Category: Match Reports

The Mark of a Hustler

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.

23/11/09  v St Marks Club @ Suffolk

AU 7 8 8 4 7 1 35
Jim 7 3 4 6 5 8 33
Lewis 7 6 1 5 5 6 30

1st leg total 98 v 98

Steve 6 5 7 7 8 7 40
Gary 4 4 9 4 6 6 33
Mart 6 8 7 3 5 4 33

2nd leg total 106 v 118

Clive 7 7 9 7 5 7 42

AS

 8 8 7 5 14 9 51
Stu 6 4 4 5 4 7 30

3rd leg total123 v 108

Neil 7 17 9 6 7 9 55
Rob 6 7 6 8 8 9 44
JT 6 12 6 5 7 3 39

4th leg total 138 v 107

Grand total 465 v 431

WIN by 34

A Buff night for the Hustlers

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.

18/11/09  v Duke of York @ RAOB

AU 8 6 5 7 7 8 41
Steve 7 8 8 6 9 7 45
Mart 4 7 8 5 7 6 37

1st leg total 123 v 99

TC 5 7 5 4 7 7 36
Pete 4 3 8 3 7 7 32
Lewis 7 5 5 7 9 6 41

2nd leg total 108 v 111

AS 6 7 6 6 3 8 36

Mark

 3 8 7 7 6 5 36
Neil 7 5 7 8 8 6 38

3rd leg total 110 v 110

Clive 6 8 7 7 5 8 41
Rob 9 6 6 7 9 7 43
JT 5 5 6 9 7 5 37

4th leg total 121 v 124

Grand total 462 v 444

WIN by 18

Bitzas & Pieces

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.

9/11/09  v Beehive Bitzas @ Suffolk

AU 9 9 6 8 5 3 40
Jim 5 5 9 2 2 5 28
Steve 8 4 3 7 6 3 31

1st leg total 99 v  112

Lewis 8 7 4 7 3 7 36
Rich 7 8 6 5 8 6 40
Pete 8 7 7 5 7 6 40

2nd leg total 116 v 109

Rob 8 2 8 3 7 7 35

Mark

 4 7 6 7 6 7 37
Stu 5 3 4 3 6 5 26

3rd leg total 98 v 122

Clive 7 6 12 7 4 5 41
AS 7 7 6 7 8 8 43
JT 4 6 5 7 8 5 35

4th leg total 119 v 116

Grand total 432 v 459

WIN by -27

Golden Oldies

Another away game – at the Gas Club this time, saw the Hustlers desperate to get back to winning ways and start to turn our form around.

Chasing, it didn’t look like we were in for a happy night.  With even Lofty complaining about small balls  both sides failed to score 100 and we ended the leg 4 pins down, with Rob regaining possession of Barry the Brasilian Beaver.  Second leg faired only slightly better, losing a further 2 pins, with Salty just failing to notch up his first 40 of the season.

Fuelled by Newky Brown, our skipper then put himself on 3rd leg.  This was clearly an inspired decision, as his top-scoring 49 was a massive contribution towards turning the game around and handing a 20-pin advantage over to the anchors.  A very tight game then ensued as the anchors fought to preserve that lead.  Gary’s bottom score was bolstered by JT’s 43 and we only dropped a single pin, winning the game on the penultimate hand, taking the game by 19 pins in the end.

Neil and daddy Steve return for the next game (at home at last!!!!!!!!! – anyone remember the way to the Suffolk?) against new opponents Beehive Bitzas.  How does Rob manage to avoid the bench?  No game next week (‘cos we’re out of the cup ), but we’ll have a practice game and trip meeting.

27/10/09  v Old Golds @ Gas Club

AU 6 8 7 5 4 4 34
Rob 8 7 6 0 6 4 31
Lofty 5 4 5 7 2 5 28

1st leg total 93 v 97

TC 6 4 5 2 8 3 28
Mark 6 6 5 8 6 7 38
Lewis 7 3 6 5 6 7 34

2nd leg total 100 v 102

Clive 8 9 8 9 9 6 49

Pete

 7 5 6 5 6 6 35
Stu 6 7 8 3 2 5 31

3rd leg total 115 v 89

AS 8 6 5 8 5 7 39
Gary 4 3 7 4 5 3 26
JT 7 7 8 8 6 7 43

4th leg total 108 v 109

Grand total 416 v 397

WIN by 19

Howzat?!!!

Bowling first on a sticky wicket, Hustlers faced yet another away game and desperately needing a win.  With Neil on sick leave, Rob came off the bench to show us how he can really bowl.

We began the 1st innings leg with a fine 41 from AU, ably supported by Lofty.  Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on Rich’s side and, as well as regaining control of Barry the Brasilian Beaver (twice!), he posted our lowest score for some time (much to Mark’s disgust).  So we headed into the 2nd leg 17 pins and fearing the worst (well we did have Mark playing).  And we did feel it could go bad after the first hand.  But then Steve started to find his groove, with TC and Nark playing good supporting roles.  By the end of the leg, we’d put in 2 spares and our highest score of the season to finish 12 pins up.

