Bere
Regis Sports Club
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Bere
Regis Sports Club
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Bere Essentials enjoyed their last league game of
the season at Wool Legion against the Woodentops. They are below us in
the league but have some good young players and have surprised a few
teams this year.
Essentials won the first game after being set
38, then hit back hard with a 52 after stick-ups from the first two
players to lead 1-0. Leg 2 went our way too, another stick-up from
Mark helping us to a 2-0 lead.
Leg 3 was more of a struggle,
Woodentops were hitting some better scores but two more stick-ups, from
Matt and the skipper, saw us safely through to lead 3-0. The beer leg
has been a problem this season and we started badly, losing the first
game after a reliable team member hit a 'skittlers one'. Luckily our
form returned and after a close battle we took the leg to win 4-0. Top
score Mark Bennett.
We are still in the Aggregate Cup, round two is later this month, otherwise that is about it for 2007/8
Bere Essentials were back at Sandford again this week, against the
Greyhound, who are currently bottom of the league. On form alone
we were likely to win, but at Sandford anything can happen and usually
does.
Essentials started well, won the first game with the help of a rare
stick-up but then lost the next two to go 1-0 down. Leg 2 went
exactly the same way, Greyhound taking two games after losing the first
again. Six games played with neither side hitting 40.
Some serious scoring was going to be needed or Essentials were going to
be embarassed. Luckily we started hitting a few more pins, taking
four straight games to draw 2-2. We even managed two more
stick-ups, though they were only a 10 and a 12 but it helped us recover
some pride. Greyhound deserved to draw and should be much higher
in the league. Joint top score Matt Bennett and the skipper.
| Overall Score and position in 2007-2008 League | ||||||||
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | Beer | ||
| Scuttles Skittlers | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 66 | 16 | ||
| Bin Liners | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 62 | 16 | ||
| Second Fronters | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 62 | 17 | ||
| Misfits | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 60 | 16 | ||
| Rejects | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 60 | 16 | ||
| Breakaways | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 57 | 13 | ||
| Poison Dwarfs | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 54 | 14 | ||
| Bere Essentials | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 8 | ||
| M & M's | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 26 | 9 | ||
| Hooray Henrys | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 25 | 7 | ||
| Woodentops | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 25 | 6 | ||
| Six Muskateers | 22 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 19 | 4 | ||
| Greyhound Inn | 22 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 18 | 2 | ||
| Results for week 24 March 31st. 2008 | ||||||||
| Highest Score - Kevin Watson of the Second Fronters - 23 @ The Greyhound Inn - 17-12-2007 | ||||||||
The Wareham League season is drawing to a close now - after Easter
there will be two more league games and the odd cup match to play and
that will be it. Essentials position in the table is unlikely to
change, we are eighth with a gap of ten points above us and thirteen
below.
This week we played the Rejects at Lytchett Legion, one of our better
alleys so we were hoping for a good result. We didn't get off to
the greatest start though, Rejects taking the first leg 2-0. Matt
Bennett came good in the second leg with a 14 stick-up and we won 2-0
to level the score.
Leg 3 was a hard-fought battle which Essentials won 2-1 after losing
the first game so we went into the beer leg looking to win the
match. Sadly, the Essentials ' beer leg collapse' occured again,
Rejects won 2-0 and we had to settle for a draw. Top score Peter
Wharf, fresh back from holidays, hadn't touched a ball for a
month. Perhaps we all need a break.
Continuing from last week's report which claimed that the alley at Sandford had played a large part in our poor league position this year, Essentials had a chance to prove a point this week, being drawn at the Clay Pipe against the Binliners. The Pipe is one of our favourite venues, cheap beer, a nice supper and a high-scoring alley. The Binliners are a hard team to beat, second in the league and 23 points above us, so a great effort would be needed.
The first leg went well, stick-ups from Mark Bennett and Pete Stone helping us to a 2-1 win. Leg 2 went to the Binliners 2-0 after some weak scoring by Essentials, the skipper having a shocking night. Luckily, Binliners began to struggle in leg 3 and Essentials won it 2-1 after some very close games.
Into the all-important beer leg which Binliners were keen to win as they have their eyes on the trophy. Essentials set 48 but it was not enough to win the first game. Binliners then set a lowly 44 which Essentials hit easily after another stick-up from Mark. Steady scoring including a 14 by Pete set Binliners 52 to win, which proved to be too much for them. So a stunning win for Essentials, 3-1 overall against a top team (who were very sporting in defeat) may have proved a point. The supper was good too. Top score Mark Bennett with four stick-ups.
