On a beautiful November evening in July, we welcomed the Tonge Team into the Lions Den!! They say an Animal is most dangerous when it is wounded & after back to back performances which would have warranted the “Hairdryer” treatment from Lord Ferguson, the wounds were still being licked. Could we lift ourselves & restore our dented pride?? Fourteen points from 2 games was way off the target of 10 per game we had set ourselves & with our lead now narrowed to 2 points, a good win was essential to prevent our near neighbours WBC gaining a psychological advantage as we moved into the last third of the season.
The Green looked very healthy, but after days of biblical proportion rain, the speed wasn’t to our benefit & would surely make for a more even contest.
It was very satisfying to see 3 of the 1st 5 pairings flying out of their Blocks to gain commanding leads. Waggy was “on-fire” racing to a 14-0 lead over Syd Hayes who had no answer to Tommy’s Laser guided Woods & he eventually succumbed to a rampant Waggy losing 21-5.
An equally impressive performance by Charlie saw him take a 18-1 lead against Alan Marcroft, who struggled to counter Charlies best performance of the season. Performance of the week, just pipping Waggy, Charlie ran out 21-4 & the omens looked good as normal service seemed to have been resumed!!!!
After John’s horror show in his last game on Hollinhurst, he resumed his recent excellent form, cruising to a 21-12 in over a battling Jim Clare.
The recent collective blip in form seemed a distant memory as Frank Kay put in another comprehensive show. Vinnie Greenhouse could only trail in his wake as Frank ran out a comfortable 21-12 winner.
The clean sweep in the 1st half would prove elusive as Tommy Taylor struggled to match the form of an impressive Alan Dunford & the 11-21 result flattered Tommy who had a howler, one to quickly erase from the memory bank!!!!!
All looked well as we moved into the second half of the game, but Tonge had saved there best for last with a strong second 5. We all knew they were potential Banana skins & had to ensure the earlier good work wouldn’t be in vain.
Mr Consistency, the legend that is Mr Kenny Bowles immediately found one huge Banana skin as he trailed a dogged Donny Wilkinson 10 nil. Donny’s pressure was relentless as Kenny bemoaned the speed of the Green & had nothing in reserve to ignite one of his famous comebacks, eventually going down to 11. A dent in Kenny’s flawless record so far this season, but Donny was just too good on the night.
Wrighty was up against the old-stager Joe Connor, Dave showed no concession to Joe’s seniority, as he put on a masterclass to lead 16-4 & eventually showed some mercy as he took his foot off the Pedal & Joe made double figures to go down 21-12
I took on an unknown quantity in the form of Dave Connor, at 16-4 up I should have been looking at my best win of the season. Dave struggled over the Crown but eventually found a mark to his liking & rattled up 12 chalks. Duds was up against Ricky Jones & having recently slipped to No2 in the averages, he would need a good win to put him back in his rightful position, Les Toth might disagree!!!??? Duds was still smarting from his recent visit to the Waterloo, (ask him, I daren’t put it in writing) & Rick had little defence, going down to 8.
With only Eggy left on the Green, the possibility of eight winners was in the balance as he had Darren Wardle to contend with. Eggy had his hands full, Darren is Tonges most consistent Bowler by some margin, but Eggy made a great start to lead 9-1. Darren found his length & pulled it back to 11 across. It was now game on as they stood chin to chin & traded blows, scoring off their opponents blocks. It was anyones game as the scoring went 14 across, 15 across, 16 across, 17 across. Eggy had Darren on a Joe Carr mark in the middle of the Green & was in the driving seat at he edged out 19-17. Darren never to be beaten, replied with 2 chalks off 2 loose woods from Steve & put 2 Jaffa’s up to run out. Steve was gutted to fall again at the last hurdle, a solid battling performance from Darren to grab Tongues 3rd win of the night.
Final score 7-3 & 188 – 126 in the Agg. for a result of 10 - 4½
Double figures again at last, hopefully we can do a similar job against Walmersley next week??
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Friday, 4 July 2008
Week 12 – 4th July – Prestwich Cons – Home
We started tonight’s game under a sky laden with thick black clouds, was this an omen?? Were the storm clouds gathering both literally & proverbially on our season?? Tonight’s game on a sluggish surface against the resurgent Con’s would prove to be a true test of our mettle. Fresh from their best away result in living memory, the Prestwich lad’s confidence was sky high & they were surely out for revenge for the early season mauling we inflicted on them in the reverse fixture many weeks ago……………………
Duds slipped to second in the averages after last weeks loss in Heywood & whoever he met tonight would surely feel the backlash!! Jeff Smidman must have cursed the draw as they met again & although Jeff had an off night in the previous game, he raised his performance markedly & bowled well enough to deserve far more than the 9 chalks he managed tonight.
The 1st five games threw together some interesting pairings, the pick of them being Tommy T. against Chris Harris. Tommy knew he had his hands full as they mirrored each others scoring to lie 10 across at 14 ends. In a game too close to call, Chris held his nerve & crept ahead as the winning post came into sight & just squeezed Tommy out to 19, hard luck Tommy, you drew the short straw!!! Sorry Chris, no pun intended.
Not the start I had hoped for, but with Waggy up 14-8 against Colin Laithwaite & Charlie cruising to a 20-12 lead against Bill Harris, good times were just around the corner & the Hollinhurst title challenge was back on track…….. Charlie made life very difficult for himself as the elusive final chalk refused to appear, Bill battled hard to eventually go down to 19 against a very relieved Charlie. Waggy hit a brick wall as Colin turned the Screws with a solid break of 10 which broke Tommy’s resolve as he eventually went down to 17.
The Cons had obviously not read the script as they put on a great display of disciplined bowling on a surface which seemed to suit them far more than Hollinhurst, with far too many short woods failing to register on the card.
One guy in particular, showed a total lack of respect for our previous impeccable home form & deserves every credit for the performance of the night by some margin. Alan Bailey against John Pearson in previous seasons would have been a banker of the shortest odds, with only John’s winning margin being worthy of discussion.
