Bitzas & Pieces

At last we get to play a home game.  Would we be able to cope, especially with 4 changes this week?

Chasing once again, we didn’t get off to the best of starts, despite AU’s 40 and ended first leg trailing by 13 pins.  2nd leg put in a grest effort, with both Rich and Pete scoring maiden 40s to pull 7 pins back.

3rd leg failed to continue this form and, with Stu getting our lowest score of the night, they actually dropped a further 24 pins to set the anchors a fearsome task.  Clive needed the help of our only spare to reach his 40, while AS just needed a day’s drinking to reach his.  Alas, the task was indeed far too much and we could only pull 3 pins back,  giving a final deficit of 27 to the current table toppers.

We’re back on the road next week, as we travel to the RAOB on Wednesday. Rob’s managed to avoid the bench, as Rich continues his Damned tour in Norwich, but retains possession of Barry the Brasilian Beaver.

9/11/09  v Beehive Bitzas @ Suffolk

AU 9 9 6 8 5 3 40
Jim 5 5 9 2 2 5 28
Steve 8 4 3 7 6 3 31

1st leg total 99 v  112

Lewis 8 7 4 7 3 7 36
Rich 7 8 6 5 8 6 40
Pete 8 7 7 5 7 6 40

2nd leg total 116 v 109

Rob 8 2 8 3 7 7 35

Mark

 4 7 6 7 6 7 37
Stu 5 3 4 3 6 5 26

3rd leg total 98 v 122

Clive 7 6 12 7 4 5 41
AS 7 7 6 7 8 8 43
JT 4 6 5 7 8 5 35

4th leg total 119 v 116

Grand total 432 v 459

WIN by -27

Golden Oldies

Another away game – at the Gas Club this time, saw the Hustlers desperate to get back to winning ways and start to turn our form around.

Chasing, it didn’t look like we were in for a happy night.  With even Lofty complaining about small balls  both sides failed to score 100 and we ended the leg 4 pins down, with Rob regaining possession of Barry the Brasilian Beaver.  Second leg faired only slightly better, losing a further 2 pins, with Salty just failing to notch up his first 40 of the season.

Fuelled by Newky Brown, our skipper then put himself on 3rd leg.  This was clearly an inspired decision, as his top-scoring 49 was a massive contribution towards turning the game around and handing a 20-pin advantage over to the anchors.  A very tight game then ensued as the anchors fought to preserve that lead.  Gary’s bottom score was bolstered by JT’s 43 and we only dropped a single pin, winning the game on the penultimate hand, taking the game by 19 pins in the end.

Neil and daddy Steve return for the next game (at home at last!!!!!!!!! – anyone remember the way to the Suffolk?) against new opponents Beehive Bitzas.  How does Rob manage to avoid the bench?  No game next week (‘cos we’re out of the cup ), but we’ll have a practice game and trip meeting.

27/10/09  v Old Golds @ Gas Club

AU 6 8 7 5 4 4 34
Rob 8 7 6 0 6 4 31
Lofty 5 4 5 7 2 5 28

1st leg total 93 v 97

TC 6 4 5 2 8 3 28
Mark 6 6 5 8 6 7 38
Lewis 7 3 6 5 6 7 34

2nd leg total 100 v 102

Clive 8 9 8 9 9 6 49

Pete

 7 5 6 5 6 6 35
Stu 6 7 8 3 2 5 31

3rd leg total 115 v 89

AS 8 6 5 8 5 7 39
Gary 4 3 7 4 5 3 26
JT 7 7 8 8 6 7 43

4th leg total 108 v 109

Grand total 416 v 397

WIN by 19

Howzat?!!!

Bowling first on a sticky wicket, Hustlers faced yet another away game and desperately needing a win.  With Neil on sick leave, Rob came off the bench to show us how he can really bowl.

We began the 1st innings leg with a fine 41 from AU, ably supported by Lofty.  Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on Rich’s side and, as well as regaining control of Barry the Brasilian Beaver (twice!), he posted our lowest score for some time (much to Mark’s disgust).  So we headed into the 2nd leg 17 pins and fearing the worst (well we did have Mark playing).  And we did feel it could go bad after the first hand.  But then Steve started to find his groove, with TC and Nark playing good supporting roles.  By the end of the leg, we’d put in 2 spares and our highest score of the season to finish 12 pins up.

A steady showing by Lewis and Stu helped us pull another 2 pins, despite Rob’s efforts to regain both possession of Barry from Rich and his position on the bench.  So it was down to the anchor leg to  preserve our lead.  JT did his best to get the game abandoned as he attempted a swan dive on his second ball (but it wasn’t enough to even get a score out of the style judges), but couldn’t help stop the lead from drifting away as the cricket club eventually sneaked the win by a mere 4 pins.

