STOCKPORT METRO LEAGUE

 

 

VERSUS

 

 

DERBYSHIRE COUNTY

 

 

VENUE:             WOODHOUSE PARK LIFESTYLE CENTRE,

                             WYTHENSHAWE, MANCHESTER.

 

 

MATCH RESULT:    STOCKPORT: 20 PTS & 175 shots.

                                     DERBYSHIRE: 20 PTS & 162 shots.

                            

 

Stockport entertained Derbyshire on Sunday, 6th December, 2009. The match commenced at 11am.

 

Representing Stockport in the singles was:

 

Adam Smith and Scott Smith (Avons)

 

Adam’s first game was against Dave Shaw and the Derbyshire player soon took command of this game; by the end of the 8th he was leading Adam by 8 shots to 2. From the next four ends both players took 3 shots each to leave the score at 11 shots to 5. Adam scored 2 shots in the 13th, but Dave scored 1 shot in the 14th which proved to be the match winner as Adam was now 5 shots adrift. Adam did have the satisfaction of taking 3 shots from the 15th end but the match was lost at 10 shots to Dave’s 12.

 

Adam’s second game was against his old opponent Ivan Lunn with the pair having had some good battles in the past.

This game proved to be no different and by the end of the 7th the game was all square at 6 shots apiece. Adam then really went to town as he proceeded to batter Ivan scoring 11 shots with nothing coming back from Ivan; at the end of the 12th Adam lead by 17 shots to Ivan’s 6. In the 13th Ivan scored an excellent 4 shots; Adam then took 1 shot from the 14th followed by 2 shots for Ivan in the 15th; Adam taking the game 18 shots to Ivan’s 12.

 

Adam’s brother Scott was representing Stockport in the singles for the first time; his first game being against Ivan; a very tough opponent for your debut and no mistake. At the end of the 4th Ivan led Scott 4 shots to 1. Scott then showed his mettle by taking 6 shots from the next four ends and going into the 9th he lead Ivan by 7 shots to 4. Ivan then showed what he is made of and romped away with the game as he took 14 shots from the next 7 ends, with no reply from Scott. The final score being Ivan 18 shots, Scott 7.

 

Scott then faced Dave Shaw who proved just too strong for him and at the end of the 14th Dave had scored 17 shots to 5 singles from Scott. Scott did take the 15th end scoring a fine 3 shots over his opponent and adding a touch of respectability to the score of 17 shots to 8 in favour of the Derbyshire player.

 

 

Representing Stockport in the pairs was:

 

 

1. Win Thompson (Woodley) and Billy Burn (Bramhall Village)

2. Clint Crowther and Chris Crowther (Woodley A)

 

A very warm welcome to Clint and Chris on their Stockport debut.

Win and Bill opened up against Mick Fowler and Ian Howarth and like so many games before them this proved to be another very hard fought contest. By the time they had finished the 12th end the Derbyshire pair held a slim lead of 1 shot, the scores being 9 shots to Stockport’s 8. The Derbyshire pair really dug in and took the next three ends with single shots to see the game home by 12 shots to 8.

 

Win and Bill then came up against Maureen Flint and Howard Cooper and yet again, an extremely hard game with both pairs really working hard to open a gap from their opponents. This never happened and by the end of the 11th Stockport held a 1 shot lead over their opponents at 11 shots to 10. Derbyshire then hit Stockport with 3 shots in the 12th to lead 13-11. 1 shot to Stockport in the 13th; 12-13. 1 shot to Stockport in the 14th, and we are all square again at 13 shots apiece. Win and Bill then settled the game by taking 2 shots off their opponents from the last end to slip over the line 15 shots to 13. A very close affair with some excellent bowls being played by both teams.

 

Clint and Chris made their debut against the Derbyshire pair of Maureen and Howard. This game also proved to be a tight battle as the Stockport pair struggled to get on top of their opponents. However, by the end of the 10th the score stood at 7 shots to 4 in favour of Maureen and Howard. Then dad and son got into the groove taking 6 shots without reply to go into the 15th end 11 shots to 7 in front. There was still a lot of work to do but they hung on, just conceding 2 shots to their opponents and claiming a debut win of 11 shots to 9.

