by BBC II. The visitors took two rinks
with cards of 15-10 and 17-8 by skips K Whyers and J Meeds, but lost the
match to D Wright, G Gallichan, R Day, and I Dilley. This quartet, 3-4 adrift
hit a golden spell that saw them shoot ahead 21-5. They then put the icing on
the cake with a hot shot eight before running out 31-6 to claim a 6-4 win.
This leaves them plenty to do next week to obtain a promotion slot. The same
can be said about Wrangle. They need another stunning result at the Sun
Castle to reach Division One. And with Kirton away to Skegness Town, the
questions could all be answered in the seaside town while Skirbeck need
nothing less than a maximum 10 from their home game with Alford — a tough
order! |
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Week ending July 30 It is going to be a tremendously tough task for reigning
champions Foreshore to keep a grip on their Division One title. But no-one expects
them to give in without a fight. And
they proved that this week when coming away from the Peck Avenue green of
Sleaford Road with eight points. Skips I Morris (with a 17-12 result) plus J
Clarke, B Walker, R Storey and G Kitchen’s match-winning 27-9 saw them home
by nine shots despite a buoyant 20-9 reply returned by hosts G Upsall, C
Palmer, K French and B Featherstone. This could have put paid to Sleaford
Road’s challenge although on paper they have the easier run in of the top
four. But few people can envisage Burton House or Wyberton
giving away many points and this week both put in creditable away
performances. The former went to Horncastle and returned with the full 10
points. Cards from skips S Francis (28-10), K Porter (23-11) and M Asplen (23-13)
put them two points nearer top dogs Wyberton. The latter were held up at West End by the rink of Drew,
K Hamlin, P Myers and G Barnes (17-14). But the leaders’skips S Reeson
(36-10) and M Tomlin (28-13) put the seal on an 8-2 win. This week Wyberton
have to travel to Burton House, a match that could have a big say in the
titale chase. Mid-table BBC found the winning touch again to the
detriment of Freiston. One point was all the village team could muster and
that came when skip B Nightingale, fought out a 12-12 draw against A
Bennett's rink. The other games went to the Peacocks’ skips B Grant (19-13)
and R Lewis (20-18) for the lion’s share of points. Stickney came out of a
run of six defeats last week when defeating Freiston then carried on the good
work, this with the demolition of Friskney making green advantage pay. Skip R
Rout led the way with a 33-16. Other successes for H Wragg and A Harrison
took them well clear of relegation zone. Kirton have been at the head of the Division Two table
for most of the season and at the same time held an unbeaten home record. But
they took a dive when they were visited by West Skirbeck who are themselves
having a good season. And they proved that when restricting the leaders to
just two points from P Copeland, R Bennett, B Bates and D Gill’s 20-13. Next
door, skip K Thorlby nearly matched it with a 17-11 return but putting the
icing on the cake were D Wright, G Gallichan, R Day and I Dilley. At 5-10
down after seven ends they fought back to take a 13-10 advantage, went
further ahead at 17-11 and then held the six shot advantage to run out 19-13
winners. This left the Sun Castle needing a result at Alford to
keep their second promotion spot and they put their best foot forward to
register an 8-2 win (no scoresheet submitted). Down in the basement BBC II, after two wins on the trot,
fell apart when entertaining the inconsistent Wrangle who bagged the full 10
points with cards of 33-1, 23-13 and 14-11. The mammoth result came from the
bowls of W Young, J Thorold, S Skelton and M Buck. The other two more sober
scores were by skips K Bailey and J Skelton. Norprint, despite a clash of fixtures, still managed to
send a team to play Skegness Town but could only muster two points from B
Mellor, R Broughton, V Harrison and R Motley’s close 22-21. Eight points went
to the Town through skips E Damms (20-15) and J O’Dell (18-16) that saw the
Briar Way bowlers home by six shots. There are only two fixture weeks left in
this division and although Kirton are in the driving seat they finish off
with two away matches at Wrangle and Skegness Town. Next in line, Sun Castle are away to Norprint and at home to Wrangle while third placed West Skirbeck have two home fixtures against BBC II and Alford. The latter, on paper, look to hold a good chance but Wrangle, not far behind the top three, represent the key match for the leaders. The Castle face tough encounters against Norprint and yes, again, Wrangle. The village team will have a big say in which out of the top three will fill the two promotion slots.
