Author: TC

 Looking to avenge their narrow 1st encounter defeat, Hustlers welcomed Cowley CC to the Suffolk for the rematch in our final official home match of the season.

We began well, with Pete & bottom  of the averages TC narrowly missing out on our opening 40.  With Mike doubling his man’s score (surely a record low at the Suffolk), we had a healthy 26-pin lead.  2nd leg weren’t quite as lucky, but were steady enough to stretch the lead by a further 10 pins, leaving it looking good for the 2nd half of the game.

Despite Rob losing to his man, 3rd leg made the lead look even more convinvcing, as Rich just missed out on another 40.  Oddly, the anchors started to ship pins and some doubts began to appear in the camp.  But they were just teasing us and JT finally got our 1st (and only) 40 of the night as they squeezed out a further 7 pins to give us a most resounding victory.

Our final away match of the season sees us take on the Chosen Champs at the Churchdown Club next week.

8/4/13 v Cowley CC @ Suffolk

2nd leg total 105 v 95

3rd leg total 107 v 90

4th leg total 119 v 112

Grand total 445 v 385

WON by 60

Catching up with a report from 2 weeks ago – IT issues.

Despite a 40 from Rob, 1st leg struggled to find form, but managed to only drop 3 pins to the Sarries.  2nd leg form was somewhat poorer, especially TC’s bottom score, but they somehow managed to end the leg with Hustlers leading by 5.

3rd leg’s form was a little better, with Lofty getting our second 40 of the night, but they did lose 4 pins, leaving the anchors with the narrowest of leads to defend.  A much better perfomance followed, although only jTmade 40 (a sadly low top score), but not enough as Sarries took the leg by 4 pins to take a very tight game at the end.

18/3/13 v Saracens A @ Suffolk

2nd leg total 100 v 92

1st leg total 108 112

4th leg total 115 v 119

Grand total 428 v 431

WON by -3

Hustlers headed off to the Adam Eve looking for a rare double against Tivoli Boys.

1st leg set a steady pace as Pete & TC got our first 40’s of the night, with just Lewis failing to beat his man or get a 40, as we eked out a 4-pin lead.  Cap’n Clive bottom scored, offsetting 40s from Lofty & AS (who set his season’s best), but enough to see the lead fritter away to a 2-pin deficit.  Boosteded by his new high score, Stavros then went on to take the raffle.

Season’s bests fom Rich & Rob (who also joined the 50 club), with another 40 from Steve, saw that deficit turn around once more, this time giving the anchors a lead of 19 to defend.  Three 40s (with a season’s best for JT) easily beat three 30s and helped us cruise to a 45-pin victory.

Another break next week, with Easter on the cards, but it’s back to the Suffolk after that to face Cowley CC.

25/3/13 v Tivoli Boys @ Adam & Eve

 2nd leg total 126 v 132

1st leg total 145 v 122

 4th leg total 136 v 124

Grand total 529 v 484

WON by 45

On very unfamiliar territory, Hustlers headed out to Whaddon, looking to complete a double over the Diards

1st leg got off to a poor start, with only Lewis (with two 9s) beating his man to stop the 15-pin gap looking even worse.  2nd leg fared much better, with just Stavros failing to beat his man, yet still losing the leg & failing to make the 100 mark.  But we were still only 18 pins down, so all was not yet lost

1st leg total 89 v 104

2nd leg total 93 v 96

3rd leg total 100 v 121

4th leg total 106 v 101

Grand total 388 v 422

WON by -34

Looking to make up for the early season draw, could Hustlers continue their run of form as they took on Beehive Bitzas, back on home territory?

A steady start saw Lofty get the opening 9s of the night, as 1st leg racked up a 9-pin lead, just Clive failing to beat his man.  With Steve getting our first 40, and only TC failing to beat his man, 2nd leg extended the lead by a further 10 pins at the midpoint.

Another steady performance saw 3rd leg open the gap still further, as they added 12 more pins to the lead.  Neil opened with our lone spare of the night, but still needed another 9 to help him to top score.  Gary’s 9 pair helped him to a 40, while JT completed the hat trick to win the leg by a glorious 25.  And so we achieved by far our highest winning margin for quite some time, while keeping our run going.

1st leg total 104 v 95

2nd leg total 108 v 98

3rd leg total 103 v 91

4th leg total 125 v 100

Grand total 440 v 384

WON by 56

Back on a winning streak (will they match Bayern Munich’s?), Hustlers travelled to Parklands looking to extend that run.

A weak start from 1st leg saw Hustlers trailing by 4 pins as they handed over.  2nd leg featured Swayner’s first 40 of the seson, just beaten by Wallsy, as they won the leg by 4 to leave the game all square once more at halftime (Arsenal would have been very happy with that).