Bere Essentials have had a poor season this year, partly due to having about eight matches at Sandford Legion. Their alley is very difficult to play, there are three different-sized balls and the pins are determined to stay up. It is the only alley where a player gets clapped for scoring eight. Yes, it is the same for everybody but for some reason Essentials seem to do particularly badly there. We all have a mental block about scoring.
This week we played there again, against M & Ms
who are lurking one place below us in the league table. Fortunately, they seem
to struggle at Sandford too and managed to hit even fewer pins than us. After
three legs and only one total over 40 Essentials had managed to take a 3-0
lead.
As usual we failed to shine in the beer leg, M
& Ms taking this 2-0 after setting an amazing 43 for an overall score of 3-1
to Essentials. Top score was new recruit Peter Stone who had never played there
before which must prove that it is all in the mind really.
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | Beer | |
| Bin Liners | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 55 | 15 | |
| Second Fronters | 19 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 12 | |
| Scuttles Skittlers | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 12 | |
| Rejects | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 13 | |
| Misfits | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 49 | 13 | |
| Breakaways | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 11 | |
| Poison Dwarfs | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 13 | |
| Bere Essentials | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 32 | 6 | |
| M & M's | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 8 | |
| Hooray Henrys | 18 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 5 | |
| Woodentops | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 5 | |
| Six Muskateers | 19 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 3 | |
| Greyhound Inn | 18 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 2 | |
Bere Essentials were in league action at Lytchett Legion this week,
against the Misfits. No complaints about the alley, Lytchett is a
good place for high scores and the alley is always clean and
shiny. ( We could do with one new ball though). Misfits are 15
points above us in the league table and their captain Pogo is on good
form so we knew we had a fight on our hands.
Set 56 to win the first game, Peter Wharf gave us a good start with a
14 stick-up but we couldn't reach the target. Peter starred again
with 15 in the second game which we won and hit a third stick-up to no
avail when we lost the third game and the leg.
Leg 2 went to the Misfits 2-0 but the Bere fightback began with some
steady scoring to take Leg 3 by 2-1, thanks to a nice 16 from Mark
Bennett. We went into the beer leg with confidence, looking to
draw the match, but Misfits hit form again and took an easy 2-0 win.
A very hard game against a sporting team, but an enjoyable evening all
round. Top score Peter Wharf by a country mile - how did he end
up on the losing side?
Woodentops had a win this week
against the Breakaways. Mat Elford of the Woodentops came
runner-up to Ian Tubbs in the singles at the Greyhound last week.
So, all in all, things are looking up for the Woodentops.
Bere Essentials had a hard match this week, against the Second
Fronters at Wool Legion. Fronters are usually at the top of the
league table but have been struggling a bit this season (currently
third) and were likely to want a few points from us. We use the
long alley at Wool, don't ask why, everybody complains, so it was going
to be hard work.
Essentials started well. Fronters had a weak start, setting just
35 to give us the first game. We then set 51 and sat back to
enjoy winning the first leg. It was not to be. Fronters hit
the target then set a modest 43 which we failed to beat. The next
two legs went to three games but we lost both, only by small margins
but that is what counts if you want to win.
The beer leg was our only hope but the rot had set in, the lad's heads
were down and Fronters went on to a 4-0 win. A most disappointing
evening for Essentials, played in a gloomy atmosphere. There is
nothing like an empty Legion on a winter Monday! Top score Eric
Axford.
Two of the village teams had a short journey to Bloxworth Club as
Essentials played Breakaways. Spud and his team of young men
always give you a hard game and this week was no exception.
Essentials started well, taking the first leg by 2-1 thanks to Matt
Bennett averaging more than 10.
We started Leg 2 very well, setting 51 which is usually a winning score
at Bloxworth. Breakaways don't hold with tradition however and
having beat that score, set 53 to win the leg.
The third leg saw some slack scoring by both teams. Having easily
reached our first game target of 37, Essentials set 34 for the second
game and then failed to match Breakaways' 47 to lose the leg 2-1.
The beer leg was very close, but decided in Breakaways favour after
Spud was left to score a stick-up to win. If there is one anchor
man in the league that you would bet on it is Spud and he didn't let
his team down. We all agreed a 2-2 draw would have been a fair
result but you can't keep a good man down. Top score Matt
Bennett, a whole eight points in front of his Dad.
Essentials were looking forward to this week's
match, against our old friends the Poison Dwarfs at the Greyhound. Dwarfs are
next above us in the league and are always a pleasure to play against. We were
also pleased to see new pins, courtesy of the Wareham League who have replaced
the pins in most of the alleys we use.
Essentials found the pins to be very helpful from
the off, setting 59 in the first game which proved to be a winning total.
Dwarfs then set 42 which we were well on the way to beat until our ' weakest
link' hit a two. Discouraged by this loss we set an easy 39 to gift the Dwarfs
the first leg.
