Playing back at the Suffolk, how would the Hustlers cope without the services of Cap'n Clive (dropped) and the poorly Lofty?  Would it be the start of a very Happy Christmas?

The first surprise of the night came when our skipper put us in to set.  First leg put in a very credible performance, with Mark continuing his good form with another 40, handing over 4 pins ahead.  2nd leg then put in the highest scoring performance of the night, with Steve's 47 (our highest of the night) and Jim's exceptional 39 helping extend the lead by a further 5 pins.

Then came the 3rd leg.  And what a shock that turned out to be.  By far the lowest scoring leg of the whole night, all 3 will fail to trouble the scorecard next week and dropped a total of 29 pins in the leg to leave the anchors needing to win by 20 just to draw the game.  A brave attempt followed, with Neil getting our only spare of the night ably backed up by a re-emergent Rob.  But it all proved in vain as the Elite's anchor held on to scrape a win by a single pin.

We end 2009 against the Celery Boys at the Double Barrel next Tuesday - Mike Vonk has threatened to turn up and cheer us on!