Playing full corners on John’s favourite mark, Alan bowled John off the green & JP trailed in Alans wake 16-4, Alan was on the money every end & John was looking at his heaviest for some considerable time. Talk about a game of two halves & not a Football insight, Alan must have been as sick as a Parrot as John somehow plumbed the depths of his experience to muster a 13 break, with only a 2 chalk reply from Alan. The script would have one final twist in the tale as John then gifted Alan 2 chalks but drew back to all but across, only to let a yard wood from Alan grab the decisive point of the game. JP gave himself a mountain to climb with a great come-back but Alan is surely the Con’s most improved player & deserved the plaudits of both his team-mates & the Hollinhurst lads.
We were on the Ropes again for the second week running & trailing 3-2 down was certainly not part of the game plan. Could we deliver the knock-out punch in round 2??
Thankfully both Kenny & Frank came out fighting & ran out comfortable winners against Tommy Toone & Barney to 12 & 10 respectively, just the tonic to spur us on to a late rally in the final 3 games & a respectable points haul with the agg now looking safe.
Wrighty had a ding-dong battle with Conchie & at 17 across the game could have swung either way, but to the relief of the Hollinhurst faithful he crept home without Alan adding to his tally. With the game now at 5-3 in our favour & the agg safe, I needed 2 more wins from Eggy & Razor to maintain my target of 10 points from every home game to ensure a serious title challenge.
Sadly it wasn’t to be, Razor was taking a hiding from an in-form John Woodard & at 12-1 down, Bladesy looked out of sorts with some errant bowling & you could see him mentally adding page 1093 to the “Blades Almanac of Bowling Excuses”. He rallied late in the game to go down to 14, never fully recovering from Woody’s flying start.
The final game was notable for the see-sawing of scoring with 5 & 6 end breaks on both sides. With Eggy lying 14-13 up, Alan went on a 6 end, 7 point break to lie all-but 14, Eggy dug deep & mounted his own charge to bring the game back to all-but across & when I last heard was still in a state of deep depression when he conjured up 2 no-balls to hand Alan the game with a yard wood. Eggy has since sought counseling & is currently in the next Bed to Razor in the Bowling Wing of the Priory. Both are making a good recovery, Eggy is on an intravenous drip of Smiths Bitter & Razor has started Bullshitting again!!!!!!!
We were second best tonight with no excuses, the away team played us off the Green, hopefully they will maintain this form against our nearest rivals.
Final result 5-5 & 195-173 winners of the agg, for an 8.0 – 7.5 win to Hollinhurst.
Knock-out Cup next week at the Top Green, we must try harder!!!!!!!!
Duds slipped to second in the averages after last weeks loss in Heywood & whoever he met tonight would surely feel the backlash!! Jeff Smidman must have cursed the draw as they met again & although Jeff had an off night in the previous game, he raised his performance markedly & bowled well enough to deserve far more than the 9 chalks he managed tonight.
The 1st five games threw together some interesting pairings, the pick of them being Tommy T. against Chris Harris. Tommy knew he had his hands full as they mirrored each others scoring to lie 10 across at 14 ends. In a game too close to call, Chris held his nerve & crept ahead as the winning post came into sight & just squeezed Tommy out to 19, hard luck Tommy, you drew the short straw!!! Sorry Chris, no pun intended.
Not the start I had hoped for, but with Waggy up 14-8 against Colin Laithwaite & Charlie cruising to a 20-12 lead against Bill Harris, good times were just around the corner & the Hollinhurst title challenge was back on track…….. Charlie made life very difficult for himself as the elusive final chalk refused to appear, Bill battled hard to eventually go down to 19 against a very relieved Charlie. Waggy hit a brick wall as Colin turned the Screws with a solid break of 10 which broke Tommy’s resolve as he eventually went down to 17.
The Cons had obviously not read the script as they put on a great display of disciplined bowling on a surface which seemed to suit them far more than Hollinhurst, with far too many short woods failing to register on the card.
One guy in particular, showed a total lack of respect for our previous impeccable home form & deserves every credit for the performance of the night by some margin. Alan Bailey against John Pearson in previous seasons would have been a banker of the shortest odds, with only John’s winning margin being worthy of discussion.
Playing full corners on John’s favourite mark, Alan bowled John off the green & JP trailed in Alans wake 16-4, Alan was on the money every end & John was looking at his heaviest for some considerable time. Talk about a game of two halves & not a Football insight, Alan must have been as sick as a Parrot as John somehow plumbed the depths of his experience to muster a 13 break, with only a 2 chalk reply from Alan. The script would have one final twist in the tale as John then gifted Alan 2 chalks but drew back to all but across, only to let a yard wood from Alan grab the decisive point of the game. JP gave himself a mountain to climb with a great come-back but Alan is surely the Con’s most improved player & deserved the plaudits of both his team-mates & the Hollinhurst lads.
We were on the Ropes again for the second week running & trailing 3-2 down was certainly not part of the game plan. Could we deliver the knock-out punch in round 2??
Thankfully both Kenny & Frank came out fighting & ran out comfortable winners against Tommy Toone & Barney to 12 & 10 respectively, just the tonic to spur us on to a late rally in the final 3 games & a respectable points haul with the agg now looking safe.
Wrighty had a ding-dong battle with Conchie & at 17 across the game could have swung either way, but to the relief of the Hollinhurst faithful he crept home without Alan adding to his tally. With the game now at 5-3 in our favour & the agg safe, I needed 2 more wins from Eggy & Razor to maintain my target of 10 points from every home game to ensure a serious title challenge.
Sadly it wasn’t to be, Razor was taking a hiding from an in-form John Woodard & at 12-1 down, Bladesy looked out of sorts with some errant bowling & you could see him mentally adding page 1093 to the “Blades Almanac of Bowling Excuses”. He rallied late in the game to go down to 14, never fully recovering from Woody’s flying start.
The final game was notable for the see-sawing of scoring with 5 & 6 end breaks on both sides. With Eggy lying 14-13 up, Alan went on a 6 end, 7 point break to lie all-but 14, Eggy dug deep & mounted his own charge to bring the game back to all-but across & when I last heard was still in a state of deep depression when he conjured up 2 no-balls to hand Alan the game with a yard wood. Eggy has since sought counseling & is currently in the next Bed to Razor in the Bowling Wing of the Priory. Both are making a good recovery, Eggy is on an intravenous drip of Smiths Bitter & Razor has started Bullshitting again!!!!!!!
We were second best tonight with no excuses, the away team played us off the Green, hopefully they will maintain this form against our nearest rivals.
