Blog

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 

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!

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.

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.

 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.

 With the Leagues and Cup now ended, focus turned to the Front Pin competition during May.  Follow the fortunes of our 2 intrepid entrants – Rob & Cap’n Clive.

Rob was drawn against the Black Abbotts’ Terry Middleton in the first round,  winning it despite failing to score in the 3rd hand:
4, 3, 0, 6, 8, 6  27   v   3, 3, 8, 4, 2, 2  22

In the 2nd round he was drawn against Kevin James of Old Golds but narrowly lost in a very tight game, to go out of the competition early:
7, 0, 9, 3, 6, 3  28   v   2, 3, 9, 4, 6, 3  27

Clive’s 1st round was against Adam Gregory, which he won easily, despite failing to score in the first hand:
0, 3, 3, 5, 7, 1  19   v   4, 8, 4, 7, 8, 0  31

Up next was Clive Hodges of the Brolly Boys, who proved more of a challenge for our skipper:
0, 4, 4, 6, 9, 6  29   v    4, 8, 9, 6, 2, 5  34

Clive’s march through the rounds continued with a resounding victory in round 3 over Terry Johnson of the Travellers:
7, 6, 7, 8, 7, 7  42   v   4, 3, 7, 8, 1, 7  30

The ¼ finals saw Clive facing the Steamers’ Paul Ashfield and putting in another great performance to secure another win:
4, 5, 7, 2, 8, 6  32   v   9, 7, 5, 7, 3, 8  39

The semi-final  brought Clive’s toughest challenge yet as he fought through against 2007 Champion Mick Benbow:
7, 6, 7, 11, 0, 8  39   v   3, 9, 7, 9, 3, 9  40

And so we came to the final, where Clive was pitted against the Travellers’ Darren Johnson:
8, 7, 6, 8, 9, 6  44   v   7, 8, 2, 8, 4, 9  38

Falling at the last, but not disgraced, Clive collected his runner-up trophy to bring us our 1st trophy since winning the shield at Woolacombe last year.  Well down skip – a great finish to a hard season.  Can we go 1 better next year?

After holding a lottery to select the playing order, the Hustlers lead off with a steady first leg, only to see the Celeries sneak it by a mere 4 pins.  With  Rob getting our first 40 of the night, 2nd leg put in another steady performance, but saw the lead stretch out by another 3 pins at the break.