Reports Basildon 'A'
19th July, away to Rayleigh - 0-7 league points
We never seem to do well at Rayleigh - lush, beautiful looking green with distinctive very straight and bendy sides, and some wandering lines which can be difficult to master. The home team know their green though and we were well beaten.
Mike, Mark and Gary , 1-12 down at half way, didn't get much better, a 6-24 loss.
Tony, Jeff and Val, 5-17 down half way, not helped with two 5's away, improving second half but a 13-25 loss
Jenny, Graham and Brian in close contention in a low scoring game, 7-5 ahead after nine and could have won except for dropping a crucial 4 on the 16th, with the final result a loss of 15-18
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11th July, v Castle Point B, won 7-0 league points 56- 36 shots
With Brian on the C&D tour, Jenny in charge and an away match, this was an excellent performance, continuing the seasons run for the top of the division.
​Tracy, Graham and Mark coming from behind with an excellent second half performance loosing only two ends to win 17-12
Mike, Darren and Gary always ahead helped by a 5 on end 12 to win 23-14
Tony, Jenny and Val winning the first half, and a 5 on end 11 but the opponents hitting back for us to hold on with a 16-14 win.
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5th July, away to Runwell, 7-0 league points, 57-44 shots overall,
Cold, threatening rain throughout but a good green and our first win on all rinks away at Runwell - well done with a big effort by all. Should keep us equal top in the first division with 38 points.
Tony, Jeff and Val dropped a 4 on end five but scored a 6 themselves on the next end. After that the two sides were rarely more than one shot part, winning ends ere shared nine each but we won 19-18 Excellent play.
Tracy, Darren and Gary off to a dominating start 12-1 after just 6 ends. The opponents did better in the second half of the match but we continued to win convincingly 21-14.
Jean Jenny and Brian also had a close match, nearly lost by a disastrous end 9, dropping a six. However we scored a single shot on ten of the 18 ends and with a number of good 'saves' only lost one of the second half ends to win 17-12. Thanks Jean and Brian for their second match on this rather miserable looking day.
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21st June, away to Castle Point A, lost 3-4 league points, winning 46-45 shots overall.
A pleasant warm but windy evening, for once with no traffic problems reaching Castle Point. Very challenging, fast rinks, with tricky lines to learn quickly. Our two loosing teams kept trying till the end and each gained a vital shot on the last to provide an overall bonus point, which helps keep our advantage in the division.
Mike, Darren and Gary on the ditch rink were close but always behind and scoring only a 1 in the last 4 end resulted in losing 12-17
Tony, Jeff and Val up 8-4 at half way but losing a 4 on end 15 and a five on the 17th put paid to our chance and a loss of 13-19. This was a really close game with the opponents fortunate to steal the jack for big swings, so very well done.
Jean, Jenny and Brian probably had the weakest opponents and constant changes of tactics helped demoralise the opposition. 4's on the 13th and 16th ends helped in the 21-9 win, including our bonus point.
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13th June, home to Pitsea A, lost 2-5 league points , 29-41 shots
We started on top of the first division, but on a dull, occasionally drizzling evening we were a bowler short so conceded one triple and 10 shots, while sharing the points for the two games played. Thanks for Jenny and Dave for attending but having to stand down with the re-arranged team, and despite many phone calls no very late replacement could be summoned.
Tony, Jeff and Val had strong opponents including two well known County level players but kept very close, 9 all on the tenth, 12-14 on 15th then Val moved the jack way back with a great last wood shot to shock the opponents with a 6 to go 18-14 up, and even scored a 3 on the last for an excellent 21-15 win.
Our second triple now comprised a new team of Mike, Darren and Brian in a low scoring game - 5-6 at half way but the opponents having a better second half, as well as managing to get the best wicks to beat us 8-16.
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7th June - v Carreras, Murrayfield Cup - loosing 46-57shots
We are out of the cup! Third time we have played Carreras this season and have lost twice, won once - our newly promoted bogey team!
Jean, Jenny and Brian always behind and well beaten, Brian wobbling woods and being well below form. Still in the game at 7-8 on the 8th end but the opponents then walked away to a 25-12 win.
Tracy, Tony and Graham always ahead, 13-8 at half way then a comfortable win 23-15 helped by a 6 on the last end. Great performance.
Mike, Jeff and Val very close in the first half, 5-6 after 10 ends, then loosing a 4 and never recovering - to lose 11-17.
