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Saracens inflict heavy victory on Hustlers

This week the Hustlers played Saracens A, a team with a fine pedigree but newly demoted from Division 1.  Would this be a chance for our first points of the season?

Well yes, in a word, because an excellent first innings by Rob, Stu and Gary, which included spares at either end of the leg, saw us bettering – and battering – Saras by 5 pins a hand and virtually ending the game as a spectacle (if skittles games can ever be spectacles).

Second leg did what they could to inject some interest in the game by seeing how low they could score.  However, even their best efforts were thwarted by an opposition determined to find as many gaps as possible and Hustlers ended up only 2 pins down on the leg.  Third leg would have been reported to the betting authorities but for an accidental spare from Swainer that disguised his 39 as an attempt to throw the game, helping Hustlers to a third leg gain of 4 pins.

So to last leg where a noxious emission from Swainer the Strainer, which totally enveloped the bar area, proved insufficient to dent a fine captain’s 41 in leading last leg to a final 11 pin advantage and an eventual win by 43 pins.

No game next week – trip meeting at the Suffolk and don’t forget!

Rob                      6     8     5     7     7     13     46

Stu                      12    7     5     6     7     7       44

Gary                     7     6     7     9     4     6       39     129 v 99      +30

 

JT                         6     7     7     7     3     5       35

Rich                      6     5     7     5     7     2       32

Steve                   7     6     7     5     4     8       37     104 v 106     +28

 

Lofty                    6     4     4     3     7     6        30

Mark                    5     8     6    12    3     5        39

Lewis                  4     5     7     9     8     3        36     105 v 101     +32

 

Andy S                 4     7     7     6     6     6        36

Clive                    5     5     7     7     8     9        41

Mel                      5     8     4     5     9     5        36     113 v 102     +43

 

Total     451 v 408

Won by 43 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kraftily done

Our first away league game saw us playing the Kraftsmen at the Robins Club.  Would the lack of snow freeze the Hustlers out?

A first away league game saw us full of hope.  This hope grew as Gary’s 40 set 1st leg on the way with a grafting 5 pin lead.  2nd leg struggled to improve, with Pete twice failing to get a beaver.  And so we began the 2nd 1/2 with the match all square once more.

3rd leg once again looked to be swinging things back our way, with Stavros Fatley leading the way with our 2nd spareless 40 of the night and Lewis getting our sole spare, as they establishede a narrow 4-pin lead.  And so, once more it was all down to the anchor leg to decide the fate of this match.  Even in the face of a 30-pin hand from the Kraftsmen, the anchors fought on, with a victory within their grasp.  And so it all came down to the very last Kraftsman.  But he just did enough and we fell by a mere 2 pins!

We’re back at home next week, facing Saracens A.

20/9/10 v Kraftsmen @ Robins Club

AU 2 8 6 6 4 5 31

TC

8 4 2 7 7 5 33

Gary

8 6 7 6 7 7 41

1st leg total 105 v 100

Rob 8 7 5 6 4 6 36
Pete 6 8 7 1 6 1 29
Steve 4 7 5 4 5 6 31

2nd leg total 96 v 101

AS

7 9 7 6 8 7 44

Lofty

7 6 5 6 7 4 35
Lewis 6 11 5 5 5 7 39

3rd leg total 118 v 113

JT 5 5 8 9 4 7 38
Clive 5 7 5 7 4 8 36
Neil 6 6 4 9 7 7 39

4th leg total 113 v 119

Grand total 432 v 434

WIN by -2

Cast Out

Our first league game at home saw us up against newly-promoted Pittville Outcasts.  Who would get cast out?

 

The season proper now started and we were at home – the omens were good.  And 1st leg got us off to a great start, with 40s from Rob & Steve setting up a 13-pin lead.  A tense 2nd leg soon saw that whittled away as we finished the 1st 1/2  down by a single pin.

3rd leg performed slightly better, but still conceded a further 13 pins.  and so it was down to the anchors.  A gallant performance saw all 3 get 40s, and Clive our 1st spare of the league campaign.  A great effort saw us regain the lead by a single pin, with 2 hands to play and the game open.   Hustlers won the leg, but not by enough to snatch the victory and we lost by 11 pins.

We’re at the Robins next week against the Kraftsmen – let’s hope the snow stays away this time.