Final result 5-5 & 195-173 winners of the agg, for an 8.0 – 7.5 win to Hollinhurst.
Knock-out Cup next week at the Top Green, we must try harder!!!!!!!!
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Week 11 - June 25th - Unionist A - Away
Following last weeks mid-term break for the League Handicap, it was back to the serious stuff & we resumed hostilities against the perpetual thorn in our sides Hopwood Unionist A!!!
Could our stiffest test to-date prove to be our un-doing for the title race & tip the scales in favour of Hopwood & WBC or could we muster a respectable result from what we discovered during practice to be a lightening fast Green??
It quickly became apparent that the Green was a huge home advantage as the homesters scored easily in the early stages of the 1st 5 games. Hollinhurst struggled to adjust to the conditions & trailed across the board despite some decent Woods failing to register on the cards. Slowly the early dominance of the Hopwood lads was eroded as we gained some confidence, but at 10 ends in, we were behind in every game!!!
There was a light at the end of the Tunnel with Kenny B & Frank Kay in particular, rallying with some superb bowling & took a slender lead into the final stages of their games against Paul Wakeling & Brian Hardman. Kenny tried in vain to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory as he fell behind 20-17 but managed to cross the winning line to win by the narrowest of margins. It just wasn’t to be in Franks game despite some excellent bowling, Brian “got the rub of the Green” & Frank was desperately unlucky to lose to 15.
Sadly, in the remaining opening 3 games, the light in the Tunnel was an Express Train heading towards them at top speed!!!! John Pearson, struggled from the off & chased an in-form Barry Holcroft right through the game & ran out second best to 13. At 15-7 down Charlie was looking at a heavy defeat from Nick Kershaw who bowled every mark on the green & showed no quarter to Charlies advancing years!!! But the old campaigner dug deep & produced some vintage Bowls to eventually lie 20 across, a great effort from Charlie who didn’t deserve to be pipped at the post!!!!
Tommy T. eventually began to get a feel for the Green & despite being 6-0 down, managed to draw level at 12 across against Mark Heselwood. With Tommy in the ascendency, was he cruising to a hard fought victory??? Unfortunately just as he engaged top gear, his engine & gearbox seized & all 4 wheels fell off, scoring only once more to lose out 21-13
Battered & bruised from a Hopwood mauling, the 1st half scores didn’t make good reading at 4-1 down & 104-82 down in the Agg, could we gain some respectability from the 2nd 5 games???
The early signs looked encouraging as Eggy, Wrighty & Razor all took commanding leads against Eric Ralphson, Frank Heselwood & Tommy Mellor respectively, to lead 18-11, 18-14 & 20-12 but collectively they all switched off just as they entered the final furlong & somehow managed to limp home to 19, 20 & 18. Great wins all the same & these proved to be the last of our points tally as both myself & Duds came second best (me by some considerable distance!!!) on the night.
I was never in the game against a very impressive Pete Morley (honestly, he was there best player by far???!!!!!) my 3 best woods of the night were promptly struck off the green & I managed to register a meagre 7 chalks on the card.
The Halo that has shone so brightly for Duds so far this season, slipped ever so slightly when he came up against a very determined Terry Fahy. Terry took an early 6-0 lead which was to prove too much of a buffer for Duds to overcome & despite a late rally, lost to 18 on a Green he openly admits is a huge snarling hairy arsed Gorilla on his back & publicly requested to be dropped in all future games at this venue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We licked our wounds & contemplated what could have been a far worse result than losing 6-4 & an annihilation in the Agg of 203 -170 for a final tally of 9-6 to Hopwood. Well done lads, I had mentally set a target of 5 wins, we have to be realistic, they are a bloody good team on a Green which acted as an 11th man for them as the Agg clearly indicates.
Our 1st loss of the season to the team who I am sure will push us hardest in the title race, gladly they are out of our fixture list & with 7 games to go we must quickly return to our previous good form.
Next week Prestwich Cons at home, I'll bring a Pen!!!!????
Could our stiffest test to-date prove to be our un-doing for the title race & tip the scales in favour of Hopwood & WBC or could we muster a respectable result from what we discovered during practice to be a lightening fast Green??
It quickly became apparent that the Green was a huge home advantage as the homesters scored easily in the early stages of the 1st 5 games. Hollinhurst struggled to adjust to the conditions & trailed across the board despite some decent Woods failing to register on the cards. Slowly the early dominance of the Hopwood lads was eroded as we gained some confidence, but at 10 ends in, we were behind in every game!!!
There was a light at the end of the Tunnel with Kenny B & Frank Kay in particular, rallying with some superb bowling & took a slender lead into the final stages of their games against Paul Wakeling & Brian Hardman. Kenny tried in vain to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory as he fell behind 20-17 but managed to cross the winning line to win by the narrowest of margins. It just wasn’t to be in Franks game despite some excellent bowling, Brian “got the rub of the Green” & Frank was desperately unlucky to lose to 15.
Sadly, in the remaining opening 3 games, the light in the Tunnel was an Express Train heading towards them at top speed!!!! John Pearson, struggled from the off & chased an in-form Barry Holcroft right through the game & ran out second best to 13. At 15-7 down Charlie was looking at a heavy defeat from Nick Kershaw who bowled every mark on the green & showed no quarter to Charlies advancing years!!! But the old campaigner dug deep & produced some vintage Bowls to eventually lie 20 across, a great effort from Charlie who didn’t deserve to be pipped at the post!!!!
Tommy T. eventually began to get a feel for the Green & despite being 6-0 down, managed to draw level at 12 across against Mark Heselwood. With Tommy in the ascendency, was he cruising to a hard fought victory??? Unfortunately just as he engaged top gear, his engine & gearbox seized & all 4 wheels fell off, scoring only once more to lose out 21-13
Battered & bruised from a Hopwood mauling, the 1st half scores didn’t make good reading at 4-1 down & 104-82 down in the Agg, could we gain some respectability from the 2nd 5 games???
The early signs looked encouraging as Eggy, Wrighty & Razor all took commanding leads against Eric Ralphson, Frank Heselwood & Tommy Mellor respectively, to lead 18-11, 18-14 & 20-12 but collectively they all switched off just as they entered the final furlong & somehow managed to limp home to 19, 20 & 18. Great wins all the same & these proved to be the last of our points tally as both myself & Duds came second best (me by some considerable distance!!!) on the night.
