MATCH REPORTS (A TEAM)

13th october 2019


13th October 2019 A Team travel to East Sussex and leave the hosts fuming.

It is not an easy journey, travelling to East Sussex, and indeed it is a long time since the A Team last went there.  The 2014/15 season to be exact.  However, the scenario was much the same as before since the Hampshire team returned with a storming win of 34 points to 6.  For the home side it was even greater insult to injury as the Hampshire Premier team had played there on the previous day, and had come away with a similar result.
 
In the singles, Tony Wall picked up a three on the first end but then ends were traded until the score at 8 ends was 6-all, but then he got to grips with the mat properly and accrued two counts of three, followed by one of two and one of four over the remaining 7 ends to run out 18-10 ahead.  His fellow singles player, Andrew Shorney had stormed into a 9-0 lead at 4 ends, and continued his dominance throughout the match only allowing 7 shots over six ends to be conceded. 
 
In the pairs, David Stallibrass and Dave Sperry were 7-1 up at 6 ends, but allowed their opponents to claw their way back into proceedings until at the 11th end the Hampshire duo were only 1 shot up (9-8).  Some edgy play saw a slight resurgence by the away team as they went 12-8 up with two ends to play.  It was scary then to drop a two on the penultimate end and a closely measured single on the final end to only win by 12-11.  The other pairing of Jan Sansom and Brian Brown however, seemed to have a much easier time of it scoring consistently on nine of the available 15 ends in a 16-9 win. 
 
In the second session Colin Sansom, Les Ricketts and Martin Grange were 2-3 down at the completion of the third end, but picked up 6 shots over the next two ends to go ahead 8-3.  From then on they seemed to be always in charge of the game and were comfortable 17-8 winners.  On the adjacent mat, Anita Bucknall, Dave Jelley and Billy Ray were having a barn-storming match and by 6 ends they were 16-1 up.  The home team only scored on two more ends – a single and a three, as the Hampshire trio demolished them 27-5, collecting three fours and a five within that total. 
 
 Jan Bunker, Linda Stiles, Team Manager Glo Fowler and Alex Tymon scored consistently throughout only dropping three singles in a 14-3 winning scoreline.  The only adverse score in the whole of the pre-lunch session was in the foursome of Julie Grange, Trevor Holmes, Lorraine Shorney and Colin Dickinson who were 3-12 down at the 9th end, but picked up six shots over the two remaining ends to only lose 9-12.
 
The home side were fuming at their losses, so the travellers needed to be on their mettle for the reverse matches after the lunchtime break. 
 
Tony Wall started badly and found himself 0-6 down at 3 ends, and although he only managed to win 6 of the remaining 12 ends in an uncharacteristic 8-16 defeat, he had pulled back into the game at the halfway stage to be only 3 shots adrift.  However Andrew Shorney was in fighting form and crushed his opponent 28-3.  Stallibrass and Sperry found the contrary mat 1 not particularly to their liking and although they kept the scoring tight, they still lost 9-13.  At 13 ends they had only been one shot adrift. (9-10) so it was a little disappointing to have dropped shots on the last two ends.  Sansom & Brown were in feisty mood in their second game of the match, and were convincing 21-7 winners. 
 
The final session of games saw the travelling Hampshire side well up and fully in charge of the game, but still could not be complacent. 
 
Martin Grange’s trio set off as they meant to continue and were 9-0 going into the 6th end.  Three singles conceded may have given the home side a little hope, but this was dashed as the Hampshire team picked up the pace again and ran out 15-8 winners.  Billy Ray’s triple had a closer game however and were 10-5 down at the halfway stage, but had a better ending and picking up a 5 on the 11th end got them right back into the fight, only 1 shot behind.  A count of 2 collected on the penultimate end saw them one shot in front and a further single on the final end gave them the game 14-12.  It had been a massive fight back. 
 
