STOCKPORT METRO
LEAGUE
VERSUS
DURHAM
VENUE: WOODHOUSE
PARK LIFESTYLE CENTRE, WYTHENSHAWE, MANCHESTER.
MATCH RESULT: STOCKPORT: 36 POINTS.
DURHAM:
4 POINTS
SHOTS SCORES STOCKPORT: 224
DURHAM:
128
Stockport welcomed
Durham just 14 days after their last meeting at Murton, Durham; the match commenced at 11.10am.
Representing Stockport in the singles games was:
Adam Smith (Avons)
and Lesley Fennell (Hazel Grove)
Adam was first on the
mat against Len Greathead and following on from Murton another good game
between these bowlers took place. By the 10th Len had established a
good lead at 10-13 but then Adam struck scoring 5 shots over the last two ends
to get home 15-13.
Adams second game was against Amy Mason who only
managed to score 4 singles as Adam romped home 19-4.
Lesley opened her
account against Amy and it was totally one way traffic with the England
international racing away and recording a 27-6 result.
Lesley’s second game
against Len was similar fare to Lesley’s first game. Lesley settled into a good
line and length and very steady scoring saw her defeat Len 20-10.
This was an excellent
display from the singles team which saw Lesley and Adam reaping 8 points for 4
wins and 2 extra points for the aggregate score; very well done, Lesley and
Adam.
Representing Stockport in the pairs was:
1. Win Thompson
(Woodley) and Billy Burn (Bramhall
Village)
2. Rhona Mason
(Poynton’A’) and Scott Smith (Avons)
Win and Billy opened
up against George Broom and Richard Mason, and by the 11th end were
comfortably in front of their Durham
opponents by 11-7. Nothing came back from Durham
and steady scoring saw the Stockport pair
record an excellent win 19-8.
Their second game
against Marion Rorrison and Derek Gray proved a stronger test. The game was nip
and tuck; and at the 12th end Stockport
had an 8-6 lead. The next three ends saw Stockport score 6 shots with no reply
from Durham.
Final score Stockport 14 to Durham’s
6.
Rhona and Scott’s
first game was against Marion and Derek and by the 12th end the Durham pair had raced
into a 2-13 lead; then came the fight back.
Over the remaining three ends Rhona and Scott 6 shots without reply the
final score being 8-13 in favour of Durham.
In their second game
Rhona and Scott met George and Richard and both pairs produced a real ding dong
battle as they went into the 13th end with the scores level at 9
apiece. The 13th end saw Rhona and Scott take, what appeared to be 3
winning shots; not quite! George and Richard were lying in an excellent
position with two shots on and one bowl to come. Richard made a great effort to
get a draw but just failed and Stockport got
home 12-11; an excellent game.
Once again the
doubles produced the goods taking 6 points for three wins and the 2 extra
points for the winning aggregate score.
Representing Stockport in the triples was:
1. Bernie Thorley
(Great Moor), Graham Edwards (Woodbank) and Bernard Fennell (Hazel Grove)
2. Charlie Cooper (Denton ‘A’), Paul Mason
(Poynton ‘A’) and Ron Hamilton
(Woodley)
Bernie, Graham and
Bernard’s first game was against the Durham trio of Jenny Hall, Lilian Kerrison
and Jean Johnson: sadly for Durham
this game was basically a non-event. The Durham
trio never really came to terms with the speed of the mat scoring only a single
against the Stockport trio’s score of 21.
Stockport’s second
match was against Gladys Elliott, Joan Taylor and David Taylor; and boy, was
this a different game. By the 8th end the scores were all square at
7-7. In the 9th Stockport scored 3
shots; 10-7. In the 10th Durham
pulled one shot back; 10-8. Then came the last end and what an end it was too:
Durham were holding three shots with one wood to bowl and that by Bernard
Fennell; the stance was right, the arm went back and the wood went on its merry
way. Most of the spectators would say the bowl arrived at its destination by a
slightly circuitous route whilst Bernard would claim otherwise. In the end the
bowl took out two of Durham’s 3 counting shots
and Stockport got home 10-9.
Charlie, Paul and Ron
started against Gladys Elliott, Joan and David Taylor and once again a
Stockport trio was, at one stage on the way to defeat. After a good start and
going into the 4th end 5 shots to 1 up it was looking rosy for Stockport. By the 7th Stockport
were 10 shots to 5 down. Durham played excellent
bowls and the Stockport trio just had no
answer to this run. A quick team meeting saw a turn round of personnel and it
worked. Entering the 11th end Stockport were only two shots behind
at 8-10 but received a sudden shock as Durham fought back with some style and
were lying three shots with one wood to come and this to be bowled by Paul. As
with Bernard Fennell, Paul produced a super bowl which hit the Durham shot bowl which was
closest to the jack. The Durham bowl moved the
jack sufficiently enough for it to come to rest between Stockport’s two back
bowls and Stockport breathed a big sigh of
relief as they got away with a 10-10 draw.
Their second game was
against Jenny Hall, Lilian Kerrison and Jean Johnson. The Stockport trio kept
to their new formation and steady scoring throughout saw them defeat the Durham trio 13-7.
