Hustlers went on the road yet again to face the Batmen at Prestbury’s Royal Oak, looking to extend their winning streak. Would they do it? Would Andy S be able to tell real ale from real cider?
We’re now getting used to following, so tonight was nothing new for us as the Batmen set the pace in a nip and tuck first leg that saw AU narrowly miss his 40, while Mark & Lofty (with a spare) notched up their highest scores of the season as they ended the leg 3 pins up. With the arrival of 2nd leg it was time to "bring on the Walls" as they put in a steady performance to stretch that lead out by a further 7 pins.
With it all looking promising, it was the turn of 3rd leg. With Clive getting his lowest score of the season (condemning himself to the bench next week) they weren’t quite able to match the Batmen and ended up dropping 5 pins to leave it all down to the anchors. Managing to accumulate a couple of 40’s wasn’t enough, as the Batmen began to claw back more pins to take the game by a mere 4 pins.
We return to the Suffolk next Monday to take on the Cannonballs Elite in our last home game before Christmas.
Top team Beehive Bitzas beat Old Golds by 100 pins last week! See updated league tables to Week 9 (ie not including this week) for details of Hustlers’ progress up the table.
Back at the Suffolk, the Hustlers had high hopes of continuing their winning streak against new opponents, St Marks Club. Could it really happen?
Clive won the toss and, unusually, put St Marks in to lead off. With Lewis putting in a rare below-par performance, we got off to an unpromising start, ending the leg all square. 2nd leg couldn’t improve on this, despite Steve’s 40, handing over the reins 12 pins down.
Then it was the turn of 3rd leg. Cap’n Clive led by example with his 42, but Andy topped that with his last 2 hands of 14 & 9 helping him to our highest score of the season and giving anchor a 3 pin lead. But there was still more to come. Not to be outdone by Andy, Neil & JT combined to score a massive 36 on the 2nd hand (gaining 25 pins in the process). Keeping on in that aggressive vein, Neil then went on to set another season’s highest score, while Rob looked to be regaining some form of his own with a 2nd successive, as they stretched the lead out to a 34-pin victory and our highest total of the season (beating that set last week).
Back on the road next Monday – v Batmen at the Royal Oak, Prestbury.
Lowly Hustlers faced top of the table Duke of York away at RAOB. Could a new moon rising and the Leonids showering really be good omens, or harbingers of doom?
Yet again following, we got off to a great start, with 40s from AU & Wallsy establishing a stunning 24 pin lead. 2nd leg held their own as Lewis stopped us losing more than 3 more pins, before handing the baton to 3rd leg. A steady performance saw the leg tied, leaving the anchors with a 21 pin lead to defend.
They did their best to drop early pins, but held on to go into the final hand needing just 3 pins to win the game. Clive protected his 40 average, while Rob managed to grab his maiden 40 of the season as they dropped 3 pins to give us an 18 pin victory over the league leaders, despite conceding 2 spares during the game.
Back to the Suffolk next week as we seek to extend our winning streak. Don’t forget the Tony Clay Memorial Shield front pin contest at CACSSA (17 December) – http://www.cacssa.co.uk/skittles/tcs_2009.shtml – closing date for entries is 30 November.
With only Jim below him (and that only because he’s played just 2 games so far this season), Rob continues to chart new territory. When will he start to turn this collapse un form around?
At last we get to play a home game. Would we be able to cope, especially with 4 changes this week?
Chasing once again, we didn’t get off to the best of starts, despite AU’s 40 and ended first leg trailing by 13 pins. 2nd leg put in a grest effort, with both Rich and Pete scoring maiden 40s to pull 7 pins back.
3rd leg failed to continue this form and, with Stu getting our lowest score of the night, they actually dropped a further 24 pins to set the anchors a fearsome task. Clive needed the help of our only spare to reach his 40, while AS just needed a day’s drinking to reach his. Alas, the task was indeed far too much and we could only pull 3 pins back, giving a final deficit of 27 to the current table toppers.
We’re back on the road next week, as we travel to the RAOB on Wednesday. Rob’s managed to avoid the bench, as Rich continues his Damned tour in Norwich, but retains possession of Barry the Brasilian Beaver.