13/9/10 v Pittville Outcasts @ Suffolk

Rob 8 5 9 8 7 6 43

Jim

8 6 4 9 3 5 35
Steve 7 8 5 8 6 6 4

01st leg total 118 v 105

AU 5 8 5 9 5 5 37
JimBob 5 5 5 8 3 2 28
AS 8 6 9 7 4 5 39

2nd leg total 104 v 118

Lofty

5 6 6 4 7 7 35

TC

4 8 7 6 6 6 37
Stu 9 2 5 5 6 7 34

3rd leg total 106 v 119

Clive 8 5 6 11 4 6 40
JT 8 7 8 7 6 6 42
Neil 8 6 6 9 7 9 45

4th leg total 127 v 124

Grand total 455 v 466

WIN by -11

Went Fishing

The new season kicked off with a preliminary round Cup match against the Fishers at the Hop Pole.  Could this be the start of a long Cup run for the Hustlers?

Still on a high from last week’s victory over the Anchor Old Ladies, we were looking to start a cup run.  A gallant performance from 1st leg saw us get off to a great start, with Rob & Trevor just missing out on maiden 40s of the season, handing over 17 pins up.  2nd leg stuttered along, but managed to convert that lead into an 8 pin deficit.  But the win was still well within reach.

A mixed showing from 3rd leg increased the tension a little more, as they dropped a further 7 pins, despite Steve’s consistency in knocking out our first 40 of the season.  Then the match started getting really tense.  With Clive leading with a 9, JT stepped in with our first spare of the season, and Neil with an 8 to pull 10 pins back. A second spare followed in the next hand (outdone by a 15 from the Fishers) to take the gap to a mere 3 pins.  With tension building, it all built up to a grand climax, but the anchors just couldn’t pull it all back, eventually losing 10 pins, despite being our highest scoring leg and top score from JT.

The league kicks off on Monday as we take on the Pittville Outcasts at home.

8/9/10 v Fishers @ Hop Pole

Rob 4 6 8 7 7 7 39

TC

6 9 7 7 7 3 39
Mart 8 5 3 8 6 5 35

1st leg total 113 v 96

Gary 4 5 5 6 7 7 34
Rich 3 7 5 6 5 6 32
Lewis 7 5 4 5 4 9 34

2nd leg total 100 v 125

AS

4 6 8 7 8 5 38

Pete

5 4 6 3 6 6 30
Steve 6 7 7 7 6 7 40

3rd leg total 108 v 115

Clive 9 6 4 9 7 4 39
JT 12 13 3 8 5 6 47
Neil 8 8 6 8 4 4 38

4th leg total 124 v 134

Grand total 445 v 470

WIN by -25

Anchors Hustled

To mark the start of the new season, the Hustlers hosted the Anchor Old Ladies in our annual grudge friendly match.  Who would win?  How much blood would be spilled?

 1st leg , ably lead by Pistols (with the first spare of our new campaign) & Lofty with 40s, seemed in a mixed mood, but managed to pull out a superb 41 pin lead.  But this standard soon slipped as 2nd leg struggled in dropping 4 pins to the ladies.  Gary’s 40 wasn’t enough to compensate for the poor performance from the rest of 3rd leg as they dropped a further 12 pins, and the future wasn’t looking quite so bright.  Then up stepped the anchor to take on the Anchors’ anchor.  JT’s bottom score was clearly a sign of the pressure of performing in front of his daughter, but why the missed spare from Lewis.  Thanks to some unorthodox heckling and Steve’s top score, the rot was finally halted as we gained 10 pins to cement a glorious(-ish) victory.

27/8/10  v Anchor Old Ladies @ Suffolk

Mart 7 6 9 8 5 8 43

TC

6 3 9 7 7 2 34
Stu 7 7 5 7 5 5 36
Pete 7 5 3 9 12 9 45

1st leg total 158 v 117

Mark 8 6 5 6 5 4 34
Jim 7 6 2 7 5 2 29
AU 7 5 5 6 8 9 38

2nd leg total 101 v 105

Rob

6 8 4 6 4 3 31

Clive

8 8 1 7 7 5 36
Gary 7 5 7 9 8 8 44
AS 6 2 6 7 5 5 31

3rd leg total 142 v 154

Steve 8 12 7 5 7 8 47
Lewis 7 6 6 8 9s 5 41
JT 3 7 5 1 3 7 26

4th leg total 119 v 109

Grand total 520 v 485

WIN by 35