West Beckenham v Ladywell - Friendly bowls match report

Ladywell played a friendly bowls match away at West Beckenham on Tuesday 17th June on a scorching afternoon that saw some excellent play and three extremely close games.

As it was a friendly match and due to the high temperatures, both captains agreed to play a shortened contest of three 14-end games, rather than the full 18 ends, with a tea break after seven ends.

On the first rink, the Ladywell triple included new club member Trevor Martenstyn, alongside Norman Lewis and Skip, Howard Smith. After gaining a single shot on the first end, Ladywell conceded five shots over the following three ends to give the home team a 5-1 lead. Ladywell hit back with a shot on each of the next two ends, but their West Beckenham opponents scored two shots on the seventh end to go into the break with a 7-3 advantage. After the break, Ladywell immediately cut the deficit to one shot, scoring three on the eighth end, before the home team hit back with three shots of their own on the ninth end to once again open up a four-shot lead. With a single shot on the tenth end and a gain of two shots on the 11th, Ladywell cut that lead to one, before West Beckenham picked up two shots, only for Ladywell to hit back with two shots on the 13th end. So, with one end to play, the home team had a slender 12-11 advantage. But the Ladywell triple played a superb final end to gain three shots and take a 14-12 victory.

The second rink saw an equally close game, with the Ladywell triple of Nova Dobb, Merlin Ramdawar and Skip, Steve Marlow, getting off to a slow start, conceding five shots without reply over the first three ends. A score of four shots on the fourth end got them up and running, but the home team secured single shots on each of the following three ends to go into the break with an 8-4 advantage. The Ladywell team came back onto the green with a renewed confidence after the break, gaining two shots on the eighth end and another three on the ninth, to lead for the first time in the game, by 9-8. But their West Beckenham opponents came back strongly, gaining four shots on the tenth end to move three shots ahead. The Ladywell team recovered those three shots over the following two ends, so with two ends to play, the scores were tied at 12-12. The 13th end saw the West Beckenham team take a narrow one-shot lead into the final end. But Ladywell gained the two shots they needed on the last end to gain victory by 14-13.

On the third rink, Ladywell's team included Alvin Nelson and Phil Welch, alongside first-time Skip, Tracy Umney. Ladywell gained a single shot on the first end, but their opponents got into their stride, scoring four shots over the following three ends to take a 4-1 lead. With a score of three shots on the fifth end, the Ladywell team tied the scores at 4-4, before the West Beckenham team played an excellent sixth end, gaining seven shots. And with a single shot on the following end, they went into the break with a comfortable 12-4 lead. Ladywell cut the deficit to six shots after the break with a score of two on the eighth end, before the home team pulled away again, with scores of one and two shots to take a nine-shot lead with four ends to play. But the Ladywell team rallied strongly, picking up one shot on the 11th end and two on the 12th to cut their opponents' lead to six shots with two ends left. This gave the Ladywell team the boost they needed and all three team members played outstanding woods on the penultimate end, contributing to a gain of five. With both teams pushing for victory on a tight final end, it was fitting that Ladywell gained the single shot they needed to tie the match at 15-15.

So, on a highly enjoyable afternoon, in a match played in the kind of good humour that characterises friendly bowls matches, Ladywell gained a narrow overall victory by 43-40.