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Week ending July 23 Division One leaders Wyberton did their
Boston and Skegness BBA League Division One title aspirations no harm when
halting the win charge of BBC with a 10-0 result. Skips M Tomlin junior (26-8), S Reeson (15-12)
and M Tomlin senior (21-13) consolidated their position while below them
Sleaford Road put in a good performance on the Wainfleet Road green of Burton
House. A close encounter was envisaged. And so it
turned out. Sleaford Road skip B Featherstone, at four down, scored a last
end five to snatch the game by one shot. Next door, team-mate P Wiles’
quartet (at one up) lost the last end to go under by two shots. But the match
was swung the visitors’ way when C Spence, G Hardstaff, A Coupland and L
Feary stole the show with 21-11 which sent the visitors home as 8-2 victors. Meanwhile the Foreshore came away from
Friskney with a maximum 10 points. The champions, on the night, were too hot
for the village team, who went down to skips J Morris (32-8), G Kitchen
(23-10) and J Orton (15-12) but it will be a test next week when the title
holders travel to play Sleaford Road. Further down the table Stickney ended their
miserable run of defeats with an 8-2 win at Freiston. Two rinks were close, the hosts skip J Stray
sent in a 17-15, a 15-11 reply came from skip R Rout, leaving the match to be
put to bed by visitors R Bainbridge, C Jupp, B (?) and A Harrison, who sent
in a match-winning 25-7. An administration error left Horncastle waiting for
West End who failed to turn up and the home team had no alternative but to
claim all 10 points. If BBC II took the biscuit last week in
Division Two with their first win they covered it with chocolate this time
around when coming away from the Sun Castle green with an 8-2 result. Skip J
Meeds sent in a 20-11, next door skip H Shilleto replied with a 20-13 only
for K Graves, a Dunnett, N Truepenny and C Lee to claim the lion’s share with
a 24-9 (and I wish to record that the BBC second string do not use only
players from the first team squad). This result put a dent in the Sun
Castle’s bid for promotion. All the same, they still hold on to second
spot but West Skirbeck moved to within four points of them on the strength of
a 10-0 home win over Skegness Town. Never in trouble, skip I Dilley led 17-4
at the half-way and went on to run out 34-7. On the next rink skip J Stevens,
down 8-12, captured all but one of the last seven ends to win 20-13. Not to
be left out skip K Thorlby’s quartet just made it to the line 13-12. While the Castle and Skirbeck battle it out
for the second promotion place, leaders Kirton were given a run for their
money by Alford. The visitors took two rinks through skips M Chacksfield
(17-15) and J Utnage (17-16, the latter at 17-13 up just held on despite dropping
a last end three). But the visitors could not hold to top team’s G Harris, R
Woods, B Bannister and S Lawrence who ran up a 29-18 result. Just two ahead
on the 12th end they scored nine shots on the next two ends for a 24-13.
