Reports CMBL "B" TEAM
Tuesday 24th June Away v Falcon : Score Billericay 0 Falcon 8
Yet another perfect summer’s evening for playing bowls. The A12 behaved itself and we all arrived nice and early for our 6:15 start, in fact one or two were so early that they managed to find the bar beforehand. Luck or shrewd tactics?, your guess is as good as mine.
Once again we had the company of some nice opposition, or is it they always have our nice company?, who knows , your guess is as good as mine.
The rinks appeared to have been prepared by a fan of the late Maggie Thatcher and James Bond, no turning and very straight . Oh and perhaps our Henry Cooper as well, with a few lumps and bumps thrown in.
Speaking to their captain after the game they apparently use the unusual tactics of a combination of Japanese torture and the Indian monsoon. They try to beat their opponents with death by a thousand cuts, interspersed with the occasional downpour of scoring. It certainly worked against us, with them scoring one shot on many occasions and then throwing in three, four or five shot ends.
Can we come up with our own set of tactics for the second half of the season to counteract these assassins we encounter every week?, perhaps a combination of Ecky Thump and a lecture on Green maintenance?, who knows, your guess is as good as mine.
Onwards and upwards after all next week is another day
Heres the legal bit
Rink 2: Penny, Chris, Lorraine, David B lost 24-15 (I was pleased with how we played and a 6 on end 11 even bought a smile to David’s face, though it could have been wind, who knows?, your guess is as good as mine)
Rink 3: Mo, Bob, Catherine, Ian BURRIDGE, lost 26-8 ( a frustrating evening all round, perhaps not enough pre match G&T’s?, your guess is as good as mine)
Ps thank you everyone for your best wishes on my attending a self confidence/ assertive course. Is it working…..
Tuesday 17th June Home v Writtle C : Score Billericay 0 Writtle 8
A perfect evening for playing bowls. Summer warmth and sunshine, no midges and everyone ready to start the trial ends in plenty of time before the match was due to begin. You couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant start to the match.
Now we all experience the match through our own experiences, tonight mine was one of abject ineptitude. However I will endeavour not to allow my own incompetence to colour this report. At the end of the day no one suffered any lasting damage and we all live to fight another day.
On my rink we were tied going into the final four ends. Even though we know our Achilles heal is being outscored in this period of the match we still allowed the opposition to outscore us 9-0. An oft repeated tale this year and one I wish we could have reversed.
On the other rink it seemed like a seesaw ride, with first one team gaining the upper hand only to be caught by the other team. Unfortunately Writtle ended up on top by one point, I’m told this would have been by a lot more if it wasn’t for Lynn saving the day with some wonderful shots.
I’m hopeful that everyone else enjoyed their evening, their bowls and the company of the opposition. I know my team-mates did a sterling job of keeping us in the match and I’m sorry I aggravated Steve’s hernia by him having to carry me all evening. I know Lynn’s team had a good time as Catherine filled me in on the way home.
So enough of this self indulgent boo hoo woe is me - here’s the legal bit
Rink 4: Penny, Lorraine, Steve, David B lost 11-20 (those 9 shots all coming in the final 4 ends. Well done everyone to keep us in it for so long)
Rink 5: Bob, Catherine, Michelle, Lynn lost 14-15 (so close and a super effort by everyone)
Tuesday 10th June Away v Writtle A : Score Writtle 8 BIllericay 0
A glorious early summers evening, a glorious setting in a walled garden adjacent to a lovely church with the sound of bells and birds in the background, who could ask for a more pleasant evening or setting to play bowls?
Then our opponents turned up. A team comprising no men, just some very nice ladies giving the impression they were just out for a quiet game of bowls. And they fooled us, little did we know they have a reputation of mugging anyone who dares invade their turf, even the local chapter of Hells Angels know not to mess with the ladies of Writtle A.
On one rink they cut us to ribbons one shot at a time, their favourite death of a thousand cuts. Occasionally allowing us the belief we could get back in the game but turning a position of three up to one down in a blink of an eye.
On the other rink they teased us by letting us build a healthy lead before reeling us in, winning six of the last seven ends. Our Achilles heel coming back to haunt us once again.
We will know better the next time we meet them, but it is worth remembering for future matches, never judge a book by its cover and never trust a woman from Writtle when she’s playing bowls.