A steady showing by Lewis and Stu helped us pull another 2 pins, despite Rob’s efforts to regain both possession of Barry from Rich and his position on the bench.  So it was down to the anchor leg to  preserve our lead.  JT did his best to get the game abandoned as he attempted a swan dive on his second ball (but it wasn’t enough to even get a score out of the style judges), but couldn’t help stop the lead from drifting away as the cricket club eventually sneaked the win by a mere 4 pins.

We are away yet again next Tuesday at that old favourite, the Gas Club.  Rob & Rich will be warming the bench, while Steve could well be in the delivery room (Maternity Ward, rather than Royal Mail).

19/10/09   v Cheltenham CC @ Cheltenham CC

AU 7 5 9 8 7 5 41
Rich 4 5 0 3 6 0 18
Lofty 8 9 7 6 3 6 39

1st leg total 98 v 115

TC 4 4 4 7 11 6 36
Mark 4 8 7 7 5 7 38
Steve 3 7 9 8 14 8 49

2nd leg total 123 v 94

Rob 6 9 1 6 2 8 32

Lewis

 7 8 5 5 6 6 37
Stu 7 8 6 7 6 7 41

3rd leg total 110 v 108

AS 6 2 5 6 4 9 32
Gary 6 8 7 2 7 4 34
JT 7 2 6 4 8 6 33

4th leg total 99 v 117

Grand total 430 v 434

WIN by -4

Hustlers well and truly plucked

With our skipper and Chairman off sunning themselves in Europe, the Hustlers looked to continue the season’s cup run.  How would they fare against the Pluckers on the unfamiliar territory of Hatherley’s Double Barrel?

Stand-in skipper Rob put us in to set and 1st leg gave us a good 6-pin lead, with both AU & Lofty getting to 40.  2nd leg performed steadily, but couldn’t match the Pluckers, so ended the 1st half of the match trailing by 3 pins and all to play for.

3rd leg then stepped up and struggled to find the pins.  Never having sat on the bench before, Rob succeeded in getting lowest score for the 2nd time this season as 19 pins were lost, leaving the anchor to get 23 pins to win.  Despite Gary’s top-scoring 45 (featuring our first spare of the season) and winning the leg, it wasn’t quite enough and we ended the match losing by 14 pins.

With the sad demise of the Divers, we have no game next week, so our next match is away yet again (will we ever play at the Suffolk again?) at Cheltenham CC.  Rob will be in the chamois trousers, while Lewis owes Jim (match fees) and Gary (spare), so who will be least happy?

6/10/09   v Pluckers @ Double Barrel

AU 6 8 7 5 9 7 42
JT 2 6 6 8 7 7 36
Lofty 8 6 6 6 6 8 40

1st leg total 118 v 112

TC 9 5 4 8 5 5 36
Rich 9 2 4 5 6 7 35
Lewis 5 8 3 5 6 9 36

2nd leg total 105 v 114

Rob 2 3 7 7 5 8 32

Steve

 5 6 7 4 6 5 33
Stu 6 5 6 6 8 7 38

3rd leg total 102 v 122

AS 8 6 7 8 4 5 39
Gary 7 13 5 6 7 7 45
Neil 6 6 8 3 3 7 33

4th leg total 116 v 109

Grand total 443 v 457

WIN by -14

Hustlers Creamed

In alien territory (well, Bishops Cleeve), could the Hustlers set a high enough score to beat the Cream?

With Jim making his first appearance of the season, 1st leg made a decent start, AU’s top-scoring 40 helping the ‘Slurs off to a 4-pin lead.  A consistent performance followed as 2nd leg got our highest leg total of the night and extended the leg to 17 pins.

Then the drama started.  3rd leg started off well enough, but then Mark started trying to get a beaver so he could take our Barry back home with him once more, and we finished a solitary pin ahead, leaving it all to the anchor.  Consistency was the name of the game and they started the leg by gaining pins.  But it didn’t take the Cream long to start pulling back the pins and ultimately turn the game completely their way to take it by 21 pins.

Pete and Clive are both off with some birds next week, so we face the Pluckers at the Double Barrel on Tuesday with Rob in charge.  Will he be able to turn our fortunes around?

30/9/09   v Cream @ RBL, BC

AU 5 4 8 9 8 6 40
Jim 4 5 5 5 6 3 28
Pete 5 8 8 5 4 7 37

1st leg total 105 v 101

TC 8 6 6 7 5 7 39
AS 4 5 9 8 7 6 39
Lewis 7 9 4 7 6 4 37

2nd leg total 115 v 102

Gary 7 7 8 7 5 4 38

Mark

 6 4 2 1 4 5 22
Stu 6 3 4 7 7 7 34

3rd leg total 94 v 110

JT 7 7 6 5 5 6 36
Olive 6 8 6 5 3 6 34
Neil 6 6 4 8 7 4 35

4th leg total 105 v 126

Grand total 419 v 439

WIN by -20

Hustlers not so Krafty at the Robins

What an exciting time for our first away game of the season.  Losing the toss and following on, we got off to an indifferent start, with Dobbin getting his first beaver of the season (but he’ll have to wait until next week to take charge of Barry, as Steve left him at home) and both sides failing to break the 100 mark.