I was never in the game against a very impressive Pete Morley (honestly, he was there best player by far???!!!!!) my 3 best woods of the night were promptly struck off the green & I managed to register a meagre 7 chalks on the card.
The Halo that has shone so brightly for Duds so far this season, slipped ever so slightly when he came up against a very determined Terry Fahy. Terry took an early 6-0 lead which was to prove too much of a buffer for Duds to overcome & despite a late rally, lost to 18 on a Green he openly admits is a huge snarling hairy arsed Gorilla on his back & publicly requested to be dropped in all future games at this venue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We licked our wounds & contemplated what could have been a far worse result than losing 6-4 & an annihilation in the Agg of 203 -170 for a final tally of 9-6 to Hopwood. Well done lads, I had mentally set a target of 5 wins, we have to be realistic, they are a bloody good team on a Green which acted as an 11th man for them as the Agg clearly indicates.
Our 1st loss of the season to the team who I am sure will push us hardest in the title race, gladly they are out of our fixture list & with 7 games to go we must quickly return to our previous good form.
Next week Prestwich Cons at home, I'll bring a Pen!!!!????
Friday, 13 June 2008
Week 10 - Cheetham Hill B.C. - June 11th
Week 10 – Cheetham Hill B.C. – June 11th
Halleleujah!!! Hollinhurst is back to its best, the playing surface is in near perfect condition & following a few days of decent weather, has finally developed some pace. Would it be the great home advantage from days of old, would it be too slick for the Cheetham Hill Boys, or could the injection of speed catch out the Homesters after weeks of sluggish pace??
On a glorious evening, could a slightly depleted Cheetham Hill side with the notable absence of Mark Gibbons, put a spoke in the wheels of Hollinhursts title challenge?? I wheeled out the usual 5 opening blocks in the shape of Duds, J.P. Charlie Cowsill, the much improved Frankie Kay & the battered & bruised Tommy Taylor, still hurting from his mauling at Prestwich last week.
Duds took on the unknown quantity of Alan Ashton, Alan gave a good account of himself, on a Green I doubt he knew existed til last night & pushed Duds all the way & his 11 Chalks don’t really do his performance justice. Duds continues to put in consistent performances week after week, it is a joy to watch, surely now back to the very best of his form.
J.P. is in a similarly rich Vein of form & disposed of Dave Levy to 6, without having to break sweat. A game Dave will probably have already erased from the memory bank!!!
Charlie’s up & down season was set to continue with a nip & tuck game against another old stager, Eugene Brady. Charlie is his own worst critic & another erratic performance, finally saw him egde Eugene out to 19 in a game that looked to be beyond his reach with his hot & cold form throughout the game, a battling win, all the same.
Frank Kays indifferent form seems to be behind him, with a number of impressive wins of late. Norman Tyson drafted himself into the team at late notice & probably wished he hadn’t going down to 6.
Tommy Taylor dusted himself down, put on his best Flat Cap & came out fighting against Mr Consistency & No2 in the C.H.C.C. averages, Ian Johnson. Tommy took control early on & never looked like losing with a 6 chalk buffer for most of the game, bouncing back off the Canvas to a 21-14 win, well done Tommy, just what you needed.
With a full house & a healthy lead on the Agg, could a repeat of our last home game result be on the cards????!!!! Reality was quickly restored, when Eggy went down to 13 against Roy Mack. Steve is usually at home on the faster surfaces, but he didn’t adapt to the conditions quickly enough & Roy Mack takes no prisoners, beating Steve comfortably.
Thankfully the next 3 blocks went to plan & Wrighty, Razor & the man with the deepest pockets & shortest arms in the North of Manchester (answers on a postcard please, I’ll give you a clue, KB) all won to 15, 7 & 10 against Jim McGrath, Barry Solomons & Colin Weekes respectively.
When I made the draw & with my 100% record in mind, the one person I didn’t want to play was Bernard Bramhall, leading their averages & having scalped me on a number of occasions, I knew I had a game on my hands. With neither of us bowling at our best, the 1st dozen ends saw some indifferent ends & I held a slender 9-7 lead. We finally got the measure of the Green & began to produce some decent woods. Fortunes swung in Bernards favour as he took a lead at the final hurdle & at 20-18 up he conceded no ground when I produced my best bowls of the game only to be struck off when lying 2 & be beaten by a great last bowl, when again lying 2, too go down to 18. All good things come to an end & Bernard got his just rewards with some excellent bowling.
Another solid home performance, well done lads, final score 8 wins to 2 & 199 – 132 for a 11-3 victory.
A rest from League Bowling next week, good luck to all the Hollinhurst Lads in the League Handicap.
Halleleujah!!! Hollinhurst is back to its best, the playing surface is in near perfect condition & following a few days of decent weather, has finally developed some pace. Would it be the great home advantage from days of old, would it be too slick for the Cheetham Hill Boys, or could the injection of speed catch out the Homesters after weeks of sluggish pace??
On a glorious evening, could a slightly depleted Cheetham Hill side with the notable absence of Mark Gibbons, put a spoke in the wheels of Hollinhursts title challenge?? I wheeled out the usual 5 opening blocks in the shape of Duds, J.P. Charlie Cowsill, the much improved Frankie Kay & the battered & bruised Tommy Taylor, still hurting from his mauling at Prestwich last week.
Duds took on the unknown quantity of Alan Ashton, Alan gave a good account of himself, on a Green I doubt he knew existed til last night & pushed Duds all the way & his 11 Chalks don’t really do his performance justice. Duds continues to put in consistent performances week after week, it is a joy to watch, surely now back to the very best of his form.
J.P. is in a similarly rich Vein of form & disposed of Dave Levy to 6, without having to break sweat. A game Dave will probably have already erased from the memory bank!!!
Charlie’s up & down season was set to continue with a nip & tuck game against another old stager, Eugene Brady. Charlie is his own worst critic & another erratic performance, finally saw him egde Eugene out to 19 in a game that looked to be beyond his reach with his hot & cold form throughout the game, a battling win, all the same.
Frank Kays indifferent form seems to be behind him, with a number of impressive wins of late. Norman Tyson drafted himself into the team at late notice & probably wished he hadn’t going down to 6.