 

Their second game saw them taking on Mick and Ian and this time they got away to a flier leading 8 shots to 1 at the end of the 5th.  A dour struggle now ensued through the next 5 ends as both pairs tried to get on top. Clint and Chris could only manage 1 single to Mick and Ian’s 4 singles with the score going into the 11th end 9 shots to 5 in favour of the Stockport pair. They increased this to 11 by taking 2 shots from the 11th, but Mick and Ian hit straight back with 4 shots from ends 12 and 13 which put them only 2 shots behind Clint and Chris. The 14th end proved to be a big one for Stockport as they scored an excellent 3 shots to ensure they registered a second victory; their lead now being 5 shots with one end to go and they took that with a single to finish comfortable winners by 15 shots to 9. An excellent start from this father and son partnership.

 

 

Representing Stockport in the triples was:

 

1. Bernie Thorley (GMMC), Bernard Fennell (Hazel Grove) and John Lax (Woodley A)

2. Charlie Cooper (Denton A) Jan Wilson (Smithy Green) and Lesley Fennell (Hazel Grove A)

 

The two Bernie’s and John kicked off against Elaine Manterfield, Terry Flint and Ross Martell.  A steady start by the Stockport trio saw them open up a 5 shots to 1 lead at the end of the 4th. The Derbyshire team then hit back taking 6 shots to Stockport’s single as they squared the match 6 shots apiece by the end of the 8th. Both trios then took a shot apiece and went into the 11th end 7 shots across. The Derbyshire threesome then put it together and ran out 9 shots to 7 winners with 2 shots in the final end. This was another excellent and hard fought game.

 

This trio’s second game came against Ray Crookes, Rachel Cooper and Ellen Lunn with the Derbyshire trio setting a really fast pace taking 8 shots from the first two ends. Stockport hit back with 3 shots in the 3rd and 1 shot in the 4th. Their opponents came back with 3 shots followed by Stockport taking another 3 shots as they finished the 8th end with Derbyshire four shots in front at 11-7. Try as they might the Stockport trio could not get on top and Derbyshire finished strongly with 4 shots from the last 3 ends; taking the game 15 shots to 7.

 

Charlie, Jan and Lesley faced Ray, Rachel and Ellen in their first game and started quite well as they picked up 4 shots to Derbyshire’s nil by the4 end of the 3rd.  The 4th and 5th ends went to the Derby team as they scored 5 shots; Stockport took a single shot in the 6th to leave the teams level at 6 shots each. Nail biting time now as both teams battled to create a match winning score. Derby took 1 shot in the 7th; Stockport 1 in the 8th; Derby 1 in the 9th. In the 10th Stockport broke the mould by taking 2 shots to go into the 11th leading 8 shots to Derby’s 7.  A pulsating last end saw Derby nick a single to leave the game drawn at 8 shots apiece. A terrific game and some would say that it was the right result.

 

Their second game was against Elaine, Terry and Ross and after the draw they were looking for a better result against this Derby trio. Right from the off they took the game to their opponents, scoring heavily and was not until the 6th end that the Derby trio got on the scoreboard; the score being Stockport 9 shots, Derby 2 shots. Stockport then took 3 shots from ends 7 and 8; and Derby hit back with 2 shots in the 9th followed by a single in the 10th. The score going into the 11th end was Stockport 12 shots, Derby 5 shots. Stockport then finished the game with a further 3 shots to take the spoils by 15 shots to Derby’s 5. Overall this was a good performance by the Stockport three as they put three good points into the bag.

 

 

Representing Stockport in the fours was:

 

1. Chris Bates (Great Moor), Louise Smith (Avons), Allison Bolton (Denton A) and Barrie Chadwick (Europa)

2. Paula Moores (Queensgate), David Bates (Great Moor), Bob Thompson (Woodley A), and John Pajak (Woodley A)

 

In their first game Chris, Louise, Allison and Barrie came up against the Derbyshire four of Elaine Howarth, Marnie Wright, Margaret Kirby and Eunice Thompson. Stockport got away to a very good start; good bowling saw them leading by 9 shots to 3 at the end of the 6th. The Derby quartet then seemed to wake up as they plundered 7 shots from the last three ends to nick the game by 1 shot. The final score was Stockport 9 shots, Derbyshire 10 shots; a very disappointing end to the game for Stockport but well done to the Derby foursome.