Their opponents took the next three ends to make it 24-18 but the home set
had the last say with a five to run out by 11 shots for a 6-4 win. Despite
this defeat, Alford still have a chance to nick a promotion spot. Just off the pace, the unpredictable Wrangle
had a good night to the detriment of Norprint. The Printers’ B Mellor, B
Allitt, V Harrison and R Motley played their part with a 19-11 only to be
swamped by cards of 31-11 and 23-11 from skips M Buck and K Bailey for an 8-2
result. |
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Week ending July 16 BBC have found out that it’s tough going at the head of
affairs. Despite five wins on the trot and 42 points accumulated out of a
possible 50, they still lie in a mid-table position. All the same, a 10-0 win
at the expense of Horncastle was a pleasing result for the Robin Hood Walk
bowlers. But they have been bettered by present leaders Wyberton, who have
chalked up six wins on the run, the latest being a 7-3 away win against the
Foreshore. The spotlight in Division Two must fall on BBC II who
have recorded their first win of the season and finally mark up a digit in
the win column. After going down in tight games over the past weeks their
persistence has been rewarded with a 6-4 home win over Skegness Town. The latter
sent in cards of 18-17 and 17-14, but the Peacocks came good through K
Graves, P Turner, N Truepenny and C Lee, their 20-13 claiming the game by
three shots. |
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Week ending July 9 It was a double fixture week in the Boston
and Skegness EBA League. And after the dust had settled, Wyberton were still
the top dogs after two good results. The first was the best, a full house at
the expense of Sleaford Road. Skips M Tomlin senior (18-13), M Tomlin junior
(21-13) and S Reeson (16-9) put a brake on their opponents’ title hopes. Then away at Friskney they chalked up a
creditable 8-2 win. Skip M Tomlin led
the way with a 34-10 win while skip M Tomlin senior sent in a close 15-13
result just one more than the village quartet of N Salmon, M Thorold, R
Burbridge, and G Bembridge who saved a coupe of points with a 15-14 outcome. Friskney were also beaten on the Robin Hood
Walk green of the BBC despite putting in a good performance. Skips J Whyers,
and A Crofts, fought out a 20-20 draw next door. Skip D Wells sent in a 22-21
scorecard, but the Peacocks’ A Buxton, B Grant, F Kirk, and R Lewis, who
returned a match winning 19-7 for a 7-3 result, undid them. The BBC made it an enjoyable week with a
10-0 away win at Stickney. The latter were on the wrong end of cards of
19-13, 16-15 and 20-14 that sent the Boston team into a comfortable mid-table
position. Second in line Burton House kept the
pressure on the leaders with a brace. Their away game at West End went as the formbook and they came
away with a 9-1 result. Then at home Freiston’s M Smith, I Smith, B
Harrington, and J Stray’s, 17-12, held them up. But they recovered on the
adjoining rinks with cards of 27-13 and 25-9 from skips S Asplen, and R
White. The night before, Freiston found an extra
gear to the detriment of Horncastle. The visitors fell to gains of 21-11,
20-17, and 17-12 that more than eased the village team’s relegation worries. The Castle had a bad week, gaining only two
points from a possible 20 when losing 8-2 at home to Foreshore. Those two
points came from D Kisby, B Brown, J Day, and S Boucher’s 19-16. The other
two rinks fell to visiting skips G Kitchen (29-7) and J Orton (17-12). The
title holders also had an 8-2 home win over Stickney (no scoresheet to hand). Despite these two wins, the champions are
still 10 points behind leaders Wyberton but did move up a place into third
pushing Sleaford Road down to fourth. They paid the price for a pointless
journey to Wyberton, although they did recover with a 9-1 home win over West
End. Overall, the title race is still wide open with only 12 points
separating top from fourth. In Division Two, Kirton extended their lead
with a convincing 84 shots to 36 win over BBC II and skip S Lawrence (back in
the fold) led the way with a 39-10 result. Also weighing in were skips D Gill
(26-11) and T Nixon (19-15). West Skirbeck had a golden chance to
consolidate their second position when matched with close-up Sun Castle. But it
was the latter who stole the lion’s share with a narrow 46-45 result. The home quartet of D Butwright, J Stevens,
R Rutherford and R Day returned a creditable 19-10 card, but not enough to
combat the combined efforts from Castle skips G McNally (17-10) and A
Shilleto (19-16), which saw the seaside bowlers take home an 8-2 win and a
move into that second promotion spot. Skirbeck drop to third. Norprint also found their journey to Alford