Tommy Taylor dusted himself down, put on his best Flat Cap & came out fighting against Mr Consistency & No2 in the C.H.C.C. averages, Ian Johnson. Tommy took control early on & never looked like losing with a 6 chalk buffer for most of the game, bouncing back off the Canvas to a 21-14 win, well done Tommy, just what you needed.
With a full house & a healthy lead on the Agg, could a repeat of our last home game result be on the cards????!!!! Reality was quickly restored, when Eggy went down to 13 against Roy Mack. Steve is usually at home on the faster surfaces, but he didn’t adapt to the conditions quickly enough & Roy Mack takes no prisoners, beating Steve comfortably.
Thankfully the next 3 blocks went to plan & Wrighty, Razor & the man with the deepest pockets & shortest arms in the North of Manchester (answers on a postcard please, I’ll give you a clue, KB) all won to 15, 7 & 10 against Jim McGrath, Barry Solomons & Colin Weekes respectively.
When I made the draw & with my 100% record in mind, the one person I didn’t want to play was Bernard Bramhall, leading their averages & having scalped me on a number of occasions, I knew I had a game on my hands. With neither of us bowling at our best, the 1st dozen ends saw some indifferent ends & I held a slender 9-7 lead. We finally got the measure of the Green & began to produce some decent woods. Fortunes swung in Bernards favour as he took a lead at the final hurdle & at 20-18 up he conceded no ground when I produced my best bowls of the game only to be struck off when lying 2 & be beaten by a great last bowl, when again lying 2, too go down to 18. All good things come to an end & Bernard got his just rewards with some excellent bowling.
Another solid home performance, well done lads, final score 8 wins to 2 & 199 – 132 for a 11-3 victory.
A rest from League Bowling next week, good luck to all the Hollinhurst Lads in the League Handicap.
Friday, 6 June 2008
Week 9 - June 4th - Prestwich Bowling Club
On an almost perfect evening for Bowls we travelled the short distance with the sweet smell of last weeks 13-0 win still fresh in our nostrils. Could a repeat be on the Cards?? The Prestwich lads were still looking for their 1st win of the season & surely their run of bad luck could not last too much longer, with 3 or 4 new faces in the ranks, drafted in from their B team, were they a sleeping giant about to awaken & de-rail our title hopes??
We were given an instant reality check, when 4 of the 1st 5 Hollinhurst blocks went behind & Charlie & Tommy T in particular struggling with their games & fell well behind the pace. Neither fully recovered & Tommy fell to a heavy defeat by Dave Sandiford (21-8) who wasn’t pushed too hard for a deserved win. Charlie rallied late against Stafford Morley & clawed his way back to 16 despite never being close to his best form.
Duds finally got his act together & limped home against a battling Stuart Cameron who fought hard with some excellent Bowling, at 15 across it was anybody’s game but he eventually went down to 18
Frank Kay has found some good form & a victory against Gareth Martin will hopefully kickstart his stuttering season with a prolonged run of games, well done Frank.
John Pearson had a similar battle with Steve Dixon, JP took an early lead & at 9-0 up looked to be cruising. Steve dug deep & John looked like a man about to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory & ran out a relieved 21-18 winner.
At the half way stage we were 3-2 up, but 95- 87 down on the aggregate, we needed 5 solid second half performances to retrieve the Agg & keep some distance between us & Hopwood A. With an arguably stronger 2nd 5 blocks, Prestwich must have sensed a possible victory was in the air when both Wrighty & Razor fell to heavy defeats at the hands of the Professional Yorkshireman & Steve Blaymire respectively to 12 & 7. Wrighty was far from his best, whilst Razor assures me he was “robbed”, “bowled out of his skin” & “did nowt wrong” strangely Duds marked his card & thought he played like a “T**t”
With the game slipping through our fingers & the Agg now a distant memory, we feared the worst, but we finally reversed our faltering fortunes with 3 wins in the final games. Eggy, Kenny & myself managed to close the game out at 6 winners to 4, but frustratingly losing the agg by 10 chalks 169 – 179. Final score 9 – 7 to Hollinhurst.
Well done Prestwich, how you haven’t won a match yet off strong performances like you produced against us remains a mystery!!!
With the season now at the half way stage, hopefully we can get back to double figures next week against Cheetham Hill
We were given an instant reality check, when 4 of the 1st 5 Hollinhurst blocks went behind & Charlie & Tommy T in particular struggling with their games & fell well behind the pace. Neither fully recovered & Tommy fell to a heavy defeat by Dave Sandiford (21-8) who wasn’t pushed too hard for a deserved win. Charlie rallied late against Stafford Morley & clawed his way back to 16 despite never being close to his best form.
Duds finally got his act together & limped home against a battling Stuart Cameron who fought hard with some excellent Bowling, at 15 across it was anybody’s game but he eventually went down to 18
Frank Kay has found some good form & a victory against Gareth Martin will hopefully kickstart his stuttering season with a prolonged run of games, well done Frank.
John Pearson had a similar battle with Steve Dixon, JP took an early lead & at 9-0 up looked to be cruising. Steve dug deep & John looked like a man about to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory & ran out a relieved 21-18 winner.
At the half way stage we were 3-2 up, but 95- 87 down on the aggregate, we needed 5 solid second half performances to retrieve the Agg & keep some distance between us & Hopwood A. With an arguably stronger 2nd 5 blocks, Prestwich must have sensed a possible victory was in the air when both Wrighty & Razor fell to heavy defeats at the hands of the Professional Yorkshireman & Steve Blaymire respectively to 12 & 7. Wrighty was far from his best, whilst Razor assures me he was “robbed”, “bowled out of his skin” & “did nowt wrong” strangely Duds marked his card & thought he played like a “T**t”
With the game slipping through our fingers & the Agg now a distant memory, we feared the worst, but we finally reversed our faltering fortunes with 3 wins in the final games. Eggy, Kenny & myself managed to close the game out at 6 winners to 4, but frustratingly losing the agg by 10 chalks 169 – 179. Final score 9 – 7 to Hollinhurst.
Well done Prestwich, how you haven’t won a match yet off strong performances like you produced against us remains a mystery!!!
