Blog

Not even ten thousand men would have been able to save the Hustlers from losing their shirts on a lottery of an alley against Duke of York at the Buffs Club tonight.

First leg opened reasonably well but by the fifth hand had run out of steam despite Lofty and Clive achieving two of the three top scores of the night.  Second leg did not even get going with Lewis, remarkably still top of the averages, showing his girlfriend how easy it is to score 23 pins in only 6 hands, leaving the Hustlers trailing by 24 pins. On the credit side however, Swayner managed to become the only player to beat his man.

Third leg continued the car crash with only Gary managing a score in the 30s, and losing a further 29 pins into the bargain.  Fourth leg started brightly and had actually knocked 4 pins off the deficit by the third hand, but then the rot set in and Duke of York ran out winners by a mere 66 pins. 

The lesson is clear; the higher up the league one goes, the worse are the alleys and being able to win at home is key to success.  A special mention to Jim who, despite his ailments, turned up and still managed to get the same score as the person currently on top of the averages !

24/10/12 v Duke of York @ RAOB Club

1st leg total 98 v 107

2nd leg total 87 v 102

3rd leg total 86 v 115

4th leg total 103 v 116

Grand total 374 v 440

WON by -66

This week saw the Hustlers return to the Suffolk after their bye week, seeking a bit to get the season back on track.

1st leg got us off to an intresting start, as Stavros got a double beaver in setting our bottom score of the night, while Rob hit our first 40 and Mark our first 9.  15 pins down, 2nd leg proved more consistent, with TC (top scorer) & Gary both hitting 9s on their way to their 40s.  And, as top scoring leg, they not only pulled back the gap, but gave us a 4 pin lead at the halfway mark.

 3rd leg was a much closer affair, with Lewis adding another 9 and Steve a 40.   But the Extras proved a touch stronger & pulled back 4 pins, leaving it all down to the anchors to decide the final outcome.  Neil opened with a 9, to put us back into the lead once more.  With another 40 from JT, they held on to that start, ensuring a narrow victory would come the way of the Hustlers.

1st leg total 99 v 114

2nd leg total 120 v 101

3rd leg total 113 v 117

4th leg total 114 v 108

Grand total 446 v 440

WON by 6

An away draw in this year’s Hospitals Cup, saw Hustlers face up to Flowers Originals.

1st leg kept the game tight, as Stu & Gary narrowly missed 40s, while TC did his bit to separate the 2 teams.  Dan got our furst 9 of the night & Steve the first 40 as 2nd leg improved our total, but still lost a handful of pins, leaving us trailing at half-time.

Both sides had indifferent 3rd legs as Originals somehow managed to double the lead, leaving the anchors to pull back a dozen pins.  We immediately dropped far beyond as JT opened with a 1.  But they soon recovered, especially with Olive posting our 1st flattener in many moons on his way to our top score (it should have been a 50!), ably assisted by Neil’s 40 & JT just missing out.  The closest leg of the night, but still lost, making the total a baker’s dozen short.

We have a bye next week, but will convene at the Bank House for our trip meeting on Tuesday.

2/10/12 v Flowers Originals @ United Services

1st leg total 113 v 116

2nd leg total 116 v 119

3rd leg total 95 v 101

4th leg total 129 v 130

Grand total 453 v 466

WON by -13

A tricky alley lay in wait for Hustlers as they travelled to Saracens to get reacquainted with Cannonballs Elite.

 A steady performance from 1st leg saw several missed spares (along with our 1st spare of the night, from TC), but enough to yield three 40s.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough and we found ourselves 19 pins down.  2nd leg struggled, despite Steve chalking up our highest spare & highest score (and our first 50 of the season), yet they did enough to pull a pin back, leaving us trailing by 18 at halftime.

3rd leg were our top leg by far, with Stu & Lewis each contributing a spare in a total that featured two 40s and our second 50, but still dropped 5 pins. The anchors were to put in a good showing, with Clive getting our fifth spare (well short of the Elite’s spare total!!!) to become our 2nd winning leg.  But the gap was too big and we were soundly beaten on the night.

It’s the Cup next week (surely the start of a successful run this year) as we head to United Services.

26/9/12 v Cannonballs Elite @ Saracens

1st leg total 131 v 150

2nd leg total 123 v 122

3rd leg total 140 v 145

4th leg total 136 v 135

Grand total 530 v 552

WON by -22

A home reunion this week as Hustlers took on old rivals Cream in what we expected to be a close game.

A mixed start for 1st leg saw Neil get top score as he also ticked off 1st (only & top) spare and 40.  But it wasn’t enough as we dropped 8 pins.  2nd leg struggled to find form, and the 100 mark, as Pete bottom scored, dropping a further 16 pins to leave a midpoint gap of 24.

3rd leg stepped up to take on the challenge.  With three 40s (and a 9 apiece for Clive & Lofty), they somehow managed to close the gap completely, handing a levelled game over to the anchors to finish off.  A tense leg ensued as Rob managed another 40.  but it proved to be not enough, as Cream eked out a 7-pin gap to take the game at the close.