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6th June, home to Sth Benfleet A - won on all rinks 59- 47 shots
Sth Benfleet and Canvey are usually near the top of the division table so this was an excellent win.
Tony, Jeff and Val behind for most of the game 9-14 on 14th end, but played very well for the last four ends, especially the last end with some excellent shots under pressure - a win 17-15
Mike, Darren and Garry a cracking start, 10-0 in three ends. A little slippage nearer the end , loosing 5 consecutive ends but finishing with a 3 to comfortably win 20-13.
Tracy, Jenny and Graham also off to good start 8-0 after 5th, then loosing a 4, and immediately gaining a 5! Another 4 on the 16th sealed the game and a 22-19 win. Excellent leading by Tracy throughout.
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23rd May v Carreras , away lost, 2-5 league points
The Gloucester Park rinks challenging as expected so our home win was reversed away.
Jean, Tracy and Graham in a very close game, getting a 4 at a crucial 17th end, and hanging on to win 17-16
Tony, Jeff and Val struggling from the start and loosing 8-22
Mike, Darren and Gary behind 4-11 at half way and though having a better second half didn't quite make it, loosing 13-15
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16th May v Rayleigh, Home, won 5-2 league points, two rinks plus the bonus 49-38.
The first time we have beaten Rayleigh in the first division in living memory! First three matches, three wins, well done. The east/west rinks seem increasingly poor with woods frequently wandering off line. Very poor compared to Braintree and Castle Point.
Graham, Mark and Gary (skip) always ahead in a low scoring game - nothing above a 2 fro both sides and Billericay winning 18-8.
Tony, Jeff and Val 5-9 behind at half way but a 4 followed by a 5 transformed our fortunes and we won 18-13
Jean, Jenny and Brian led at half way but got stuck on 16 shots at end 13, with the match going 16 all at end 17. The opposition lead suddenly put three woods on the jack and eventually won the last end by a close one shot - a 16-17 loss result
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10th May, v Castle Point B away - won with maximum points, all rinks plus 47-39 shots..
Traffic even worse than usual in Tarpots area due to roadworks but we had a full team (just) by 5:30 and an excellent green to play on though the green keeper insisted upon wet mats, on a lovely sunny evening. Well done team for winning on all rinks.
Tony, Jeff and Val (Skip) in a very close game, 10 all after ten ends, 13 all after 14 then the killer score of a 4 on the 16th. A good win 19-14
Mike, Darren and Gary (skip) also a close game and behind until we scored a 4 on the 13th followed by a 3. A good win 14-12
On the end rink, Jean, Jenny and Brian (skip) played well to be 11-3 up at half way. On the 16th the score was 14-8 then we contrived to look a bit tired, loosing 5 shots on the last two ends but scraping home 14-13.
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7th May, Murrayfield Cup first round - beat Hadleigh 60-34
Nice bright evening at home - initial panic as teams had to be changed at very short notice - thanks Dave Aggio, handily caught at the club house and filling in. and Jean, pulled in earlier in the day., so some unusual teams. Well done everyone and thanks Jenny for preparing to sub (without bowls dress kit) and instead delivering excellent refreshments. These things happen sometimes! §
Dave Aggio, Darren and Brian (skip) in some trouble, 2-10 down by end six but the opposition faded and we improved to win 20-12
Tony, Jeff and Val (skip) romped away 18-1 by the tenth then only won one more end - a 19-13 win
Jean, Graham and Mike (skip) level after 6 ends after which we were in command to pull away and win 21-9
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2nd May, home, v Carreras, won 5-2 league points
Horrible rain filled skies and a very slow green, but a pretty good start to the season. Bonus point by 43-30 overall shots, well done team.
Rink 2 Brian, Jeff and Val (Skip) lost 5-15. Brian, in an unusual lead position struggled to match the oppositions amazingly long jacks and the game was exceedingly tight with only 1 shot scored on 16 of the 18 ends. The opposition also had all the good wicks so a disappointing game for us and some aching arm and shoulder muscles..
Rink 3 Mike, Darren and Gary (skip) started and finished with 5's so an excellent, completely dominant big win 31-4
Rink 4Tracy, Graham and Mark (Skip) were behind to start, swapped scores in the middle and on end 13, were still one shot behind. Then a 3 on the 14th end and good finishing ends brought us a 16-11 victory.
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