With the season now at the half way stage, hopefully we can get back to double figures next week against Cheetham Hill
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Week 8 - 28th May - Hopwood Unionist B
Had the clocks gone forward 6 months this week, it was bloody freezing & wet, isn't Bowls a Summer activity??? We welcomed the Heywood Boys this week & what a friendly bunch they are, but was this all part of a cunning plan by their A team cohorts to lull us into a fall sense of security???!!!
On a wet slow surface the Hollinhurst Green was far from the usual home advantage which many visiting teams fail to master & if we were to maintain our slender lead over the Hopwood A team we couldn't afford to be complacent.
We needed a good start to settle my nagging doubts of a humiliating defeat as top took on bottom & the wrong result would certainly put the skids under our early season advantage which was now down to only 4 points.
The boys rose to the occassion & answered my doubts with 5 solid wins from 5, with both Duds & JP winning to 6, Charlie was taken the distance by Brian O'Connell to run out to 19, Waggy & Tommy T completed the cleansweep from the 1st half games, winnig to 16 & 11 respectively.
Would the second 5 blocks maintain the winning streak?? In a word yes, we completed the first full house for as long as I can remember & capped a memorable 13-0 victory with an excellent comeback from 12-1 down, by the Legend in his own Dinnertime Johnny "Razor" Blades to beat Brian Goodall to 16, well done Razor, performance of the Week & back to his best form.
With Hopwood A at home to the Eagle, we could possibly extend our lead this week.
Next week, Prestwich BC at their place, best Green in the League I hear, hopefully another happy hunting ground?
On a wet slow surface the Hollinhurst Green was far from the usual home advantage which many visiting teams fail to master & if we were to maintain our slender lead over the Hopwood A team we couldn't afford to be complacent.
We needed a good start to settle my nagging doubts of a humiliating defeat as top took on bottom & the wrong result would certainly put the skids under our early season advantage which was now down to only 4 points.
The boys rose to the occassion & answered my doubts with 5 solid wins from 5, with both Duds & JP winning to 6, Charlie was taken the distance by Brian O'Connell to run out to 19, Waggy & Tommy T completed the cleansweep from the 1st half games, winnig to 16 & 11 respectively.
Would the second 5 blocks maintain the winning streak?? In a word yes, we completed the first full house for as long as I can remember & capped a memorable 13-0 victory with an excellent comeback from 12-1 down, by the Legend in his own Dinnertime Johnny "Razor" Blades to beat Brian Goodall to 16, well done Razor, performance of the Week & back to his best form.
With Hopwood A at home to the Eagle, we could possibly extend our lead this week.
Next week, Prestwich BC at their place, best Green in the League I hear, hopefully another happy hunting ground?
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Week 7 - May 16th - Eagle & Child A
The ever boisterous Eagle Team played hosts to Hollinhurst on a cold Friday night, when we all probably wished we were somewhere else??? The Green looked in perfect condition, but with the notable abscences of Duds & Wrighty, could there be an upset on the Cards??
Thanks go to Gary Ellis & Ian Turrell for standing in at short notice, both had tough games with Ian coming from behind & beating a battling & impressive John Turner to 20 & being one of 4 Hollinhurst lads to run out eventual winners to the same score. Gary nosed out Phil Challis to 15 & knew his scalp was on the line for much of the game.
John Pearsons 21-5 win over Martin Turner was immediately cancelled out by an out of sorts Charlie Cowsill going down to the same score too Cliff Wood. Tony Normans unorthodox technique once again defied the purists to dispose of Tommy Taylor to 16 & we took a slender 3-2 lead into the second half of the game, with the Agg at 84 - 78 it was game on.
Block 6 saw Johnny Blades slip to a 21-13 defeat, please remember to bring your own Bowls next week Bladsey!!! Yet another excuse to add to the weighty Tome which is the "Bladsey Book of Bowling Defeats" War & Peace is a short story by comparison????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With the Match standing at 3-3 & the final 4 games all showing a healthy lead to the Eagle, could the Eagle lads sense the sweet smell of victory??? would Hollinhurst sucumb to their 1st defeat of the season??? The baying crowd, fuelled by a copious supply of Mr Holt's finest Bitter were vocal in thier unwavering support, not least the shy & retiring David Rosenfield who takes every opportunity to exercise his vocal chords!!!!!!!!!!!
I am sure the final 4 games will prove to be the most compelling & crucial to Hollinhursts 2008 title winning aspirations. With all 4 games well advanced, the pendulum had swung to a huge Eagle advantage, with Eggy & Kenny both trailing by 19 - 7, Ian lay all but 17 down & I was all but 19 down. The probable outcome looked like a 10 - 4.5 win to the Eagle, but what transpired, left me with a smug grin on my face all weekend. On a full corner mark where Graham Butterworth had scored heavily against me, I finally pulled out 2 - 6" Bowls to sneak home, Ian had a grueller against John Turner & at all but across his huge experience proved invaluable, beating a foot wood from John. Performances of the week by some distance goes to Kenny & Eggy, 2 awesome, gritty displays of close tactical bowling left their opponents in disbelief, pondering how the F**k did I lose the game???
I am still scratching my head how we manged to run out winners by 13.5 - 3. A great team performance & a pleasure to be part of. Well done lads, bring on Hopwood Unionist B!!!!!!!
Thanks go to Gary Ellis & Ian Turrell for standing in at short notice, both had tough games with Ian coming from behind & beating a battling & impressive John Turner to 20 & being one of 4 Hollinhurst lads to run out eventual winners to the same score. Gary nosed out Phil Challis to 15 & knew his scalp was on the line for much of the game.
John Pearsons 21-5 win over Martin Turner was immediately cancelled out by an out of sorts Charlie Cowsill going down to the same score too Cliff Wood. Tony Normans unorthodox technique once again defied the purists to dispose of Tommy Taylor to 16 & we took a slender 3-2 lead into the second half of the game, with the Agg at 84 - 78 it was game on.
Block 6 saw Johnny Blades slip to a 21-13 defeat, please remember to bring your own Bowls next week Bladsey!!! Yet another excuse to add to the weighty Tome which is the "Bladsey Book of Bowling Defeats" War & Peace is a short story by comparison????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With the Match standing at 3-3 & the final 4 games all showing a healthy lead to the Eagle, could the Eagle lads sense the sweet smell of victory??? would Hollinhurst sucumb to their 1st defeat of the season??? The baying crowd, fuelled by a copious supply of Mr Holt's finest Bitter were vocal in thier unwavering support, not least the shy & retiring David Rosenfield who takes every opportunity to exercise his vocal chords!!!!!!!!!!!