unproductive. The best they could muster was one point from a 15-15 draw
between skips J Utnage, and T Hall. The printers lost the other two rinks
21-12 and 16-14 to skips M Chacksfield, and A Irving. On the other hand, Wrangle claimed the best
win of the week when chalking up a clean sweep on the Briar Way green of Skegness
Town. Skips M Buck (17-12), K Bailey (22-16) and A Saxton (22-21) made it a
good night for the returning captain! |
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Week ending July 2 The merry-go-round at the top of Division One in the
Boston and Skegness EBA League rolls on. The third different team in three
weeks has taken the lead. It’s Wyberton after an 8-2 away win at Freiston
including a runaway 31-7 from the bowls of A Limb, M Emery, M Dodes and C
Gill. This set the pattern and completing a good night, skip S Reeson led a
more sober 21-8. A fighting 21-11 by J Walker, I Tebbs, K Posey and B
Nightingale was the village team’s lone reply. The Foreshore v Burton House match was the pick of the
week and the Wainfleet Road bowlers made it a double over the champions with
an 8-2 result after beating them 10-0 in the first week of the season. Doing the damage this time were skips K Porter (24-11)
and S Asplen (23-13). A 20-15 reply came from J Jordan, A Oates, R Storey and
I Morris for the Skegness team. This defeat keeps the title holders down in
fourth place with Burton moving into second. Vacating the top spot were Sleaford Road after losing
6-4 on their own green to BBC. The latter have had a mixed season to date but
came good on the night. W Beal, K N Grant, R West and A Bennett did do in a
big way when returning a match winning 26-8 which claimed the important
aggregate points by two shots, beating the combined scores of 17-8 and 24-17
sent in by skips B Featherstone and L Feary. We have had two good away results this week from Burton
House and BBC. But both have been surpassed by West End the bottom team
caning Stickney 10-0. The village bowlers could not hold the visitors who
played well on all three rinks. Best
of all were S Leafe, M Rogers, M Hippisley and J Sellars with a 24-15. Next
door skips T Horn (15-12) and G Barnes (14-11) helped to move the Princess
Street team off the unwanted last place. In Division Two, Norprint’s mini-run which saw them
chalk up three wins on the trot came to a halt when they entertained Kirton.
The printers recorded an 18-14 by T Bloodworth, R Broughton, D Toynton and T
Hall but fell on the other two rinks 17-14 and 25-19. This gave the leaders
an 8-2 win. On the other side of the coin, Sun Castle came out of two defeats
to hit neighbours Skegness Town 10-0. Skips G McNally, A Bell, L Mills and A
Shilleto sent in cards of 24-5, 14-11 and 25-12 which keeps them in third
spot. They are two points behind second in line West Skirbeck
who came away from Wrangle on the right side of a 7-3 result. Skips K Bailey
and I Dilley finished 18-18 and when K Hammerton, J Thorold, S Skelton and M
Buck won 22-16 it looked good for the village team. But Skirbeck snatched the
match points when P Hoyles, D Staples, M Roberts and K Thurlby returned a
27-13 card, collecting an important seven shots on the last three ends. Last
in line, BBC II are finding it hard to get a win and last week at Norprint
they lost 6-4. On two rinks they were level 17-17 and 15-15 with one end to
play. They scored a one on both rinks to run out 18-17 and 16-15 winners only to be sunk when the printers’ skip B Barton sent in a match-winning 22-13. This week they again lost 6-4 to the visiting Alford team but I have no scoresheet to hand. Presumably, captain K Whyers is away? |
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Week ending June 23 The half-way stage in the Boston and Skegness EBA League has now
been reached and the Division One table could not be more intriguing with four
teams at this stage all in with a chance of taking the title come August. This week there are new leaders with Sleaford Road taking over
the hot seat thanks in no small measure to an
emphatic
9-1 win over Horncastle. Skips B Featherstone and S Boucher settled for a 17-17,
the other two rinks going to home skips K French 16-10 and P Wiles 27-9. This puts them one
point ahead of Wyberton who hit visitors Stickney with a clean sweep from
cards of 20-8, 16-11 and 24-8 sent in by skips M Tomlin (junior), S Reeson and M
Tomlin (senior). |
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Week ending June 16 West End, lying at the bottom of Division
One in the Boston and Skegness EBA League, could not have relished the visit
of joint leaders and title holders Foreshore. But on the night the Skegness
