FINAL LIVES UP TO ITS BILLING

FINAL Hetty Stewart & David Norton v Penny Gillies & Nans Farley - February 21st, 2012

  After a series of thrilling matches the final between Hetty and David and Penny and Hans was another nail biter which could have gone either way.

  Hetty held shot, in the first end, around a foot in front of the jack, until Hans ran the jack – but unfortunately for him it broke to Hetty’s back wood for one shot. Penny then held shot in the second until David ran the jack a full yard, but this time to his partner’s wood and his own stayed on course, to give two shots and a 3-0 lead to Hetty and David.

  The third end saw Hetty sit on a twenty-eight yard jack. Penny was a foot away, in front, but David ran inside for second wood, no more than four inches from the jack. Hans’s shot with weight was pin point accurate – he pinged both his opponents’ woods away and stopped his own to take two with Penny’s wood. And for good measure he drew his last in for a third and it was 3-3, after three ends.

  A full length jack, in the fourth, saw Hetty holding shot until David’s final wood rolled in to two inches for a second and they had reopened their lead at 5-3. A reset jack, in the fifth at thirty yards, was run by Hetty and she held shot at eight inches. Hans took a wick off Penny to slip through the head for shot, at four inches. David’s final wood promoted his partner, but not quite far enough, and the lead was cut to 5-4.

  Another reset jack at thirty yards, saw Hetty ten inches away, then Penny moved the jack a few inches and sat herself five inches away for shot. Her last wood ran in to hold two, but Hans then pinged the jack a full yard in length and wide on the forehand. Amazingly Penny still held two, one of the original shots and her back wood; until David’s final wood ran the jack and stopped just in time to take the shot by the narrowest of margins. His side’s two shot lead was reinstated, at 6-4.

  The shortest jack by far, at twenty five yards, backfired for Hetty and David. Penny and Hans had a wood each close to the jack and because their opponents had not adjusted their length they took the next two shots as well, four in all, to take the lead at 8-6. It was then for Penny and Hans that the long jack they set at thirty-three yards backfired. Hetty and David were holding four as Hans delivered his last wood. He took out one of Hetty’s woods and stopped his own, so that the deficit in the head was cut to two – that meant they were tied at 8-8 after eight ends.

  The final end saw some immaculate bowling from Hetty and David. A thirty-one yard jack had three of Hetty’s woods and two of David’s within eighteen inches of the jack. Penny had actually held shot at three inches, until David moved her out and given his side four clear shots, as Hans delivered his final wood. He fired, took David’s shot wood out but it was the jack he needed and he missed that, though not by very much at all. Three shots gave Hetty and David a win at 11-8 and the trophy, but all four bowlers had played their part in a match worthy of a final.

Runners-Up - Penny Gillies & Hans Farley

 Champions - Hetty Stewart & David Norton