Dickinson’s foursome was nip and tuck all the way through and had got in front by three shots (7-5) by the 7th end.  Then four shots conceded on the next two ends saw the lead overturned (7-8).  They dug in however and picking up two counts of 2 on the final two ends gave them the win 11-8.  However, the piéce de résistance was Alex Tymon’s all-female Hampshire rink which had stormed into a 19-2 lead by the 7th end.  Three ends conceded took the score to 19-4 but the Hampshire rink were never really in any danger, and a three collected on the final end saw the score got to 22-4.
 
The final result was Hampshire 259 shots to East Sussex 136, and 34 points to 6.  A great win for an away match.    
 
The next match will be a double header at home to West Sussex, on 20th October.  



15TH SEPTEMBER 2019

​At their new venue of Riverside Indoor Bowling Club in Winchester, the County’s A team racked up a stunning 217 shots to 149 (32 points to 8) victory over Surrey.
 
Tony Wall in the singles always had the better of his opponent running out with a 16-9 victory, although dropping a score of 4 on the 13th end made the last two ends a little more intense.  Team colleague, Dave Sperry on the other hand, had a cat and mouse game against his opponent and dropped a four on the 11th end to go 3 shots behind.  This was followed by a single shot conceded and Sperry had to dig in.   Rallying with five shots over the remaining three ends gained him a slender one shot victory however, 12-11. 

​In the pairs, there were some good woods played, but unfortunately Jan Bunker & Dave Jelley lost 11-18 only scoring on 5 of the available 15 ends, whilst Trevor Tymon and Jan Sansom came from being 4-10 down at 9 ends to only lose 11-12, picking up a three on the final end. 
 
The second session however gave much more consistency and hope to the team.  Roger & June Messenger, skipped by David Wood lost their way a little in the second half of the game from being 9-3 up and their opponents got very close at 9-8 at the completion of the 11th end.  However Hampshire then picked up 2 shots on the penultimate end so whilst the concession of one shot on the final end was disappointing they still earned a narrow victory of 2 shots, 11-9. On the adjacent mat, fellow triples players Anita Bucknall, Matthew Hardman and Billy Ray stormed into an early lead and by the completion of the 8th end they were 12-2 up.  Unfortunately they conceded five shots over the next three ends, to be 12-7 ahead, but a three on the penultimate end raised spirits again and it was not a problem to drop a single shot on the final end to run out 15-8 winners.  In the fours there were two exciting games going on.  Lee Graham, Gail Evans, team manager Glo Fowler and Alex Tymon only allowed their opponents to score three single shots in an 11-3 victory, whilst Ray & Paul Wheatley, Linda Stiles and Colin Dickinson had a storming game winning 7 of the available 11 ends in a 15-6 win.
 
At half way the Hampshire team led 112 shots to 66 and by 12 points to 4.
 
After the lunch break, Tony Wall completed his winning day with a demolition score of 23-3.  He was obviously quite unplayable. Unfortunately Dave Sperry couldn’t quite get to grips with his opponent and although the scores had been pretty even until the 8th end, where Sperry had picked up a two to go one shot in front, his opponent then dug in and pulled away scoring 8 shots in three ends to go ahead.  Two singles and two threes traded over the final four ends saw the Hampshire man from Bellinger lose 12-19.   Nevertheless the bonus points for the Singles were safely in the bag. The pairs steadied the ship in this session with Bunker & Jelley  pulling away to a  victory of  11-8, having been level on 6-all at 9 ends, and Tymon & Sansom strode to a 15-9 victory, having always been in front from the start.  Pairs bonus points likewise safely stowed in Hampshire’s locker.
 
The final session was very positive for the triples, with Ray’s triple storming to a 19-8 victory and Wood’s threesome in similarly positive mood won 12-5.   The triples bonus points added to the tally.  There were tight games going on in the fours, with Tymon’s rink just losing 11-12 having picked up a three on the final end. Dickinson’s foursome had a poor patch in the middle of their game where they allowed their opposition to get level at 8-8 and then go one up.  However, they got back into gear, and picking up four shots in three ends they ran out 12-9 winners.  This completed the full house of bonus points.
 
The final score therefore was 217 shots to 149 and 32 points to 8. 
 
The team’s next opponents will be East Sussex – away – on Saturday 12th October.
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