team were under strength and played one player short on all three rinks
seeing them forfeit a quarter of their final score. And it all finished with
the home side winning 8-2. Skips J Sellers (24-12) and R Holmes (21-15)
brought in the lion’s share. This result sent the seasiders down to fourth
while Burton House consolidated their top spot with a comprehensive 72-46
result over BBC. Doing the damage were skips S Asplen (32-20) K Porter
(19-11) and R Askey (21-15). Sleaford Road followed last week’s 8-2 win
in an away match at Stickney. The village set of R Bainbridge, C Jupp, S
Wells and G Burr sent in a buoyant 21-12. But the other two rinks went in
favour of the Road’s skips B Featherstone (27-15) and A French (14-12). The inconsistent Wyberton team found their
form at Horncastle. The latter, still looking for a win in June, went down
8-2. Captain S Boucher, along with A Bradshaw, B Brown and J Day, did their
best with a 19-14. But it wasn’t enough to combat the combined cards of 19-15
and 20-15 from visiting skips M Tomlin junior and P Flatters. Down in the lower regions, Freiston moved
away from the danger area with a clean sweep at the expense of Friskney. It
was close on two rinks where skips K Stones and J Stray sent in cards of
19-18 and 20-19 respectively, leaving J Walker, I Tebbs, D Hunn and B
Nightingale to put the icing on the cake with a 19-14 result. In Division Two Wrangle are not having the
best of seasons to date and many thought that with the “Butcher, Builder and
Plumber” out of the team, their captain would have an easier time. But only
two wins from five outings is not promotion form — although they did not get
their just reward at leaders Kirton where skips M Buck (22-9) and K Bailey
(19-12) along with their partners should have done enough to claim the match.
But the home quartet of A Pinnock, R Bennett, B Bates and D Gill, replied
with an incomparable 35-9 to take the aggregate points and snatch a 6-4 win
by six shots. Norprint’s form has improved after going
adrift with six points from a possible 30 in May. They now have three
straight wins, the latest being the best, an 8-2 result on the Sun Castle
green. The promotion contenders were hit with rink scores of 21-15 and 21-15
returned by skips R Motley and B Trigg. The Skegness set of J Reding, A Bell,
L Mills and A Shilleto made a valiant effort to redress the situation with a
22-11. But it was just one short of the printers’ combined score. All this
leaves the seaside team seven points behind top dogs Kirton. Not far off the pace are Skirbeck. And a
10-0 win over BBC II did them no harm. The Peacock’s second string have not
had the run of the bowls of late, but this time they could not contain the
rampant visitors who sent in cards from skips R Day (30-13), I Dilley (14-11)
and M Roberts (23-16). Skegness Town entertained Alford on their
Briar Way green and finished three shots to the good which brought them eight
points through skips E Damms (17-11) and B Kingham (14-10) while M Armstrong,
P Hawkyard, J Tuplin and J Utnage, took home two points with a fighting
18-11. |
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Week ending June 9 (also includes w/e June 2) May’s somewhat cool and inclement weather
seemed to suit Horncastle who went through their opening month’s programme
with just one defeat in five matches. “Flaming June” though, has brought
contrasting fortunes. In the prevailing mini-heat wave, two fixtures have
yielded two Division One defeats! The first was a home 10-0 mauling at the
hands of Stickney-skips R Rout (19-11), A Harrison (22-13) and G Burr
(20-16). They did a little better at Burton House where G Marshall, J Barton,
M Edwards, and J Scholey’s 19-12 gained them two points only to leave eight
behind when skips S & M Asplen returned cards of 31-9 and 20-9. The Burton team also made it pay at Wyberton
with rink scores of 17-9 and 23-8. The home team’s lone reply a 19-13 from
skip M Tomlin (senior). This sent the Wainfleet Road bowlers to the top of
the table. And joining them are champions Foreshore who made it five wins on
the trot with a couple of good results. They started with an 8-2 success over
Sleaford Road helped by two new players who were brought in at short notice
(both received praise from their captain). Then away to the BBC they ran up a
clean sweep with cards of 13-11, 24-17 and 21-14. Also on a mini run are Stickney.
Complementing the previously
mentioned 10-0 result at Horncastle, they took an 8-2 win at Friskney. The latter’s
M Johnson, T Chesterman, L Rice, and D Wells (20-15) were beaten by skips G
Burr (19-12) and A Harrison (24-20) giving their team three wins on the trot.