Fortunately this proved to be a temporary glitch. Dwarfs never got to grips with the new pins while Essentials scored steadily, helped by three stick-ups from top score Mark Bennett (who else?). Six straight games gave us victory by three legs to one, not enough to overtake them but at least we narrowed the gap.
The Greyhound were great hosts as usual and laid on a curry supper that was so nice that an enterprisig Dwarf cadged a container to take some home!
These weekly reports always mention the top-scoring player and
usually have a kind word to say about team-mates who do well.
However, there is never a comment about the (occasional) poor
unfortunate who has a bad night and lets the side down. This week
is an exception to that rule. Essentials played Scuttles
Skittlers at Sandford Legion and our skipper was rubbish. (This
can be reported because the writer is the skipper.)
Scuttles Skittlers are a strong team, second in the league, so we
needed a good start to get them on the back foot. Modt of the
team scored well by Sandford standards but the skipper averaged four
for his first six throws and we found ourselves 3-0 down in no time.
Luckily the beer leg went our way, a flukey nine from skip helped by an
excellent stick-up from Phil Algood gave us a consolation point.
The opposition were not well pleased, but we were delighted. Top
score Mark Bennett, 30 pins higher than 'he who will be dropped next
match.
Bere Essentials were back at Wool Legion, against the Rejects. They, like us, have more mature players than not and have a wealth of experience between them. Currently lying second in the league, they are a hard team to beat, especially on the long alley at Wool.
Leg 1 went according to form, Rejects winning 2-0 in quick time. Then the Bere fightback began, Essentials winning leg 2 by 2-1 after a grim struggle. Rejects then faced a total of 51 when Matt hit Essentials only stick-up of the night. Despite a 14 they could not match our total then set only 41 to give us leg 3 by 2-0.
Bere Essentials were back in league action this week, at Bloxworth
Club against the Greyhound. Our league position is not too good
at present so we hoped to take some points off one of the few teams
below us.
Greyhound are a tribute to the league's policy of encouraging new
players, turning out six young men without an oldie in sight. The
first leg went to plan, Greyhound proving to be a bit erratic and
allowing us a 2-0 win.
Leg 2 was not so successful, we could only set 37 in the first game and
then failed to reach their 39 when our anchorman needed six and somehow
managed to score only one! Level at 1-1.
Leg three was close, Essentials eventually winning 2-1 after a hard
struggle. The beer leg started well with a win but the second
game went to the Greyhound by one point meaning that we had to win the
last game to win the match. We set 45, which should be enough at
Bloxworth and things were looking good when their last man needed a
stick-up to win. He did it, of course, so there was a happy
ending for the Greyhound who thoroughly deserved a 2-2 draw.
Top score Mark Bennett, with son Matt one pin behind
Bere Essentials had a break from the league with the first round of
the Aggregate Cup. This is the game where all the pins have to be
knocked over before all nine are reset - the match can be won or lost
by players missing a single pin. Accuracy is everything, the ability
to clear up pins and leave your team-mate nine to throw at is vital.
The winning side have the highest score after nine throws.
We
were at Wool Legion, against Born Again. They are a young side, ably
led by the not-so-young Arthur Stickley, and should be a strong team in
years to come. Essentials started well, gaining a slight lead after
two throws. but Born Again came back strongly with a stick-up to level
the score.
Steady scoring by Essentials, partly due to some
excellent skittling by Matt Bennett who hit seven single pins out of
seven shots, saw our lead extend to double figures. A stick-up by Pete
Wharf in the seventh leg put our lead up to 35 and Arthur sportingly
conceded the match. Good team play by Essentials - let's hope we can
keep winning in our league matches. Thanks to Mark for running the
team so well in my absence.
With an unchanged team the Bere Essentials found themselves against The
Second Fronters at the Greyhound Inn. A tricky fixture, big scores and
a long evening expected. After winning the ‘toss’, for
third week running, the Essentials led the way only to lose by one pin
after their last man hit the required 12. The next leg saw skittles fly
everywhere, well, until the Essentials played, chasing 70 was never in
doubt, the team fell some way short even with a stick up from Steve,
1-0 down.
The next game started well, 22 required from the last two players, and with stick ups from Alan and Mark, again never in doubt, but no, still only 21 scored, lost by one pin. The reply was good, another stick up from Mark, 16 this time, leg and leg. The decider, close again, but 10 required to win on the final throw, only eight hit, 2-0 down. The famous ‘rest leg’ was to follow and then having to chase another big score of 68, it looked grim and 3-0 down. Chasing 53 in the first leg of the final game looked like another chance to salvage a point, alas 52 and one short again. A poor score of 45 in the second leg saw an easy victory ahead for the chasing team, no problems, a 4-0 loss, close at times but probably the right result on the night. Top score Mark Bennett.
