Ladywell v Dulwich Park bowls match report - Another Cup win for Ladywell

Ladywell's bowls teams continued their good run of form in the Ron Hams Cup, with another strong win at home to Dulwich Park on Saturday 28th June.

On another swelteringly hot day, Ladywell faced Dulwich Park in singles, pairs and triples matches in the Ron Hams Cup, with two points at stake in each game and a further four points available to the winning club on overall points. And after winning their first three Round Robin matches, including victory at Dulwich Park in May, Ladywell's bowlers were hoping to build on their strong start.

The singles match saw the two club captains paired against each other. And it was Ladywell's captain, Phil Welch, who got off to a flying start with three shots on the first end. He continued this excellent form, building on his lead with eight more shots on the following four ends, to move 11-0 ahead, already halfway to a winning score of 21 after just five ends. His Dulwich Park opponent had been struggling to read the green, but he found his line and length on the sixth end, gaining his first shot. This coincided with a dip in form for the Ladywell player and, with the Dulwich Park captain gaining confidence, he was soon scoring freely. So, with eight shots over the next four ends, he narrowed Phil's lead to 11-9 after ten ends. This seemed to spur Phil back to life and he regained the jack on the 11th end with a gain of one shot. With five more shots over the following three ends, Phil was within touching distance of a win, with a 17-9 lead. But once again, his opponent hit back, gaining a shot on the 15th end. But Phil had found his game again, and with one shot on the 16th end, followed by a gain of three on the 17th, he sealed a 21-10 victory.

In the 18-end pairs match, Ladywell's team of Norman Lewis and Skip, Steve Marlow took the first end with a single shot, before they opened up a significant lead with a score of six, to go 7-0 up after two ends. Their opponents got on the scoreboard with two shots on the third end, but Norman and Steve hit back with two shots of their own over the following two ends. Both teams traded shots leading up to the break, but Steve and Norman always managed to retain the upper hand, so at the halfway point after nine ends, Ladywell had a 12-4 lead. Both teams were playing some excellent bowls, but it was the home team who always seemed to have the edge. And a score of five shots on the 11th end saw them take a significant 17-5 lead. Both teams traded single shots over the following four ends, so with three ends to play, Ladywell had a 19-7 lead. Four shots to Ladywell over the next two ends extended the margin to 23-7 and, with the away team gaining a single shot on the final end, Norman and Steve had gained a convincing 23-8 win.

The triples match turned out to be a much closer affair, although the Ladywell team of Tracy Umney, Ian Bradford and Skip, Robert Dunn also seemed to thrive in the hot conditions at the beginning of the match. They got off to a flying start, gaining nine shots without reply over the first four ends, before their Dulwich Park opponents gained their first points with a score of two on the fifth end. The Dulwich Park team continued to chip away at Ladywell's lead and at the break after nine ends, the score was 10-5 in Ladywell's favour. The away team carried on in the same vein after tea, closing the gap on Ladywell with five shots over the first three ends after the break to tie the scores at 10-10. But the home team hit back with two shots on the 13th end to move ahead once again. Dulwich Park immediately hit back with two shots of their own on the 14th end. Both teams were vying for the slight advantage they needed and Ladywell edged ahead again, to take a one-shot lead with three ends to play. But it was the 16th end that proved decisive. With a short jack, the Ladywell team seemed to struggle with the extreme heat and the fast conditions, sending a series of woods long. This opened the door for their opponents, who played an excellent end, gaining five shots and taking the lead for the first time in the match, with the scores at 13-17. The Ladywell triple regrouped and narrowed their opponents' lead to 15-17 on the penultimate end, but a single shot on the final end left them agonisingly short, leaving the final score at 16-17 in Dulwich Park's favour.

All three matches were played in excellent spirits, with some fantastic bowls in extremely testing conditions. And it was Ladywell who came out on top, gaining four points for two wins, plus a further four points for the win on overall points, by 60-35. Dulwich Park earned two points for their triples win.

With four wins from four Ron Hams Cup Round Robin matches, this leaves Ladywell in a strong position to qualify for the final. They currently sit top of the table with just two matches to play - home and away against Southwark Sports. The top two clubs qualify for the final.