Wednesday 14th September saw Ladywell visit our nearest rivals, Francis Drake Bowls Club, for a friendly match, involving triples matches on three rinks. It was a perfect afternoon for bowls and the match was played in an excellent spirit, with friendly banter and some excellent shots from both sides.
In the first match, Ladywell's team of Howard Smith, Kim Simmons and Phil Welch got off to a great start and were 6-0 up after three ends. But the Francis Drake triple, including two new club players, came back into the match, reducing the deficit to 6-4 after six ends. But Ladywell pulled away again and at the halfway point after nine ends, the score was 12-4 to Ladywell. After the break, despite Francis Drake gaining a shot on end 10, the Ladywell pulled away again, gaining a 12-point lead, 17-5. At this point, the home team rallied, taking shots on the next four ends to reduce the Ladywell lead to 17-11. But on the 16th end, Ladywell regained the jack and kept it for the rest of the match, eventually winning comfortably by 23-11.
The second rink saw almost the reverse of the first match, with Francis Drake taking an early lead, 3-0 after three ends. The Ladywell team of Ian Bradford, Richard Moorhouse and Mark Simmons gained two shots on the fourth end to be only one point down, but the Francis Drake team earned seven shots on the following two ends and, despite Ladywell picking up three single shots on three consecutive ends, by the halfway mark, the home side were 10-5 ahead. After the break, a strong start to the second half of the match saw Francis Drake extend their lead to 16-5 after 12 ends and, despite a late rally by Ladywell, including a score of four on the final end, the home team ran out winners by 20-12.
The third match was a much closer affair, with the lead changing hands repeatedly. Ladywell's team of Sally Bryan, Marion Edwards and Des Marrett took an early lead, with one shot on each of the first three ends. But a three shot swing on the fourth end meant the scores were tied at 3-3. Then the Francis Drake team went ahead 5-3 after six ends, only for Ladywell to score two on the seventh to level the scores again. The teams exchanged one shot each on the next two ends, meaning at halfway the match was tied at 6-6. After the break, this pattern continued, with Francis Drake gaining two on the tenth end, only for Ladywell to pull level again by the twelfth end. This proved to be the turning point of the match, as Ladywell gained the mat and had a run of six winning ends without reply, eventually winning 16-8.
This meant the overall match score was a win for Ladywell by 51-39 - an excellent result as we were fielding two players - Sally Bryan and Ian Bradford - who only started playing bowls this year. Hopefully it bodes well for our final competitive league match of the season against Dulwich Park at Ladywell's green in Ladywell Fields on Saturday 17th September.
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