The evening finished on a high though, food at the Greyhound, just splendid.
With a changed team and under new temporary management the Bere Essentials travelled to Lytchett RBL to play the highly rated Breakaways. Normally these meetings go the full distance, often with twelve legs having to be used and still no winner. Winning the ‘toss’ once again and throwing first, the Essentials never looked back, a 16 from Mark and a flurry of good team scores saw the first two legs taken, 1-0 up. Nip and tuck in the next game, all three legs used, but the Breakaways fought back to level the match 1-1. The third game saw stick ups from Steve and Matt, three legs with scores in the 50s and the Essentials taking a 2-1 lead. The final game was just as competitive, scores slightly lower but only a couple pins between the two teams. Almost predictable, the Breakaways won through, this giving a hard fought 2-2 draw. Top score Matt Bennett.
The Bere Essentials found themselves at the Clay Pipe against a Poison Dwarf side always good for a close, competitive game. This was to be no different. After winning the ‘toss’ the opening two legs were shared but even with a good 16 from David it wasn’t enough in the third and the Essentials were 1-0 down. Managing to fit in our compulsory rest legs, much earlier than usual I may add, the next two legs came and went, still close but 2-0 down. The first leg of the third game started in a similar manner, close but not close enough, a scrappy second saw the Essentials home by the odd pin then with stick ups from Steve and Mark the revival had begun, 2-1 and all to play for. The forth game started evenly but the Dwarfs edged in front to take the first leg, the odd pin again. The next saw one of the biggest scores of the evening by the Essentials but it was to no avail, the Dwarfs bounced back, another stick up and home with ease for an overall deserved 3-1 win. Closer than the score might suggest though. Top score Mr Edmonds. This may be a reminder from the captain that an instant return to the team is in line after his three weeks holiday in a sunnier clime, that is if they let him through the Aussie airport wearing a huge grin from a Rugby World Cup win. Not that it will be mentioned over there.
No game this week against ‘Born Again’, refurbishment at the Royal Oak, to be rearranged.
Bere Essentials, like any team of finely-tuned athletes, are prone
to injury from time to time and this week several of the team were
'walking wounded.' One bad back, one rugby injury, one member who
was nursing some bruises from playing against Swan's young fourth team
- luckily our squad has strength in depth and we were able to put out a
competitive team. The match was Round 1 of the Knockout Cup,
against the Rejects at Bloxworth.
Rejects are usually close to us in the league table so we expected a
close game. The format is like a league match except that five
legs can be played, to avoid a draw. Unfortunately, our match
only went to three legs, Rejects showing us how to play the tricky
Bloxworth alley and winning 3-0. Essentials put up a fight,
setting a world record 54 in one game but overall Rejects were the
better team, taking advantage of our inconsistent scoring.
Never mind, Round 2 of the Cup is in April 2008 so we aren't too disappointed.
After three matches so far this season Bere Essentials are sixth in
the league and this week we hoped to improve our position by taking a
few points off the Six Musketeers (the reformed and renamed Better
Misfits). The venue was that great leveller Sandford Legion,
lowest-scoring alley in the area, and a place where anything can happen
and usually does.
Perhaps the shock of losing the first game when Musketeers set 41
spurred us on to winning the next four games for a 2-0 lead. Leg
3 went to the opposition, scores of 35 and 37 being enough to
win. Fortunately this was a brief glitch and Essentials were able
to take the beer leg for a 3-1 result. Only two scores exceeded
40 all night, it really is our bogey alley. Top score Mark
Bennett, averaging seven
Here we go again, summer is over!
The Wareham skittle league season started this week - autumn has officially arrived.
As the Drax Arms plan to close their skittle alley for commercial
reasons, joining the other pub landlords who think profit is more
important than providing a service to the local community, the league
has included Wool RBL as a venue this season. The alley will be
warm and dry and the beer will be much cheaper, so the move will be
very welcome.
Bere Essentials joined Hooray Henrys to be the first to play at the new
alley and were made very welcome. Henry struggled to find a team
and apologised for fielding a group of beginners and walking
wounded. Essentials looked forward to a good opening game and all
started well.
The first three legs went our way, each being won 2-0 for a 3-0 lead
despite some rusty performances on our part. Mark Bennett hit a
splendid 17 to help us on our way.
Unfortunately (a word I hope not to use much this season) the beer leg
proved to be a bit more difficult. Henrys scored well and put us
under pressure for the first time and the cracks appeared. Set 42
to save the leg Essentials crumbled with a series of fours and fives
and Henrys took a well-deserved beer leg 2-0.
A good evening at a pleasant venue, although the alley looks very long this early in the season.