Southwark Sports v Ladywell bowls match report

Ladywell's final bowls match in the Round Robin stage of the Ron Hams Cup proved to be a challenging one against the runaway leaders, Southwark Sports. And, with a number of regular bowlers unavailable, it was a tough afternoon for the Ladywell team.

It was a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday 26th July, and with some good wins under their belt in previous rounds, Ladywell were virtually guaranteed a top two finish, with the reward of qualification for the cup final. Similarly, Southwark Sports, with a game in hand, had almost secured their own place in the final, so this could be regarded as a potential dress rehearsal.

As usual, the format for the Ron Hams Cup involved three matches - a singles, a pair, and a triple - playing at the same time on the same green, with two points available to the winning team on each rink and a further four points going to the club that wins on overall scores.

In the singles match, Ladywell's club captain Phil Welch was up against an opponent who'd already beaten him once this season in the same competition. With the winning target of 21 shots in his sights, Phil started well, picking up a couple of shots on the first two ends, before the home player got on the board with two shots on the third end to tie the scores. Both players exchanged shots over the following ends, with Phil having the slight edge, so after seven ends, he was leading 6-3. But the home player was just getting into his stride, and he gained shots on the following five ends to ease into an 11-6 lead. Phil hit back with three shots on the next three ends to reduce the deficit to 11-9, but with five shots on the next two ends, the Southwark Sports player moved into a commanding 16-9 lead. And although Phil picked up two shots on the 18th end to take his score to 11, the next three ends saw his opponent ease to a 21-11 victory.

The Ladywell pair of Sally Bryan and Skip, Steve Marlow, got off to a slow start against a strong Southwark Sports pair, and they were 8-0 down after four ends, before they registered a score of three on the fifth end. Their opponents once again took control of the jack, scoring on each of the following four ends to take a comfortable 14-3 lead at the halfway point after nine ends. Sally and Steve stemmed the tide with a single shot on the tenth end, but the Southwark Sports team responded with another three scoring ends, including a gain of five shots on the 13th end, for a 22-4 advantage. The Ladywell pair gained two shots on the 14th end to reduce the deficit, only for their opponents to hit back with two shots of their own on the following end. But Sally and Steve were still battling hard and with some excellent play they gained three shots on the 16th end to narrow their opponents' lead to 24-9. And on the penultimate end, it looked like they might reach double figures, but the Southwark Sports Skip gained a lucky wick to place his final wood on the jack and gain a further point for his side. And with a gain of two on the final end, the home side secured a convincing victory by 27-9.

It was a similar story for the Ladywell triple of Alvin Nelson, Merlin Ramdawar and Skip, Terrie Sibley. Although they started with a gain of a single shot on the first end, their opponents soon took control, moving into a 5-1 lead after four ends. The Ladywell team gained another shot on the fifth end, but then the home side took a grip on the match, winning the following seven ends to take a 21-2 lead. The Ladywell triple got back on the scoreboard with two shots on the 13th end, but their opponents immediately extended their lead with four shots on the 14th. And although Alvin, Merlin and Terrie gained another two shots on the next end, a score of two on the 16th end saw the Southwark Sports team take an unassailable lead, so the two Skips agreed to end the match two ends early, with the score at 27-6 in favour of Southwark Sports.

This meant that the overall match score was an emphatic 75-26 win for Southwark Sports. And Ladywell completed their Round Robin matches with just two losses - both to these opponents. So, they'll be hoping that if they do reach the final later in the season, they can turn those results around.

Current Ron Hams Round Robin League table

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