Friskney recovered a little ground with an
8-2 win over West End the Princess Street team are struggling at this stage.
And the best they produced was a 22-13 by S Leafe, E Dews, G Barnes, and J
Sellars. This was just beaten by the combined 14-12, and 20-12, from skips N
Salmon, and A Crofts. Despite this result the village team remain in the relegation
zone along with West End. Just above them Freiston are looking for a
winning scoresheet. But they failed to make home advantage pay when
entertaining BBC. Skips J Stray and A Bennett, walked off the green honours
even at 17-17. Skip B Nightingale captured his game 17-15 not enough to take
the aggregate points when the Peacock’s quartet of J West, E Vere, B Grant,
and T Whyers sent in a match winning 17-9 card. It’s a tight Division One table with just
six points covering the first six places. But the signs are that the title
holders Foreshore are on a run and Burton House, along with Sleaford Road,
are going to have to show their best to snatch the trophy from the seaside
team. True to form the two promoted teams Friskney and West End are in hot water,
the latter being well adrift while the village team have a fighting chance of
escaping the drop. In Division Two, leaders Kirton, looking for
points to consolidate their top spot, found it hard going at Alford. Skips A Iring
and T Nixon finished all square at 14-14. Visiting skip D Gill and partners
won 22-19 but it was not enough to beat an 18-11 from J Hunt, A Brace, J
Probert, and M Chacksfeld which gave the match points to Alford and a 7-3
win. Kirton made amends when playing at West
Skirbeck. Although the home bowlers held the lead on two rinks in the later
stages, skip K Thorlby — 14-9 up at 13 ends — lost four of the last five and
the game 16-15 to skip T Nixon. Next door, skip I Dilley held an 18-11
advantage. But with three ends to play it was down to 20-17. He lost them
one, one and one to skip D Gill which saw the game end 20-20. But worse was
to come for captain M Roberts’ quartet. They were down 16-0 early doors to
opposing captain R Woods’ set and never recovered and lost 25-8 which gave
the leaders a 9-1 result. The chasing Sun Castle had a couple of good
results — the first on the Robin Hood green of BBC II where rink gains of
27-6 and a more sober 16-12 took care of the Peacocks’ 18-16 reply for an 8-2
win. Then playing at home, the seaside team sunk a much-changed Alford team
10-0 with gains of 16-11, 28-8 and 22-9, which closes them to within three
points of Kirton. On the other hand BBC II, yet to chalk up a
win, suffered a one-shot 50-49 defeat on the Briar Way green of Skegness
Town. Skips E Damms, and W Mortlock, drew 18-18. Next door, H Dowse, P
Turner, C Lee, and K Whyers won 16-14 only for skip B Kingham and partners to
capture an 18-15 result and the game 7-3. Then playing at Wrangle, the BBC second
string lost again by one shot 51-50. A fighting 23-11 came from K Graves, P
Turner, G Lee and K Whyers. This was one shot short of the 18-17 and 22-10 by
home skips J Skelton, and M Buck, and this the wrong end of an 8-2 result. Wrangle were also on the wrong end of a 7-3
score when playing at Norprint. Just two shots gave the printers the match
points. Their skip B Trigg sent in a 17-12 accounting for skip S Skelton’s
15-12. An 18-18 draw between skips R Motley and K Bailey, led to a win for
the home bowlers. And they made it a double when accounting for Skegness Town
— no close encounter this time. The Town’s quartet of E Kirk, E Mellors, T
Riggal, and B Kingham, ran out 16-15 winners but the printers took the game
8-2 with gains of 24-10 and 24-13 by skips B Barton, and R Motley. These two
wins followed a run of three defeats and gave the printers much needed
points. |
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Week ending May 28: Horncastle must be pleased with their start to the
Division One programme that has put them at the top of the table. They
consolidated things further in the past week with a 10-0 away win over West
End. The Princess Street bowlers were taken apart on all rinks by skips G
Lancaster (25-11), S Boucher (21-15) and J Scholey (18-14).