Well done everyone, we tried our best and that’s all we can do
Here’s the legal bit
Rink 4 Lorraine, Sandra, Steve, David B lost 20-5 (Never got a toehold in the game and when in trouble their skip, unlike ours, was able to rescue them. Frustrating isn’t quite strong enough to describe how we felt at the end of the match)
Rink 5 Mo, Catherine, Michelle, Ian lost 17-15 (Good close game right to the end but opponents outscored us 12-1 in the last 7 ends)
Tuesday 3rd June Home v Chelmsford D : Score Billericay 6 Chelmsford 2
Yet again we were extremely lucky with the weather, the heavy showers having blown through just an hour before the match was due to start. It was nice to see the bright white heavy waterproof coats staying on their pegs in the changing room rather than on eight sopping wet bowers on the bowing rink. It was also nice to see both Penny and Lorraine back on the rink playing some very nice bowls indeed.
Both Michelle and Sue seemed to be measuring a lot, mostly out of politeness, it seemed, but then again we are known for our nice friendly nature and not saying, as one of our opponents did, “what! you want to measure for that?”. Long may we continue to be polite and courteous, even though we sometimes have to bite our tongue.
Well done everyone - here’s the legal bit.
Rink 2 Penny, Lorraine, Sue, David B won by 11 shots 20-11 (David once again having to do very little as the ladies did it all for him and he just had to not muck things up)
Rink 3 Bob, Mo, Michelle, Lynn lost by 1 shot 17-18 (Excellent recovery from 7-1 down to just loose on the last end but it secured us the bonus points)
On a side note Bob and I would like to thank the ladies (who outnumbered us 6-2) in helping us get in touch with our feminine side and we will be hosting a mid season tea and cake get together, dates to be confirmed.
Tuesday May 27th Home v Danbury D : Score Billericay 8 - Danbury 0
The skies overhead seemed to promise rain and perhaps a downpour but we completed the match not only dry but also before it got dark. Our opposition were pleasant company and matched us drink for drink in the after match refreshments but unfortunately, for them , they couldn’t quite match us on the bowling green.
We managed to out score our opposition 14 - 2 in the final four ends, a complete reversal of our performances in our first two games where we faded at the latter end of the matches, which ultimately cost us points. Not this time though, we held our form and managed our first win of the season taking maximum points. Well done everyone.
What was also very nice was the fact that all eight of us left the clubhouse together at the end of the match after everyone helped pitch in on the cleaning and locking up procedures. A real team effort and nice to see.
Well done everyone- here’s the legal bit
Rink 2 Bob, Catherine, Lynn, Ian won by 9 shots 21-12 (despite being 6-0 down after the first 3 ends , they went on to win 11 ends)
Rink 3 Steve, Sandra, Sue, David B won by 21 shots 29-8 (one of the Danbury players had a bad back and was unable to help their team with anything other then blockers, but it was still a deserved win nonetheless)
Onwards and upwards
Tuesday May 20th Away V Tiptree Jobshare : Score Tiptree 6 - Billericay 2
A long journey for us all ended with having to play on a very poor green that had more bumps in it than Methuselah’s last birthday party. There were also more bare patches than Donald Trumps head. Let’s just say that the greens played very poorly and even the opposition players were complaining, sounds like us last year.
Once again on the 14th end we were in a position where the match could have gone either way, so that still bodes well for the rest of the season. All we need to do is to find a way to not fade at the back end of the match, this week we were outscored 12-2 on the final 4 ends, if we can halt this trend then the only way is up.
Well done everyone- here’s the legal bit
Rink 2 Sandra, Chris, Steve, David B won by 2 shots 18-16 (despite some timid skipping from David who was afraid to damage the many good heads his teammates created)
Rink 3 Michelle, Mo, Catherine, Sue lost by 14 shots 24-10 (8 of those shots in the dreaded final 4 ends, their skip disrupting the good ends when holding 5 and 3 shots respectively didn’t help our cause either)
Tuesday May 13th Home V Boreham : Score Billericay 0 Boreham 8
A glorious May evening where we were transported back to the 1950’s with our opposition turning up in white shirts and club ties. Their sartorial elegance almost made one or two of our gentlemen tuck-in their shirts, but only almost.
Everyone was very friendly on both rinks so it was quite rude of our guests to go away with all the points.
However at the end of the 14th end we were in a position where we were on course to win the match 6-2. In the last fourends Boreham managed to outscore us overall by 5 points to 14. So close and yet so far, but at least were still in with a chance to win at the latter stages of the game, a good position to be in in our first match in a higher league.
Well done everyone- here’s the legal bit
Rink 2 Sue, Chris, David B, Dave A lost by 5 shots 13-18 (loosing 6 shots on end 11 making all the difference)
Rink 3 Catherine, Mo, Bob, Lynn lost by 3 shots 14-17 ( loosing 3 shots on the final end making all the difference)
Next match Tuesday 20th Away to Tiptree