I am sure the final 4 games will prove to be the most compelling & crucial to Hollinhursts 2008 title winning aspirations. With all 4 games well advanced, the pendulum had swung to a huge Eagle advantage, with Eggy & Kenny both trailing by 19 - 7, Ian lay all but 17 down & I was all but 19 down. The probable outcome looked like a 10 - 4.5 win to the Eagle, but what transpired, left me with a smug grin on my face all weekend. On a full corner mark where Graham Butterworth had scored heavily against me, I finally pulled out 2 - 6" Bowls to sneak home, Ian had a grueller against John Turner & at all but across his huge experience proved invaluable, beating a foot wood from John. Performances of the week by some distance goes to Kenny & Eggy, 2 awesome, gritty displays of close tactical bowling left their opponents in disbelief, pondering how the F**k did I lose the game???
I am still scratching my head how we manged to run out winners by 13.5 - 3. A great team performance & a pleasure to be part of. Well done lads, bring on Hopwood Unionist B!!!!!!!
Week 6 - May 14th - Whitefield Bowling Club
After the good start to the 2008 season, week 6 was potentially the Banana Skin that could halt our winning streak. Alan Seel has strength in depth in an experienced squad, who could all be in with a chance of winning on the still slow Hollinhurst Green.
Duds continued his impressive run by demoloshing Alan Seel too 8, in what on paper could have been a very close game. A polished performance was hopefully the springboard for the rest of the team to emulate??? Tommy Taylor & Charlie efficiently disposed of stiff opposition to 10 & 14 respectively & I'm sure Graham Lamb & Gary Sandiford would have fancied their chances for a win?? Waggy went down to 14 to Steve Monaghan & in the last game of the 1st half John Pearson had a Battle Royal with his old adversary Dave Howells. In a game they both lead numerous times, a draw seemed a fair result, but at 20-19 up & in sight of the winning post, John fell at the final hurdle to some excellent precision Bowling from Dave.
Alan must have been more than happy with 2 winners from the 1st 5 Blocks & with Eggy just losing game 6 (20-21) to the most improved player of the past 2 seasons, Ian Meadowcroft, it was anybody's game at 3 games a piece.
In what I billed as the "Game of the Night" Les Toth showed why he is the reigning Averages Winner & anihilated the un-beaten Dave Wright to 5. Dave battled, but had no defence for the masterclass from Les. Les was particularly humble in his Victory............... was he Bollocks, he told anyone who would listen how good he is!!!!!!!!! & from what I saw, he was good.
With the game 4-3 in favour of the Whitefield lads, a few Hollinhurst Bums began to twitch nervously??!!!!
Just when you need a hero to emerge from the Ranks, up pops the legend in his own dinner time, Johnny Blades. After a spat with his Captain the previous week over team selection, he put his differences behind him to dispose of Bruce Holden to 8. Performance of the Week goes to John.
At 4-4 the last 2 games would prove decisive & with Kenny up against the rock steady Mick Middleton & myself against a Hollinhurst Homester, Kev Newbury, the balance could tip either way. Kenny scraped home to 17 & at 18-10 up, I almost grasped defeat from the Jaws of victory by easing home to 16 after an awful spell of 5 ends without reply.
Final result 6 winners to 4 & the Agg 185-157 gave us a 9 -6 win over a battling WBC side.
With our next game only 2 days away, due to the re-arranged Champions League clash, we had 2 days to savour a job well done.
Duds continued his impressive run by demoloshing Alan Seel too 8, in what on paper could have been a very close game. A polished performance was hopefully the springboard for the rest of the team to emulate??? Tommy Taylor & Charlie efficiently disposed of stiff opposition to 10 & 14 respectively & I'm sure Graham Lamb & Gary Sandiford would have fancied their chances for a win?? Waggy went down to 14 to Steve Monaghan & in the last game of the 1st half John Pearson had a Battle Royal with his old adversary Dave Howells. In a game they both lead numerous times, a draw seemed a fair result, but at 20-19 up & in sight of the winning post, John fell at the final hurdle to some excellent precision Bowling from Dave.
Alan must have been more than happy with 2 winners from the 1st 5 Blocks & with Eggy just losing game 6 (20-21) to the most improved player of the past 2 seasons, Ian Meadowcroft, it was anybody's game at 3 games a piece.
In what I billed as the "Game of the Night" Les Toth showed why he is the reigning Averages Winner & anihilated the un-beaten Dave Wright to 5. Dave battled, but had no defence for the masterclass from Les. Les was particularly humble in his Victory............... was he Bollocks, he told anyone who would listen how good he is!!!!!!!!! & from what I saw, he was good.
With the game 4-3 in favour of the Whitefield lads, a few Hollinhurst Bums began to twitch nervously??!!!!
Just when you need a hero to emerge from the Ranks, up pops the legend in his own dinner time, Johnny Blades. After a spat with his Captain the previous week over team selection, he put his differences behind him to dispose of Bruce Holden to 8. Performance of the Week goes to John.
At 4-4 the last 2 games would prove decisive & with Kenny up against the rock steady Mick Middleton & myself against a Hollinhurst Homester, Kev Newbury, the balance could tip either way. Kenny scraped home to 17 & at 18-10 up, I almost grasped defeat from the Jaws of victory by easing home to 16 after an awful spell of 5 ends without reply.
Final result 6 winners to 4 & the Agg 185-157 gave us a 9 -6 win over a battling WBC side.
With our next game only 2 days away, due to the re-arranged Champions League clash, we had 2 days to savour a job well done.
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Week 5 - May 7th - Walmersley Cons
On a perfect evening for Bowling, Hollinhurst entertained Walmersley Cons & hoped to keep up our early season winning form at full speed!!! With the notable absence of Stuart Jones we fancied our chances too rattle up a decent points tally!!!!
The 1st five Blocks almost ran to plan, apart for a defeat for Mr Consistency, Charlie Cowsill, who had potentially the most difficult opposition of the night in the shape of ex Hollinhurst stalwart, Matt O'Neill. Charlie chased the points & rallied late in the game to go down 14-21. Duds continued his excellent form against Tony Sudhurst & after being 4-0 down after 2 ends, dismissed Tony with a superb lesson in corner bowling with a 21 break & must surely now lead the avearages by some distance. Waggy, John Pearson & Tommy Taylor all won by narrowish margins against Neil Crocken, John Cranshaw & Graham Keating respectively.