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Week ending May 21: A week of double fixtures all round in Division One
brought mixed fortunes, particularly to Wyberton. Both of their matches were
with home advantage. In the first they accounted for Friskney 10-0 from cards
of 27-9, 20-14 and 18-14. But on the next night, they were unable to hold the
Foreshore who, after a lean start, came good through I Morris (22-10) and G
Kitchen (26-12). The in-form Wyberton set of M Whyers, B Skelton, I Clarke
and S Reeson salvaged a couple of points with a battling 23-6. But the
Skegness team had a fight on their hands when entertaining Horncastle. And it
needed a 26-15 result from J Clarke, B Walker, R Storey and G Kitchen to
snatch the match points and a 6-4 win when beating them by just two shots.
Skips J Scholey and S Bouchers recorded wins of 22-15 and 20-18. It was not a good week for West End. Sleaford Road who
collected 10 points from returns of 23-12, 25-14 and 16-11, took them to task
on their own green. A journey to Freiston turned out to be no better as again
they were left pointless from cards of 25-11, 25-14 and 22-18. This warmed
the village team up for the visit of Burton House. And a cracker it turned
out to be before going in the end, to the hosts who ran out 49 shots to 47
winners. Bringing home the bacon were skips J Stray (16-15) and B Nightingale
(19-16). Burton’s reply was a 16-14 from R White, G Porter, S Francis and R
Askey. Friskney, beaten at Wyberton, were looking for points
when playing host to Sleaford Road. But the game was going down hill when the
latter’s skips P Wiles and B Featherstone returned scorer of 15-12 and 16-12.
Coming to the rescue were R Yarnall, I Storr, A Crofts and D Wells with a
29-6 which claimed the aggregate points and the match 6-4. Horncastle, who lost a close encounter on the Foreshore
green by two shots, then won by the same two shots when entertaining BBC. An
18-13 from G Lancaster’s quartet was nearly matched by the Peacock’s 17-13 by
skip R West. But next door, R Bacon, J Barton, M Edwards and J Scholey
snatched their encounter with M Champion, T Vere, F Kirk and R Lewis on the
last end 18-17 to help claim an 8-2 result. It sent the Hodson green team to
the top of the league and earned a compliment from stand-in BBC captain R
Lewis, who stated the hard work the Horncastle members had put on the green
over the winter had produced a good playing surface. The two newly-relegated teams in Division Two, Kirton
and Alford, are showing early form in their new surroundings. And this week
they chalked up good away results. The latter left the Norprint green with an
8-2 win thanks to skips A Irvings (21-11) and J Utnage (24-12) plus partners.
The lone reply came from the printers’ D Allenby, J Stanton, B Trigg and R
Pick’s 18-11. This quartet recorded their team’s only win last week
(hopefully the other sets can help them out next week). Kirton went one point better at the expense of BBC II.
Skips A Mason and R Woods finished all square at 19-19. But cards of 23-9 and
15-14 sent the visitors home 9-1 to the good. Wrangle never recovered from their late finish at
Skirbeck and Skegness Town took advantage with set gains of 20-12 and 18-15
to claim eight points leaving two for the losers when D Dodsworth, J
Chappell, A Saxton and J Skelton sent in 19-15. West Skirbeck were washed away on the Sun Castle green
by skips A Shilleto (33-6), G McNally (20-17) and B Pearson (19-17) in the
last game. The Skirbeck quartet of M Roberts, M Bond, G Gallichan and I
Roberts picked up two fours to take a 17-8 lead with four ends to play. But F
Simpson, D Brown, R King and Pearson struck back with a one, one, four and
five to nick the game by just two shots.
