Terry & Marian Win Couples

COUPLES COMPETTION – FINAL STAGES

  We were not prepared for Prince Arthur’s spring holiday, where closure means that April 13th will be our last indoor session. So we played out the final stages of our couples competition, on Tuesday, April 6th.

  First up was completion of the semi-final in which Marian and Terry were 7-5 up on Bella and David with three ends to play. After a six week break following cataract surgery Bella did not look rusty, as in the first two of the three ends she put woods very close to the jack, only for Terry to inch inside and take the heads. At 10-5 on the last end it was effectively over, especially with Terry in such superb form, and he again was inch perfect to close the match at 12-5.

  The Final: Marian Russell & Terry Fisher v Stan Merricks & Anne Lake

  So, on to the final, against Ann and Stan. Marian and Terry made a flying start with two long jacks and a total of 7 shots, four of which were by a tiny margin on the measure, but they count. The next two ends saw Ann and Stan threatening to get back, but in both cases, Terry stole in for single shot wins. At 9-0 down, it was getting desperate. The fifth end was the best of the match. Nine of the twelve woods ended within eighteen inches of the jack and as Ann delivered the final wood of the head she and Stan held three. Her wood looked perfect, right on the jack, lovely weight to make four, but it kissed the jack, and moved it four inches or so – enough, in such a tight head, to move it closer to two of Terry’s woods, by a fraction of an inch. Instead of 9-4 it was 11-0. It was a hammer blow, and Terry and Marian proceeded to surround the jack on the next end and take five shots. At 16-0 down with five ends to play and their opponents in imperious form, Ann and Stan decided to concede. Bigger deficits have been overcome, of course, but Marian and Terry had hit a great rhythm and were worthy winners of our first couples competition.

  Earlier reports:

  1st Round - Penny & Ian 17 - 3 Doreen & Bill, January 26th, 2010

  The winter competition got under way with the drawn (ie names out of a hat) couples (ie every pairing is one man, one woman).
Penny and Ian were fast out of the blocks, leading 12-1 after four ends. In our eleven end format, that is not just a mountain, but Everest, to climb. Doreen and Bill then got their range and the next six ends, though still going to Penny and Ian, were much tighter at 5-2, but the damage had been done at the start and there was no way back. 17-3 was the eventual score, to Penny and Ian.

  1st Round - Anne (Lake) & Stanley 9 - 0 Trudy & Chrisl, January 26th, 2010

  Trudy and Chris were next up, against Ann (Lake) and Stan. That’s about four years’ combined experience against - how much? - probably more than ten times as much! Umpteen years of competitive league and competition games behind Ann and Stan. There is no substitute for that experience and, when time ran out for the day, Trudy and Chris were left to lick their wounds. 9-0 after six ends, and pondering whether there will be anything they can do on resumption, in two weeks time. It was Stan’s first day back, after the Christmas break, but they put up the short jack that they favour (Trudy and Chris prefer long) and just tucked those shots away. In fact a good performance by Trudy and Chris to hold it to that scor

  (And now, the conclusion: Round one match - to a finish)
 
  Anne (Lake) & Stanley 13 - 1 Trudy & Chrisl, February 16th, 2010

  Trudy and Chris had a mountain to climb, reconvening at 9-0 down; they duly lost, but today’s four ends were very different.

  Two shots to Anne and Stan at the first end, but only on a measure. Then Stan ran the jack in the second end to take shot. Trudy and Chris held three until Stan’s final wood took Chris out and cut the margin to one in end three. In the last Ann promoted herself into shot with four opponents’ woods around her. The actual margin of 4 to 1 in Ann and Stan’s favour could so easily have been 9-0 for Chris and Trudy. But if ifs and ands, as the saying goes – Ann and Stan go through to the semi-final, but a fine fighting performance by their opponents on the day.

   1st Round - Marian & Terry 8 - 3 Lynne & Peter B, February 9th, 2010

  Marian R and Terry F beat Lynne F and Peter B, in a very tight encounter. An 8-3 margin over eleven ends shows that there was never more than one shot between them in each head - Lynne and Peter could also point to the number of times they had the second, third, perhaps even the fourth wood but they don’t count. Marian and Terry kept getting the one that did count. Only once did there look like a multiple shot win on any end, when Marian and Terry held three, but Peter’s final wood found its way through an incredibly packed head to cut the margin to one. A great shot - but still, they lost the end.

  Very good bowling, by everyone, and, although it would have been worthy of a final, it is Marian and Terry who are through to the semi final. They are due to play Bella and David, but we shall see whether David can get back into match play, before Bella’s eye operation.

  Semi-Final - Marian & Terry v Bella & David, February 16th, 2010

  Time ran out today leaving Marian and Terry leading 7 – 5 after eight ends. With Bella due to have her cataract operation next week she and David may decide to concede the match but Bella put in a great performance on her last bowl for several weeks. She took the first end with Terry’s three woods clustered around her. In end two she was an inch inside Marian’s second wood.

  Terry brought his side their first point when taking shot with the final wood of end three. Marian levelled the match with a good early wood, but Bella’s final wood was just one inch from stealing it. Then David ran the jack in end five to his earlier wood – Terry just failed to reduce the margin of two shots.

  End six was amazing. David again ran the jack, which finished on the edge between rinks six and seven (one more inch and the end would have been void) and fifteen inches from the ditch. Experienced and sighted players would have struggled to make something of this position. Terry was bowling backhand from rink six to the edge of rink eight and through the head being played on rink seven. Luckily this was an RBBG rink so Ann (Hoffman) and Brian were lifting woods on rink seven to allow his wood passage to the jack! He took second wood to cut the margin, but the best of the later woods was by Bella – within a foot of the jack. The problem was that she ended in rink seven so was out of bounds! Such a good shot to get nothing.

  At 5-2 Bella and David were moving into a strong position but in end seven Marian and Terry put three woods around the jack. Bella’s final wood was a fraction further away and it was 5-5. Two more shots to Marian and Terry on end eight to leave the match on 7-5, but what a cracker. Another match worthy of a final.

  Semi-Final - Anne & Stanley v Penny & Ian, February 23rd, 2010

  Ann and Stan went through to the final, after beating Penny and Ian 12-6. The margin is deceptive – after five ends it was 5-5, at tea after eight ends it was 8-6 to Stan and Ann and it could so easily have been the other way round. For instance, in end six Penny’s wood ran in on the jack at perfect pace but met Ann’s wood with a neat, full-on contact and promoted her to shot instead.

  The hard fought contest continued after tea. Penny held shot in end nine but Stan came in to take shot with the last wood. So Penny and Ian needed four shots in the last end to stay in the match. Ann promptly put her first wood 18 inches from the jack to make life difficult, but as the match neared its climax Penny and Ian had the next three woods. Ian had to take out Ann’s wood and his shot was nicely paced but it made only a glancing contact. Stan rubbed it in with a lovely final wood to make two shots on the end for the margin of six.

  It was a great contest with the substantially greater experience of Ann and Stan taking them through. What a performance from a couple with a combined age of 180!