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Hustlers lost the toss and fielded on a potentially sticky wicket at the Cricket Club, but strode to victory through a decent performance by the team’s resident Manc.

First leg was a minor event with Hustlers having to settle for a deficit of 9 pins but, against what was alleged to be the Cricket Club’s last leg in disguise, that was nothing to be ashamed of. 

Second leg was dominated by Stevie Walls, whose 52 included two 12 spares and a 9, and which was instrumental in managing to recover 6 of the deficit.

Third leg, largely unsung at the time despite a decent 39 by Lofty which included a small spare, actually managed to claw back a further 8 pins which set up the last leg for a grandstand finish.

So 5 up, what could the last leg do?  Well, just enough for a win as it turned out.  The Cricket Club’s last leg made life difficult but the last hand needed 19 to win and, bolstered at the start by Andy’s 9, managed to shade the game by the closest of margins. 

16/1/12 v Cheltenham Cricket Club @ Cheltenham Cricket Club

1st leg total 104 v 113

2nd leg total 115 v 109

3rd leg total 108 v 100

4th leg total 108 v 111

Grand total 435 v 433

WON by 2

A decimated Hustlers began 2012 at home against table-topping Cannonballs Elite.  Would they be able to go 1 better than the "Rubies" did last Saturday against Spurs?

1st leg got off to a great start as Gary hit a glorious flattener (our 2nd of the season) on his way to our top score of the night, and Neil narrowly missing out on a 40.  2nd leg stuttered along, just doing enough to keep our lead at the halfway point.
 
3rd leg fared a little better, losing by 1 pin to hand over the narrowest of leads to the anchors.  And what a last leg it proved to be, especially the ‘Balls’ last hand flattener as they took the leg by a massive 35 pins to scrape the game!
 
Next week it’s off to Cheltenham CC, with Mr spence acting as Statto for the week.  How will it all go?

9/1/12 v Cannonballs Elite @ Suffolk

1st leg total 115 v 109

2nd leg total 100 v 104

3rd leg total 108 v 109

4th leg total 100 v 135

Grand total 423 v 457

WON by -34

Back at home this week, Hustlers were looking to round off 2011 and the 1st half of the season with a win.  What would Santa bring them?

A clean slate from 1st leg, saw them set a 6-pin lead, with TC hitting our only spare & Lofty our 1st 40.  With Clive just missing out on a 40, 2nd leg stretched our lead by a further 3 pins to leave it tight at the halfway point.
 
Despite Gary getting our 2nd 40 of the night with a cracking 9, 3rd leg failed to break the ton, dropping a whopping 13 pins in the process to leave the anchors to pull the game back out of the hat.  And so we saw a seesaw leg ensue.  And with all 3 reaching 40 (& JT top scoring), it all came down to the vewry last hand.  With an epic score (& just Rob losing to his man), they showed great consistency to win the leg by 9 pins and hand us a very nice Christmas present indeed.

There’s no game now until 9 January, when we return to the Suffolk, looking to get the 2nd half of the seasons off to a winning start.

19/12/11 v Shadows @ Suffolk

1st leg total 107 v 101

2nd leg total 103 v 100

3rd leg total 99 v 112

4th leg total 131 v 122

Grand total 440 v 435

WON by 5

Hustlers ventured to the unknown as they faced the Flyers at Parklands in our last away game of 2011.  Could winning form be regained?

Despite Stavros’ best efforts, 1st leg got us off to a great start, with Statto setting our highest score of the night and Dan his highest of the season.  With Flyers failing to break the ton, we pulled out a 15-pin lead.  2nd leg soon set about that nd, with Swayner actually beating his man, somehow contrived to lose 11 pins, but still left us narrowly ahead at the halfway mark.

3rd leg went toe-to-toe in a tight scrap, with Lofty & Wallsy both getting 40 & Steve getting our lone spare of the night.  With just a single pin lost, it was down to the anchors to hold on to the lead.  And what a great anchor leg it was – unfortunately, they were playing for the flyers,.  Despite 40s from Lewis  & JT, Flyers just kept pulling pins and ultimately scraped home by a narrow 26 pins.

We’re back at home next week to take on the Shadows in our final game pf the year.

13/12 Flyers @ Parklands

1st leg total 112 v 97

2nd leg total 106 v 117

3rd leg total 114 v 115

4th leg total 108 v 137

Grand total 440 v 466

WON by -26

Back at home this week, Hustlers looked to return to winning ways against Fishers.  Could they give bench warmer Clive an early Christmas present?

Early jitters saw the lead swinging back and forth and, with a pair of 40s, eventually saw first leg tied with a nelson apiece.  Second leg then struggled, despite Lewis notching our sole spare of the night, and dropped 3 pins as they failed the break the ton.

Third leg, buoyed by Neil & Lewis taking the raffle prizes, turned that around as Lofty got our top score of the night and the leg pulled 7 pins to give us the lead for the first time.  To boot, they were the only leg to see no pins dropped to their men. 

And so the anchors only had to keep the lead.   But they were soon making hard work of it as Dobbin struggled to hit a barn door.  Eventually, with Neil getting our final 40 of the night and Steve just missing out on one, they actually pulled a further pin to give us a much anticipated victory.

We’re away next Tuesday at Parklands

5/12/11 v Fishers @ Suffolk

TC              5     9     8     7     5     8     42     7
JimBob       4     7     4     4     5     5     29     -11
AS              6     4     7     5     9     9     40     4
1st leg total 111 v 111

Mark           5     4     6     7     6     3     31     -3
Rich            6     4     6     4     2     6     28     -4
Lewis         5     7     3     5     13    5     38     4
2nd leg total 97 v 100

Gary           6     6     2     4     9     4     31     0
Mart           7     9     5     8     8     7     44     6
JT               7     8     6     6     4     7     38     1
3rd leg total 113 v 106

Steve         6     6     7     6     8     6     39     5
Neil            8     8     6     5     7     9     43     3
Rob            3     2     7     4     4     6     26     -7
4th leg total 10 v 107

Grand total 429 v 424
WON by 5

Hustlers went back on the road to face the Chosen Champs at the Churchdown Club.  Would their journey be worth the effort?