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Week ending May 14: It hasn’t been a very good opening couple of weeks for
reigning Division One champions Foreshore. They lost all points to Burton
House in their first match and followed up with a 6-4 defeat at the hands of
Stickney. Doing the damage was a 24-16 by S Shaw, A Peacock, H Wragg and R
Route. This accounted for the combined 19-16 and 23-21 sent in by Skegness
skips G Kitchen and I Morris by three shots to claim those valuable aggregate
points. The only consolation for the title-holders is that both
matches were away from home. The same fate came the way of Sleaford Road and
Friskney they both had home advantage only to be narrowly beaten. The village team’s skips V Sands (22-18) and G Bembridge
(19-17) gave their team a six-shot advantage. But the BBC quartet of M
Campion, T Vere, F Kirk and R Lewis ran out 22-14 winners to claim the match
by two shots. Sleaford Road were taken to task by Wyberton’s M Whyers,
B Skelton, I Clarke and s Reeson. Their runaway 23-6 rink success proved to
be better than the returns of home skips B Featherstone (19-12) and P Wiles
(19-16) to take home yet another 6-4 win. Horncastle broke this run of 6-4
results with an 8-2 home win over Freiston. The latter’s J Walker, R Sharp, K
Posey and B Nightingale sent in a fighting 24-15. But it was not enough to
hold the 19-9 and 23-13 from skips J Scholey and S Boucher. Promoted West End faced a tough away fixture at Burton
House. And, despite turning in a good performance, they went down 8-2.
CreditableSkip J Sellers and partners went under by just one shot at 18-17. Next
door, team-mates A Twiddy, M Rogers, G Barnes and R Holmes chalked up an
18-16 win. But the home quartet of R Thacker, T Richardson, P Asplen and K
Porter, turned the screw with a 30-9 win. All the same, it was a creditable
show by the promoted team. Kirton made a solid start in Division Two when making
home advantage pay at the expense of Norprint. Skips D Gill (34-8) and R
Woods (17-13) gave their team the lion’s share leaving the printers’ D
Allenby, J Stainton, B Trigg and R Pick to rescue two points with an 18-15
result. Marking up the same score were Alford Town. when
entertaining BBC II the latter J Thornley, S Lee and K Whyers and partner
returned a close 14-13 only to be swamped by set gains of 24-4 and 18-8 by
skips J Utnage and M Catchfield. Not to be left out, the Sun Castle came away
form the Briar Way green of Skegness Town with an 8-2 result. Home bowlers T
Riggall, C Ramsey, E Mellors and B Kingham sent in a 20-12 — one shot short
of the joint efforts of skips A Shilleto (22-14) and G McNally (22-21) which
cost them a shave of the aggregate points. Wrangle would be the last team anyone would expect to
get their fixtures mixed up. But last Thursday they say in their pavilion
when they should have been on the Carmel green of West Skirbeck. By the time
the game finally started, the clock showed 7.15pm. Skirbeck, who could have
claimed the game at 7pm were short of two players who had gone home filled in
with a spectator and captain M Roberts (fifth choice), this sporting gesture
rewarded them with a clean sweep from cards of 25-16, 15-14 and 19-14
returned by skips I Dilley, R Day and I Roberts respectively. Two bowlers
made their debuts for Skirbeck — P Hutchinson and D Butwright. They must have
though it nice to get a win, but not in the dark with the match finishing at
9.15pm. |
Week ending May
7:
The only action of the opening week in the season came
in Division One. And here, mixed fortunes came the way of the two promoted
teams West end and Friskney. The Princess Street bowlers found their feet to
beat Stickney 8-2. Skips J Sellars (14-9) and G Barnes (19-13) made it a good
night while the visitors’ set of S Todd, C Clarke, H Wragg and S Burr
returned a fighting 21-12. But there was no joy for Friskney who crashed 10-0 on
their own green to the bowls of Horncastle’s skips J Scholey (18-11), s
Boucher (21-14) and G Lancaster (20-16) plus their respective partners.
Wyberton and Burton House also turned in good results, both recording a clean
sweep — the former at expense of Freiston. The village team fell 18-11, 17-15
and 28-11 to skips M Tomlin (junior), S Reeson 17-15 and M Tomlin (senior),
while the Burton team turned in the result of the week when beating champions
Foreshore through skips S Asplen (24-13), M Asplen (22-16) and K Porter
(23-17). Not to be left out, Sleaford Road came away from the
Robin Hoods Walk green of the BBC with eight points. Doing the damage were
skips B Featherstone (26-10) and L Feary (21-7). The best the home bowlers
could produce was an 18-10 from M Campion, T Vere, F Kirk and R Lewis. |
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