We are away yet again next Tuesday at that old favourite, the Gas Club.  Rob & Rich will be warming the bench, while Steve could well be in the delivery room (Maternity Ward, rather than Royal Mail).

19/10/09   v Cheltenham CC @ Cheltenham CC

AU 7 5 9 8 7 5 41
Rich 4 5 0 3 6 0 18
Lofty 8 9 7 6 3 6 39

1st leg total 98 v 115

TC 4 4 4 7 11 6 36
Mark 4 8 7 7 5 7 38
Steve 3 7 9 8 14 8 49

2nd leg total 123 v 94

Rob 6 9 1 6 2 8 32

Lewis

 7 8 5 5 6 6 37
Stu 7 8 6 7 6 7 41

3rd leg total 110 v 108

AS 6 2 5 6 4 9 32
Gary 6 8 7 2 7 4 34
JT 7 2 6 4 8 6 33

4th leg total 99 v 117

Grand total 430 v 434

WIN by -4

Whaddon Road again

Dobbin in particular will be pleased to hear that we now have another game at Whaddon Road.

The Jets, whom we beat at the Suffolk in the first game of the season, are to move from the Fox & Hounds to Jeff’s other licence, the Robins Club.  We are due to play them away in our first game of 2010.

The more discriminating beer drinking Hustlers will feel another pre-match drinking session at the Kemble coming on.

Hustlers well and truly plucked

With our skipper and Chairman off sunning themselves in Europe, the Hustlers looked to continue the season’s cup run.  How would they fare against the Pluckers on the unfamiliar territory of Hatherley’s Double Barrel?

Stand-in skipper Rob put us in to set and 1st leg gave us a good 6-pin lead, with both AU & Lofty getting to 40.  2nd leg performed steadily, but couldn’t match the Pluckers, so ended the 1st half of the match trailing by 3 pins and all to play for.

3rd leg then stepped up and struggled to find the pins.  Never having sat on the bench before, Rob succeeded in getting lowest score for the 2nd time this season as 19 pins were lost, leaving the anchor to get 23 pins to win.  Despite Gary’s top-scoring 45 (featuring our first spare of the season) and winning the leg, it wasn’t quite enough and we ended the match losing by 14 pins.

With the sad demise of the Divers, we have no game next week, so our next match is away yet again (will we ever play at the Suffolk again?) at Cheltenham CC.  Rob will be in the chamois trousers, while Lewis owes Jim (match fees) and Gary (spare), so who will be least happy?

6/10/09   v Pluckers @ Double Barrel

AU 6 8 7 5 9 7 42
JT 2 6 6 8 7 7 36
Lofty 8 6 6 6 6 8 40

1st leg total 118 v 112

TC 9 5 4 8 5 5 36
Rich 9 2 4 5 6 7 35
Lewis 5 8 3 5 6 9 36

2nd leg total 105 v 114

Rob 2 3 7 7 5 8 32

Steve

 5 6 7 4 6 5 33
Stu 6 5 6 6 8 7 38

3rd leg total 102 v 122

AS 8 6 7 8 4 5 39
Gary 7 13 5 6 7 7 45
Neil 6 6 8 3 3 7 33

4th leg total 116 v 109

Grand total 443 v 457

WIN by -14

Hustlers Creamed

In alien territory (well, Bishops Cleeve), could the Hustlers set a high enough score to beat the Cream?

With Jim making his first appearance of the season, 1st leg made a decent start, AU’s top-scoring 40 helping the ‘Slurs off to a 4-pin lead.  A consistent performance followed as 2nd leg got our highest leg total of the night and extended the leg to 17 pins.

Then the drama started.  3rd leg started off well enough, but then Mark started trying to get a beaver so he could take our Barry back home with him once more, and we finished a solitary pin ahead, leaving it all to the anchor.  Consistency was the name of the game and they started the leg by gaining pins.  But it didn’t take the Cream long to start pulling back the pins and ultimately turn the game completely their way to take it by 21 pins.

Pete and Clive are both off with some birds next week, so we face the Pluckers at the Double Barrel on Tuesday with Rob in charge.  Will he be able to turn our fortunes around?

30/9/09   v Cream @ RBL, BC

AU 5 4 8 9 8 6 40
Jim 4 5 5 5 6 3 28
Pete 5 8 8 5 4 7 37

1st leg total 105 v 101

TC 8 6 6 7 5 7 39
AS 4 5 9 8 7 6 39
Lewis 7 9 4 7 6 4 37

2nd leg total 115 v 102

Gary 7 7 8 7 5 4 38

Mark

 6 4 2 1 4 5 22
Stu 6 3 4 7 7 7 34

3rd leg total 94 v 110

JT 7 7 6 5 5 6 36
Olive 6 8 6 5 3 6 34
Neil 6 6 4 8 7 4 35

4th leg total 105 v 126

Grand total 419 v 439

WIN by -20