 

Their second game saw them taking on Alan Barton, Phil Wright, Graham Fish and James Hardwick. This time Stockport didn’t let the game slide away from them; right from the word go they settled into good line and lengths and quickly opened up a very substantial lead over their opponents. At the end of the 5th Stockport were leading the Derby four by 13 shots to nil. Derby got onto the score card in the 6th with a single which was copied in the 7th by Stockport. In the 8th Derby scored 2 shots and Stockport finished the game in the 9th with another 2 shots. The result was an emphatic win for Stockport by 16 shots to 3, and two very welcome points.

 

In their first game Paula, David, Bob and John met the challenge of Alan, Phil, Graham and James. They settled in quickly and took 3 shots from the 1st end and then everything went pear shaped as the Derby four raced away, steadily scoring and at the end of the 7th were leading Stockport by 10 shots to 3. Stockport then made a tremendous comeback in the 8th by taking an excellent 5 shots to trail Derby by just 2 shots as they went into the 9th and last end. This end was fought out very strongly and the result went down to the last wood of the match. Stockport were holding 2 shots and looked to have the game settled until the Derby Skip sent his last wood down the mat and succeeded in taking one Stockport wood out of the equation and enabling his team to take the game by 10 shots to 9; a tremendous effort at the death by Stockport but the game was really lost between ends 2 through to 7.

 

The last game of the match saw the same Stockport four taking on the Derby four of Elaine, Marnie, Margaret and Eunice. There were some similarities to their first game as they opened their scoring with 3 shots in the 2nd, then didn’t score again until the 6th. In this period of the game Derby were held to 3 single shots as Stockport’s defensive bowling restricted their scoring shots; so, at the end of the 6th Derby were leading Stockport by 5 shots to 4. Stockport then hit top form as they proceeded to run away with the game. 2 shots in the 7th; 2 more shots in the 8th; and then they finished off with a flourish as they ran in 4 shots in the 9th to take the game away from Derby by 12 shots to 5. Two good performances by the Stockport four and they were extremely unlucky not to take maximum points from these two games.

 

An excellent match between two pretty evenly matched sides and both team captains were reasonably happy with the final result of a 20-20 draw. An interesting note here is that in their first four matches, Stockport have scored 80 points for and also conceded 80 points.

 

At present the NESMBA ICC - Division 1 League Table which was updated on the 6th December, 2009 and reproduced here with the very kind permission of Roger Green NESMBA League Secretary reads as follows:

 

North Yorks: Played 3: Won 3: Pts 86: Shot Diff +184

Stockport:      Played 4: Won 1: Drawn 2: Lost 1: Pts 80: Shot Diff +37

Derbyshire: Played 4: Won 1: Drawn 1: Lost 2: Pts 72: Shot Diff -80

Humberside A: Played 4: Won 1: Drawn 1: Lost 2: Pts 70:  Shot Diff -87

West Yorks: Played 3: Won 1: Lost 2: Pts 52: Shot Diff -54

 

Stockport’s next match is away against West Yorkshire on Sunday 20th, December, 2009.

 

Here is the address of the venue:

 

The Richmond Hill Sports Centre,

Cross Aysgarth Mount,

Pontefract Lane,

Leeds

LS9 9AH

Tel: 0113 2488056

 

 

Players own transport required.

 

 

The team selection for the West Yorkshire match is:

 

Singles:     Adam & Scott Smith (Avons)    

 

Doubles:    1. Bill Burn (Poynton A) & Win Thompson                         (Woodley A)

                   2. Clint & Chris Crowther (Woodley A)

 

Triples:      1. Charlie Cooper (Denton A), Graham Edwards                        Woodbank A) & Bernie Fennell (Hazel Grove)

                   2. Bernie Thorley (GMMC), Lesley Fennell (Hazel                     Grove) & John Lax (Woodley A)       

 

Fours:       1. Paula Moores (Queensgate), David Bates                                (Great Moor), Geoff Griffiths (Woodley A) &                       John Pajak (Woodley A)

                   2. Chris Bates (Great Moor), Louise Smith                         (Avons), Allison Boulton (Denton A) & Barrie                   Chadwick (Europa)

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Hamilton (Stockport)

8th December, 2009.