Yet again the triples
produced a good team point’s haul. 7 points for 3 wins and a draw and 2 points
for the winning aggregate score.
Representing Stockport in the fours was:
1. Louise Smith
(Avons) David Bates (Great Moor) Allison Boulton (Denton ‘A’)
and Barrie
Chadwick (Europa)
2. Jackie Lambert
(GMCC) John Lax (Phillips) Lesley Chadwick (Europa) and
Geoff Griffiths (Woodley)
The first game saw
Louise, David, Allison and Barrie taking on Kathleen, Joan and Michael Mann
plus Benny Johnson. This was another tough game fought out between to evenly
matched sides. Up to the 5th end only single shots had been scored Stockport took a 2 in the 6th and led 6-1. In
the 7th Durham
scored two good shots; 6-3. Yet another single in the 8th gave Stockport a 7-3 lead. A final end saw a bit of nip and
tuck from both sides but Stockport hung on
gamely and won the game 7 shots to 5.
Their second game saw
them up against Alan and Paula McCallum, Lucille Westwick and Ken Stout. Again,
a pretty tight affair with Stockport holding a
5 shots to 3 lead at the 5th end. Stockport
scored a very good 3 shots in the 6th to lead 8-3 and finally ran
out 9-5 winners. An excellent feature of this game saw Barrie ‘The Power’ Chadwick attempting to
disturb the head with a ‘slight’ touch of pace on his bowl. ‘The Exocet’ was
launched and sent the centre wood spinning in one direction whilst the bowl
continued on its original line towards the head and an eventual almighty
collision. Enter the skipper, Allison ‘George Best’ Boulton! The speed she
moved at and the way she skipped through the bowls already around the jack had
to be seen to be believed; but she achieved her aim and managed to stop the
incoming bowl with the toe of her right foot before the head was ruined
completely. This was fully appreciated and came with a thunderous round of
applause from the crowd of two!! Well done, Skip, Georgie would have been real proud
of you.
In their first game
Jackie, John, Lesley and Geoff were matched against Alan, Paula, Lucille and
Ken. The Stockport four played excellent bowls and by the 6th end
were romping home by 7 shots to Durham’s
1. However, in the 7th Stockport were given a bloody nose as Durham picked up 4 good
shots; 7-5. Durham
also picked up 2 more shots to get a share of the spoils at 7-7.
Their second game saw
them competing against Kathleen, Joan, Michael and Benny. This was like an
anti-climax after their drawn game. The Durham
team just had no answer to the excellent bowling of the Stockport
foursome. Steady scoring from the start saw Stockport
ahead by 11 shots to two at the 5th end. They continued in the same
vein over the remaining ends and finished the game in great style by winning
15-3. An excellent feature of this game came in the 4th end where Stockport scored an excellent 7 shots. Just one shot away
from a ‘Hotshot’ badge!
Considering the
Fours’ results over the previous matches this has been an outstanding
achievement by them and they are to be congratulated for putting in such a
superb effort. 7 points scored for 3 wins and a draw plus the extra 2 points
for a winning aggregate score. Well done.
To say that team
captain, Allison Boulton was over the moon with this result would be a slight
understatement; and what a cracking result to go into the Christmas holidays
with.
A word from Durham team captain, Derek Gray: We would like to
congratulate Stockport on their excellent win.
You have a very fine side and fully deserved your win. On behalf of the Durham team I would like
to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
At present the NESMBA ICC - Division 1 League Table which was updated
on the 14th December, 2008 and reproduced here with the very kind
permission of Roger Green NESMBA League Secretary reads as follows:
Stockport: Played
5: Won 4 Drawn 1 Points 140: Shot Diff +392
West
Yorks: Played 4: Won 2 Drawn 2 Points 101: Shot Diff
+149
North
Yorks: Played 4: Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 1 Points 91: Shot Diff + 63
Derbyshire: Played 3: Lost 3 Points 33:
Shot Diff - 158
Durham: Played
4: Lost 4 Points 31: Shot Diff - 330
Stockport’s next
match is away against North Yorkshire on
Sunday 18th January, 2009. At the time of going to press I
understand that we will be travelling by coach with a 7.30am start from Stockport Cricket Club. If there are any alterations
regarding the travel arrangements you will be contacted in due course.
Finally, team captain
Allison Boulton wishes you all a very merry Christmas and prosperous New Year
and thanks everyone for all their efforts over the first five games. Just don’t
let it slip over the final three!
That is also echoed
by your ‘cub reporter’ and also we have had our first match report (v North Yorkshire) published by Bob Weafer in his magazine
‘SHORT MAT INTERNATIONAL.’ It is an excellent magazine and if you wish to
subscribe please contact Bob by email: [email protected] or by
telephone on 0121 286 9449. There are four issues a year and the cost is £9.95p
which represents excellent value. Please give Bob your support. Finally, thank
you all for your support and constructive comments over these reports. If you
have any ideas on how the reports can be enhanced or you may feel there are
items that could be included, please let me know. You can contact me on 0161
430 7477 or email me at: [email protected]
Ron Hamilton (Stockport)
16th
December, 2008.