Ladywell played their final JCL bowls match against Dulwich Park on Wednesday 16th August, and it turned out to be a tight affair.
On a hot afternoon, the home side won the toss and took the mat. On the first rink, the Ladywell triple of Alvin Nelson, Terrie Sibley and Skip, Richard Moorhouse gave away two shots on the first end, but a score of five on the third end gave them a 6-2 lead. The Dulwich Park team came back strongly, scoring on each of the following four ends to take a 9-6 lead. But, by the break after nine ends, Ladywell had reduced the deficit to one shot, with the away side leading 11-10. Fortunes changed after the break, with Ladywell picking up seven shots over the next four ends to take a 17-12 lead, but once again the Dulwich Park team fought back and a gain of five shots on the 16th end saw them take a 21-17 lead with just two ends to play. This time it was Ladywell's turn to fight back, scoring four on the penultimate end to tie the scores at 21-21 with one end to play. A tight match was decided by a single shot - and it was the visitors who came out on top, winning 22-21.
The second match saw the Ladywell team of Howard Smith, Ian Bradford and Skip, Robert Dunn get off to a slow start and after three ends, they were trailing 7-0. But they eventually found their form and a run of five consecutive scoring ends saw them take a 9-7 lead after eight ends. On the last end before the break, the visitors gained two shots, so the match was tied at 9-all at the interval. And that was where the match ended as a contest, with the Ladywell team taking complete control after the break, and only allowing the visitors one winning end in the last nine. With consistent scoring, including a gain of six on the penultimate end, Ladywell ran out comfortable winners by 25-13.
The third rink saw another close game. The Ladywell team of Nova Dobb, Norman Lewis and Skip, Des Marrett, got off the mark quickly, gaining five on the first two ends. The Dulwich Park team then hit their stride and by the break after nine ends, they'd gained an 11-7 lead. After the break, they stretched their lead to 14-7, before the Ladywell team staged a comeback, gaining seven shots over the next five ends to tie the scores at 14-14 with one end to play. Once again, it was the away team who edged it, with two shots on the final end, to take the match 16-14.
Despite Ladywell losing on two rinks, the final score saw them gain the overall win by 60-51, which meant they secured six league points to Dulwich Park's two. This keeps Ladywell at the top of the John Collyer League table for the time being. But other clubs below them still have games in hand, so it remains to be seen if they will eventually be this year's league champions.
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