It’s the Cannonballs away @ Saracens next week, so we’re hoping for some good scoring chances for a change.

17/9/12 v Cream @ Suffolk

1st leg total 108 v 116

2nd leg total 96 v 112

3rd leg total 123 v 99

4th leg total 103 v 110

Grand total 430 v 437

WON by -7

And finally the new season gets under way & the Hustlers began a new season with a match at CSSC v Sinners.

1st leg got off to a good start, despite TC’s best efforts in getting the night’s lowest score.  But the Tocknells got our 1st 9s & 40s, Lewis leading the way with our first spare of the season and top score of the night.  2nd leg were even better, with Stavros & Pistols both hitting the 40 mark, Pete getting the best with another spare.

JT continued the trend with another spare as he & Stu (already 1 up on last season) added another pair of 40s to our tally, only for Lofty to notch up our maiden beaver and take Barry home with him at the end of the night.  A steady anchor leg saw just Rob get a 40, but they were good enough to take us home by the smallest of margins – a single pin.

A great start to the season, to great relief.  We are at home next week to face old opponents the Cream.  Here’s hoping for another win.

11/9/12 v Sinners@ Civil Service Club

1st leg total 117

2nd leg total 121

3rd leg total 120

4th leg total 113

Grand total 471 v 470

WON by 1

As tradition dictates, Hustlers wamed up for the new season with a "friendly" match against the auld enemy, the Anchor Old Ladies.  It promised to be challenging as the ‘Slurs looked to preserve their unbeaten run in the contest.

1st leg made a steady start, with cap’n Clive bravely struggling through his manflu to gain a 6-pin lead.  2nd leg performed magnificently in extending the lead by another 17 pins, with Lofty getting our sole 40 of the night.

3rd leg stumbled a little, as Tim got our first beaver of the night, closely followed by our first 9 (soon followed by a second from Stu), only to see the Old Ladies pull 4 pins back.  The anchor continued the decline as they lost a further 3 pins, aided by JT getting our 2nd beaver, but doing enough to preserve the lead.

Victory to the men once more – surely a good omen for the coming season.  Our campaign starts in earnest  on Tuesday with a visit to the Civvy Club to take on the Sinners.

7/9/12 v Anchor Old Ladies @ Suffolk

1st leg total 101 v 95

2nd leg total 105 v 88

3rd leg total 109 v 113

4th leg total 144 v 147

Grand total 457 v 441

It’s the last game of the season and Hustlers are looking to do the double over Shadows & to finish in a promotion slot.

1st leg opened well with JT getting our first 40 and Lofty our first 9 as they ground out an 8-pin lead.  Despite a pair of 9s from Stu, 2nd leg could only hang on in there as they dropped 4 pins to see us lead by a slender 4 at the halfway point.

3rd leg opened well as Gary lead with another 9 as he & TC chalked up 2 more 40s.  But Steve struggled throughout and we lost the leg by 6 pins, putting the shadows ahead for the 1st time.  And so it was down to the anchors to save the day.  With a pair of 9s apiece for clan Tocknell, and all 3 hitting 40s, they proved the most consistent, taking the leg by 6 pins to give victory to the ‘Slurs.

Now we wait for the rest of the results to see our final position.  And wait, too, to see if that earns us promotion to Div 1.  Watch this space for that news.

We wish all our readers a pleasant break before the the new seaason starts.

16/4/12 v Shadows @ United Services Club

1st leg total 115 v 107

2nd leg total 112 v 116

3rd leg total 113 v 119

4th leg total 129 v 123

Grand total 469 v 465

WON by 4

With both teams level on points, Hustlers, fresh from a seaside break, were looking to avoid the double from the Flyers in our final home game of the season.

1st leg struggled to get started, although Neil finally managed to take Barry the Brasilian Beaver home with him as he hit our only spare of the night.  In a remarkable turnaround, 2nd leg saw Lewis gain ownership of Mo the "alMost" Meerkat on his way to our 1st 40 of the night and the lead switch to the ‘Slurs at the halfway point.

The game was to swing once again as 3rd leg stumbled along and dropped 9 pins, leaving the anchors to chase down the game.  With Rob getting our top score (and top spare), the game began to swing once more the way of the Hustlers and the Flyers went into the final hand needing 18 to wrest victory from the ‘Slurs.  So, despite winning the final leg, the ‘Slurs lost by a meagre 3 pins.  But Cap’n Clive did become the 1st player to reach the exalted 1000 pin mark for some time.

Easter now approaches, offering a break efore we face our final game – the Shadows at United Services Club.  Can we scrape into a promotion slot?

2/4/12 v Flyers @ Suffolk

1st leg total 92 v 98

2nd leg total 114 v 105

3rd leg total 100 v 109

4th leg total 117 v 114

Grand total 423 v 426

WON by -3