?>

Bubble Bursts

Finally we get to draw the season to a close, as Hustlers face the Sinners in this long-awaited rescheduled return match.

A tough start for the 1st leg as we dropped 17 pins thanks to two Sinners 40s.  Another pair of 40s were conceded by 2nd leg, who added a further 15 pins to the deficit.  This wasn’t in the script.

Cap’n Clive’s top score (& our first 40 of the night) helped stem the tide, as 3rd leg won their battle and left the anchors just a 17-pin gap.  Rob & Neil chipped in with 40s to try and counter Pete’s bottom score  Despite winning the leg, it wasn’t quite enough totake the game.

But the Hustlers go marching on.  2nd place just eluded us, but we still go up another division – the Premiership beckons.

22/4/13 v Sinners @ Suffolk

Lewis

5 7 3 7 7 3 32 -9

Mike

5 7 5 8 6 7 38 -1
Gary 8 7 6 7 5 4 37

-7

1st leg total 107 v 124

Mart

7 7 2 6 8 5 35 -6

Dan

9 8 3 7 7 1 35 -6
AS 7 7 5 7 6 4 36 -3

2nd leg total 106 v 121

Steve

6 8 6 7 5 6 38 2

Rich

7 7 4 4 6 6 34 3
Clive 2 8 8 9 9 7 43 10

3rd leg total 115 v 106

Rob

8 6 6 8 7 7 42 8

Pete

2 2 7 5 8 5 29 -9
Neil 8 8 6 5 8 7 42

3

4th leg total 113 v 111

Grand total 441 v 456

WON by -15

The Chosen Ones

A big game in prospect tonight as the Hustlers looked to complete a double over the Chosen Champs and secure automatic promotion in the process.

Gary & TC did well to coubter Swayner’s efforts to lose the leg and ended with a narrow 3-pin lead.  A fleeting visit from Lofty saw him get our only spare of the night on his way to top score, with Lewis & AS helping to stretch the lead by a single pin – just 4 up at the midpoint.

Steve narrowly escaped bottom score, but a 40 from a resurgent Rich, with support from Cap’n Clive, ensured the lead crept out by another 2 pins, leaving the anchors to secure the game.  A few squeaky moments until Pete’s final hand 9 secured promotion, set up by steady Rob (just needs 95 next week to break the 1000 mark), & Neil throwing away the chance of a 40.

It’s the last game of the season, with the long-awaited rearranged return of the Sinners at the Suffolk.  A win could well see us finish as runners-up!

17/4/13 v Chosen Champs @ Churchdown Club

 

Gary

7 6 5 5 7 7 37 13

Mark

5 3 6 7 4 3 28 -13
TC 7 6 8 6 6 6 30

3

1st leg total 104 v 101

Lewis

8 5 5 6 5 5 35 -6

Mart

8 11 7 6 4 7 43 14
AS 3 6 5 7 5 6 32 -5

2nd leg total 110 v 109

Steve

6 5 4 5 5 5 30 -7

Rich

6 7 6 9 8 6 42 9
Clive 8 2 9 7 6 6 38

3rd leg total 110 v 108

Rob

4 7 7 6 6 7 37 -6

Pete

6 7 8 4 4 9 37 5
Neil 6 7 7 8 8 2 39

1

4th leg total 113 v 113

Grand total 437 v 431

WON by 6

Bowled Over

 Looking to avenge their narrow 1st encounter defeat, Hustlers welcomed Cowley CC to the Suffolk for the rematch in our final official home match of the season.

We began well, with Pete & bottom  of the averages TC narrowly missing out on our opening 40.  With Mike doubling his man’s score (surely a record low at the Suffolk), we had a healthy 26-pin lead.  2nd leg weren’t quite as lucky, but were steady enough to stretch the lead by a further 10 pins, leaving it looking good for the 2nd half of the game.

Despite Rob losing to his man, 3rd leg made the lead look even more convinvcing, as Rich just missed out on another 40.  Oddly, the anchors started to ship pins and some doubts began to appear in the camp.  But they were just teasing us and JT finally got our 1st (and only) 40 of the night as they squeezed out a further 7 pins to give us a most resounding victory.

Our final away match of the season sees us take on the Chosen Champs at the Churchdown Club next week.

8/4/13 v Cowley CC @ Suffolk

 

Pete

 

6 7 7 6 6 7 39 13

Mike

5 4 9 7 6 5 36 18
TC 5 9 4 7 6 8 39

-5

1st leg total 114 v 88

Mart

6 2 8 6 6 6 34 8
Mark

 

3 5 8 3 7 8 34 -1
AS 6 6 8 2 7 8 37 3

2nd leg total 105 v 95

Steve

7 5 4 4 8 7 35 8

Rich

5 6 9 5 7 7 39 13
Rob 5 5 6 5 4 8 33 -4

3rd leg total 107 v 90

Neil

7 7 4 8 7 3 36 -2

Gary

5 3 6 7 7 7 35
JT 6 8 9 7 9 9 48

9

4th leg total 119 v 112

Grand total 445 v 385

WON by 60