A new look 2nd leg stepped up and battled to overturn the 4-pin deficit to level the game.  3rd leg bit in a big performance to become the highest scoring (for both sides) with a 40 from Lewis, while the vetetran JT & Stu combination were only 1 behind him.  And so the anchors came in with the game square and all to play for.  A yo-yo leg saw us go into the last hand needing 3 x 7 to win – only to fall 5 short.

With Rob in the chamois trousers for the next game, as well as caring for Barry, we can expect him to be a grumpy little Gooner.  Especially as we have a free week next Monday – time for our trip meeting and a bowl up at the Suffolk.

14/9/09   v Kraftsmen @ Robins Nest

Lofty 4 6 5 6 6 6 33
Rich 6 5 6 3 6 6 32
Dobbin 7 3 7 0 5 5 27

1st leg total 92 v 96

TC 6 5 7 6 6 6 36
AS 4 6 7 6 3 9 35
AU 8 6 3 5 7 5 34

2nd leg total 105 v 101

JT 4 7 8 8 6 6 39

Lewis

 6 5 8 4 8 9 40
Stu 5 7 8 7 6 6 39

3rd leg total 118 v 118

Olive 7 8 3 5 6 5 34
Steve 2 9 6 6 4 6 33
Mel 7 6 9 4 6 5 37

4th leg total 104 v 108

Grand total 419 v 423

WIN by -4

Jet Propelled

In time-honoured fashion, our 1st league game of the season saw us setting.  An indifferent start soon changed as 1st leg set the standard for the rest to follow, with a 13-pin lead.  With the reappearance of AU, 2nd leg did their best to lose that lead, but still handed over a lead of 3 pins.  With a returning Lewis making his Hustlers season debut, 3rd leg reestablished the 13-pin lead, becoming the top-scoring leg in the process.  Incredibly, and with a good deal of help from the Jets, our anchors proceeded to add a further 16 pins to the lead, giving us a 29-pin victory.

3 consecutve wins?  Our best start for some time – let’s make sure it continues in this vein when we face the Kraftsmen next Monday at the Robins Nest.

7/9/09   v Jets   @ Suffolk

Lofty 7 6 8 5 5 8 39
Rich 5 6 6 7 6 6 36
Steve 5 4 9 7 9 7 41

1st leg total 116 v 103

TC 5 5 6 8 4 7 35
Pete 5 3 5 6 5 5 29
AU 6 6 7 6 6 8 39

2nd leg total 103 v 113

JT 7 7 8 6 6 7 41

Lewis

 6 6 6 6 6 9 39
Stu 7 7 7 5 6 5 37

3rd leg total 117 v 107

Olive 5 6 8 8 7 9 43
Gary 6 4 4 7 7 7 35
Dobbin 4 7 5 6 8 6 36

4th leg total 114 v 98

Grand total 450 v 421

WIN by 29

Hustlers show no charity

With Clive winning the toss, we began this Hospitals Cup match with gleaming new balls and a newly polished alley.  Rich quickly managed to put a dent in 1 of the balls, nearly causing Zammo to cry.  A steady first leg top-scored and gave us a 6-pin lead.  Up stepped the 2nd leg, increasing our lead by a stonking 13 pins, and notching up both our first 9s and 40 of the season.

Our seasoned campaigners then stood up to form 3rd leg and stretch our lead by a further 7 pins, handing a healthy 26-pin lead over to the anchors.  Some interesting scoring, culminating in our 2nd 40, saw us actually drop 6 pins leaving us with a 20-pin victory to start off this year’s cup campaign.  How far will we progress?  Keep watching this space.

And on top of it all, we raised £17 for charity.

1/9/09   v Old Pats C   @ Suffolk

Lofty 7 6 7 8 5 5 38
Rich 4 7 7 8 6 7 38
Clive 8 7 7 8 6 3 39

1st leg total 115 v 109

TC 7 5 6 3 9 8 38
Salty 3 5 6 6 6 9 35
Steve 5 7 8 8 7 5 40

2nd leg total 113 v 100

Pete 7 6 7 6 3 6 35

AS

 7 5 9 4 7 2 34
JT 5 5 7 6 7 8 38

3rd leg total 107 v 100

Mel 6 8 5 5 7 9 40
Gary 5 5 5 7 7 7 36
Dobbin 6 2 8 7 6 7 36

4th leg total 112 v 118

Grand total 447 v 427

WIN by 20