The improvement continued as 3rd leg saw Pete get another 40 to help us establish a 3-poin lead to hand over to the anchors.  And there was more to come, with three more 40s helping win the leg by 11 and so seal our 2nd double of the season.

Back home next week as we take on the Bitzas.

19/2/13 v Flyers @ Parklands

1st leg total 103 v 107

2nd leg total 117 v 113

3rd leg total 120 v 117

4th leg total 126 v 114

Grand total 466 v 451

WON by 15

A return to the Suffolk saw Hustlers looking to continue last week’s winning form as they took on Duke of York.

A good start from 1st leg as Pete, opening with our first 9 of the night, narrowly missed a 40, a mark reached by Lewis, helping set up a 4-pin lead.  A very mixed bag was to follow as both bottom-scorer TC & top-scoring Lofty hit 9s, but only 1 getting near (& passing) the 40 mark, losing 6 pins in the process.

A low scoring, but steady 3rd leg saw Mark & Stu hit a 9.  More importantly, the game took another turn as they also convincingly won the leg, leaving the anchors to defend a 12-pin lead.  All 3 broke the 40 mark, with JT retaking the "almost spare" prize, as they took the leg by a single pin to confirm a solid victory.

We’re off to Parklands next week for our return match against Flyers.

11/2/13 v Duke of York @ Suffolk

1st leg total 116 v 112

2nd leg total 110 v 116

3rd leg total 106 v 94

4th leg total 122 v 121

Grand total 454 v 443

WON by 12

After last week’s game, Hustlers headed out to Shurdington to try & do the double over British Legion Extras.

1st leg got off to a solid start, with Mike getting our first 40, ably supported by Pete & Lewis, but only managing to tie the leg.  2nd leg were a little more hit & miss, with only Cap’n Clive beating his man, with our sole spare helping him to top score.  Still, we were only trailing by a single pin – it could all change.

A solid 3rd leg all narrowly missed reaching 40, but were able to turn the game around and hand the anchors a 3-pin leg.  A very solid display from the anchors saw Rob sneak our third 40, with Gary & JT narrrowly missing out on theirs.  Taking the leg by 5 pins helped us finish 8 up and finally rack up our 1st win of 2013.

It’s back to the Suffolk next week as we face the Duke of York

6/2/13 v British Legion Extras @ Hatherley & Reddings CC 

1st leg total 119 v 119

2nd leg total 104 v 105

3rd leg total 111 v 107

4th leg total 119 v 114

Grand total 453 v 445

WON by 8

Still looking for a win in 2013, Hustlers returned to the Suffolk to take on table-topping Cannonballs Elite.

Top-scorer Pete set a good example with our first 40 of the night, ably backed up by Lewis, although TC was unlucky enough to steal Barry off Rob as he took our only beaver of the night.  But the Elite proved a littl more consistent as they snuck out a 5-pin lead.  2nd leg proved much better, with Cap’n Clive’s 40 and lewis claiming our only 9 of the night.  Losing by only 3 pins, we were left trailing by 8 at the midpoint.  Hustlers managed a clean sweep in the "raffle" – only fair, as we had paid much more into it.

3rd leg finally saw Swayner beat his man for the 1st time this season, but even he couldn’t stop us losing a further 12 pins.  And so it was down to the anchors to fight off the defeat (and save Lewis £5 in the process).  Rob lead the way with our top BYM, withb all 3 narrowly missing out on a 40.   And they became our 1st winning leg, by a single pin.  Sadly, another defeat, but our luck will change afte a good rest.

We travel to Hatherley & Reddings CC in February to face British Legion Extras.  A chance to do the double over them.

21/1/13 v Cannonballs Elite @ Suffolk

1st leg total 109 v 114

2nd leg total 115 v 118

3rd leg total 106 v 118

4th leg total 115 v 114

Grand total 445 v 464

WON by -19

Having missed out on a match last week, Hustlers were keen to get the new year underway with a win against old rivals Cream.

All soon started not to look so cheerful as 1st leg soon found themselves behindespecially when our esteemed Chair got our 1st beaver of 2013.  2nd leg proved much more hopeful as Gary racked up our first 40 of the night, closely followed by a 2nd from top-scoring Cap’n Clive.  With Mike getting our 1st alMost spare for some time (who does currently have Mo secreted away?), it was down to Clive to provide a proper one as we turned around trailing by a mere 5 pins.

1st leg total 101 v 127

2nd leg total 120 v 99

3rd leg total 117 v 114

4th leg total 106 v 121

Grand total 444 v 461

WON by -17