On a levelling alley, 1st leg got off to a slow start, attaining the lowest total of the night to trail by a mere 2 pins, despite TC getting top BYM of the night.  2nd leg seemed to cope better, especially with Steve getting our only 40 of the night (his dad must be a charm!), although they lost a further 4 pins.

3rd leg were much more consistent and, with AS getting our only spare, and both Lofty & JT just missing out on 40s, managed to pull back 5 pins to leave it very tight for the anchors.  A middling display saw the tension rise as the end of the game approached.  But the anchors couldn’t pull it out of the bag this week and actually lost a further 9 pins.

It’s back home next week as we face the Fishers
 

30/11/11 v Chosen Champs @ Churchdown Club

1st leg total 99 v 101

2nd leg total 110 v 114

3rd leg total 114 v 109

4th leg total 105 v 114

Grand total 428 v 438

WON by -10

Another home game, with Hustlers facing Telehoist A for the first time ever.  Would debutant Dan prove a lucky charm?

1st leg got off to a good start, with Clive & Gary both chalking up early spares.  With our first 2 40s of the night, we handed over 13 pins ahead.  A consistent 2nd leg saw Dan make a maiden 9 as the hoists collapsed to give us a further 15-pin lead at the halfway mark.

3rd leg soon turned that around and eventually cancelled out 2nd leg.  And so it was down to the anchors to hold on.  And, with Neil sandwiched between our final two 40s, they managed to pull out a further pin, to give us a much needed win.

Next Wednesday we travel over the border to take on the Chosen Champs @ Churchdown Club

21/11/11 v Telehoist A @ Suffolk

1st leg total 118 v 105

2nd leg total 102 v 87

3rd leg total 98 v 113

4th leg total 116 v 115

Grand total 434 v 420

WON by 14

Back at home, the Hustlers were looking to keep the fortress intact as they took on Eagle Star with a bare 12-man team.  Would the balls be with them this week?

1st leg began solidly enough, with just Statto failing to score a 40, to hand over just 6 pins down.  2nd leg were again steady, with Stavros beating his man to keep the leg scores square.  It was still anyone’s game and it looked good for us as the newly-arrived Lofty walked off with the raffle!!!

3rd leg got off to a good start as JT opened with a spare (our only one of the night as it proved to be) to bring the gap down to a single pin.  But that was the highlight of the leg as they then started rapidly shipping pins, eventually leaving the anchors a 17-pin gap to pull back.  Lewis did his bit as he raced to the top of the averages with our top score of the night.  But he was trumped by a lucky 57 from the Star’s Ray, losing by more pins than Neil.

And so the game concluded, but we were beaten by an unusually high score, so we can take some heart as we prepare to take on Telehoist next week, once again at home.

14/11/11 v Eagle Star A @ Suffolk

1st leg total 118 v 124

2nd leg total 116 v 116

3rd leg total 100 v 111

4th leg total 114 v 131

Grand total 448 v 482

WON by -34

Following on from their rest week, would the Hustlers be able to get back to winning ways as they took on Ullenwood CC away at the Suffolk?

First leg struggled with the heavy balls and, thanks largely to Lofty’s jammy last hand spare, somehow managed to win the leg by a single pin.  This clearly inspired second leg as they opened with a 25 pin hand, including our 1st 9 of the night from Cap’n Clive and JimBob making his maiden 40, as they stretched the lead out to 3 pins at the halfway point.
 
With cheeks clenched, 3rd leg began with a 9 from Gary and built up to a good total with 13 spares from Steve & Gary, but negated 2nd leg’s win, so we ended the leg back to a single pin gap.  Now tension really was building.  But the anchors held their nerve (despite Neil’s wobbly 4) and, with a trio of 40s, dealt the killer blow on the last hand (only Rob failing to score a 9) to leave too big a target for the Cricket Club to chase down.
 
Confidence now restored, we’re back at the Suffolk on Monday to take on Eagle Star A – and we can afford no cry offs for the night!!!!

8/11/11 v Ullenwood CC @ Suffolk

1st leg total 106 v 105

2nd leg total 115 v 113

3rd leg total 119 v 121

4th leg total 129 v 118

Grand total 469 v 457

WON by 12

With 3 wins now under their wings, Hustlers set about extending their winning streak against newcomers Fox & Hounds.  Just how would they get on?

First leg set out in steady form, with the first 2 of our top scorers getting us off to a 5 pin lead.  2nd leg showed similar form, with the 2nd 2 top scorers helping to stretch the lead by a further 2 pins.  and, with Kate winning the raffle yet again, it was looking rosey at the halfway point.

But that’s when things started to take a turn for the worst again.  With 3rd leg failing to score 100, our lead was completeley overturned and we went 6 pins behind.  But there was still all to play for and we had the anchors still to come..  With Lewis breaking 1 of Lofty’s balls and JT chalking up our lowest score of the night, we soon saw that gap spread even further as anchor lost by a stonking 21 pins.

The winning streak was over.  No game next week, but we meet at the Bank House for a trip meeting.

24/10/11 v Fox & Hounds @ Suffolk

1st leg total 110 v 105

2nd leg total 112 v 110

3rd leg total 94 v 107

4th leg total 100 v 121

Grand total 416 v 443

WON by -27