In the second five blocks, Eggy & Tommo both struggled & ran out 15 & 13 losers to John Nally & Lou Peters. Dave Wright continued his charge to head the averages & kept his 100% record in tact with a 21-10 win over Terry Pemberton, Bowlsy won 21-14 over Rick Moran & I squeezed home 21-20 against Derek Butterworth, despite being 18-9 & 20-15 down, I eventually produced some form to match Dereks & maintain my early season winning streak by the narrowest of margins. Final Score 7-3 & 189 - 155 in the Agg, gave us a 10 - 4.5 win.
Home again next week to Whitefield Bowling Club, which should prove to be our toughest test of the season so far???
The 1st five Blocks almost ran to plan, apart for a defeat for Mr Consistency, Charlie Cowsill, who had potentially the most difficult opposition of the night in the shape of ex Hollinhurst stalwart, Matt O'Neill. Charlie chased the points & rallied late in the game to go down 14-21. Duds continued his excellent form against Tony Sudhurst & after being 4-0 down after 2 ends, dismissed Tony with a superb lesson in corner bowling with a 21 break & must surely now lead the avearages by some distance. Waggy, John Pearson & Tommy Taylor all won by narrowish margins against Neil Crocken, John Cranshaw & Graham Keating respectively.
In the second five blocks, Eggy & Tommo both struggled & ran out 15 & 13 losers to John Nally & Lou Peters. Dave Wright continued his charge to head the averages & kept his 100% record in tact with a 21-10 win over Terry Pemberton, Bowlsy won 21-14 over Rick Moran & I squeezed home 21-20 against Derek Butterworth, despite being 18-9 & 20-15 down, I eventually produced some form to match Dereks & maintain my early season winning streak by the narrowest of margins. Final Score 7-3 & 189 - 155 in the Agg, gave us a 10 - 4.5 win.
Home again next week to Whitefield Bowling Club, which should prove to be our toughest test of the season so far???
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Prestwich League - Results Etc
April 24th - Prestwich Conservative Club.
The weather finally remembered which season it was & we played our 1st game in bright sunshine & reasonable temperatures. Hollinhurst were playing their 3rd away game of the new season & were keen to keep up the momentum from previous weeks.
There were a number of tight games in the 1st 5 Blocks, non more than the battle between Charlie Cowsill & Chris Harris. Charlie defies his years & continues to play at a consistently high standard, Chris (the young pretender!!!) knew he had a game on his hands & the scoring was tight all through the game. At 14-14 it was anybody's game. The game continued in a tit-for-tat fashion with some outstanding Bowling from both parties. At 18-18 a draw seemed a fair result but Charlies experience pulled him through to sneak home 21-18
Tommy Wagstaff had a similar tight game to run out 21-20 against Alan Bailey, Paul Dudley was up against an out of sorts Jeff Smidman & ran out an easy 21-6 winner. Frank Kay & Tommy Taylor were always chasing their games & were looking for that extra yard on the slowish surface & finished both their games as 14-21 losers.
The second 5 blocks saw the ex-Con, John Thompson run out 21-7 against John Woodward as Tommo's early form continues. Kenny Bowles struggled against a battling Roland Eaton & crept home 21-17 in a game which could have gone either way. Eggy & Conchie had a similar score line with Hollinhurst again in the ascendency. Dave Wright proved again what a good acquisition he has been for Hollinhurst with another emphatic victory over Alan Davenport, 21-10 doing Wrighties averages no harm at all & with 4 wins out of 4, he leads the Hollinhurst Averages.
The final game of the night saw me pitched against Norman Salisbury, in an evenly matched game there was never more than 2 chalks in the whole game, with me always playing catch-up. With Norman leading out at 19 across, he played 2 uncharacteristic loosish woods to let me in for a 21-19 win.
With the away advantage the final score was: 15-2 to Hollinhurst, with 8 wins & the agg.
No league game next week, we are at Black Lane, playing the Eagle & Child C team in the league knock-out.
Well done Hollinhurst lads for a great opening to the 2008 season.
The weather finally remembered which season it was & we played our 1st game in bright sunshine & reasonable temperatures. Hollinhurst were playing their 3rd away game of the new season & were keen to keep up the momentum from previous weeks.
There were a number of tight games in the 1st 5 Blocks, non more than the battle between Charlie Cowsill & Chris Harris. Charlie defies his years & continues to play at a consistently high standard, Chris (the young pretender!!!) knew he had a game on his hands & the scoring was tight all through the game. At 14-14 it was anybody's game. The game continued in a tit-for-tat fashion with some outstanding Bowling from both parties. At 18-18 a draw seemed a fair result but Charlies experience pulled him through to sneak home 21-18
Tommy Wagstaff had a similar tight game to run out 21-20 against Alan Bailey, Paul Dudley was up against an out of sorts Jeff Smidman & ran out an easy 21-6 winner. Frank Kay & Tommy Taylor were always chasing their games & were looking for that extra yard on the slowish surface & finished both their games as 14-21 losers.
The second 5 blocks saw the ex-Con, John Thompson run out 21-7 against John Woodward as Tommo's early form continues. Kenny Bowles struggled against a battling Roland Eaton & crept home 21-17 in a game which could have gone either way. Eggy & Conchie had a similar score line with Hollinhurst again in the ascendency. Dave Wright proved again what a good acquisition he has been for Hollinhurst with another emphatic victory over Alan Davenport, 21-10 doing Wrighties averages no harm at all & with 4 wins out of 4, he leads the Hollinhurst Averages.
The final game of the night saw me pitched against Norman Salisbury, in an evenly matched game there was never more than 2 chalks in the whole game, with me always playing catch-up. With Norman leading out at 19 across, he played 2 uncharacteristic loosish woods to let me in for a 21-19 win.
With the away advantage the final score was: 15-2 to Hollinhurst, with 8 wins & the agg.
No league game next week, we are at Black Lane, playing the Eagle & Child C team in the league knock-out.
Well done Hollinhurst lads for a great opening to the 2008 season.
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