Courtfield Bowling Club Weekly Report

It was another packed week for Courtfield, with the Carliol League continuing, the Over 55s getting underway, county action at Silloth, the Stan Bragg team making a strong start, and the ladies beginning their season.

There were wins, narrow defeats, missing players, stitches, seagull incidents, and at least one captain already looking like he needs a quiet room and a strong drink.

Carliol League — Courtfield A 6–4 Stanwix

After last week’s disappointment, the club captains were already feeling the pressure after only week one. Courtfield A hosted Stanwix hoping to bounce back, and what followed was a proper battle.

Rink 1, Ste G, Dai and the refreshed Carsy, back from his cruise, took an early lead after picking up a 4 on the 4th end. After 10 ends, the Courtfield trio were 11–7 up against B Kilgour’s triple, but then that sinking feeling set in. Losing the last five ends proved costly, with Stanwix taking the rink 14–11.

Rink 2, Lawrence, Jaffa and Dave M had a reshuffle, with Dave returning to skipping after eye surgery during the winter. They flew out of the blocks, racing into an 8–1 lead after five ends. G Bullamore’s triple, made up of R Morrison and Sal Panico, fought back strongly and took the lead over the next four ends. It became a nip-and-tuck battle until Stanwix picked up a devastating 5 on the 12th end. Courtfield won the last three ends, but just missed out 15–14.

Rink 5, when the chips were down, Courtfield could rely on the unbeaten trio of Tayler, Ian P and Kev. No Juliet this week, but no problem either, as they breezed past the Stanwix triple of P Edwards, R Betton and P Rutland. Courtfield won 13 ends, which was one more than the number of stitches Kev had in his arm just hours before the game — although by the time you read this, that number may have gone up. A superb 23–2 win basically secured the aggregate.

Rink 6, Andy, John B and team captain Campbell faced Ed Johnson’s triple. A useful 4 on the 5th end put Courtfield in control at 7–2, but the Stanwix triple refused to go away and clawed it back to 9–9. A 2 on the 13th end put Stanwix 11–10 ahead, and disaster looked to be looming yet again for the team captain, who had been carried by his front end throughout. With the title already looking like it might be slipping away after only two games, Campbell finally decided to join in. Courtfield picked up a brilliant 5 on the next end to secure the rink and the points.

A tough game, but a great response from the A team.

Final score: Courtfield A 6–4 Stanwix

Carliol League — Courtfield B 6–4 Subscription B

Over at Middleton Street, Courtfield B were hoping to beat Subscription B after they had beaten the A team the previous week.

Rink 2, Joanne, Tony A and Dave G faced Kev Hodgson’s triple. Courtfield looked comfortable at 9–4 after eight ends, but bowls can change quickly. Two ends later, the game was level, and the Subscription triple continued their comeback to win 14–10.

Rink 3, Chris S, Corrine and Mike D, buoyed by last week’s winning rink, felt the other side of the coin this time. Against Colin Reed’s trio, they found themselves 19–0 down after 11 ends. Subscription ran out comfortable winners 22–4.

Rink 4, Julie, John M and Ste B were involved in a tight game against Simon Kerridge’s triple. It was 5–5 after five ends before a couple of 4s put Courtfield ahead and in control. They finished strongly to win 20–13.

Rink 6, Jean, Alan D and President Dawes faced Brian Steel’s triple and got off to the perfect start, going 6 up after four ends. Was it good bowls, or was it the luck of the seagull s@#t that hit Alan Dobson? Of course, it was good bowls. The Subscription triple only won three ends as Courtfield powered to a superb 24–8 win, taking the aggregate by just one shot.

A cracking result for the B team.

Final score: Courtfield B 6–4 Subscription B

Over 55s

Friday afternoon brought another visit to Middleton Street as the Over 55s opened their season against champions Subscription.

With no full report available, the best we can say is that lightning does strike twice. Courtfield edged it by the narrowest of margins, winning 6–4 and taking the aggregate by just one shot.

Final score: Courtfield 6–4 Subscription

Shots: Courtfield 60–59 Subscription

A brilliant start against the champions.

Alsop Trophy

On Saturday at Silloth, several Courtfield players represented Cumbria in the opening Alsop Trophy fixture against Northumberland.

In wintry conditions, Cumbria battled well and won four of the six rinks, but unfortunately lost the aggregate by 10 shots, 110–120.

Final score: Cumbria 8–14 Northumberland

Stan Bragg League — Courtfield 8–0 Maryport

Monday saw the Stan Bragg team begin their campaign after a very successful season last year. Hopes were high as Courtfield faced newcomers Maryport in the first league game of the season on a fine sunny afternoon.

Two triples made a strong start and never looked back. The triples of John McL, Tom Kelton and Allan Dawes, along with Blenks, Chicky and County President Tony, controlled their games throughout, allowing their opponents to score on just three ends in each match.

The other game was much tighter, with Dave G, Dai and Jaffa finding themselves five shots down at halfway. A spirited fightback followed, with eight shots scored over three ends to move three shots ahead. Winning a further two ends saw the team home by two shots.

A superb 8–0 winning start puts Courtfield 4th in the league standings after just one game.

Rink scores:

Skip	Score
Jaffa	15–13
Dawsy	15–6
Blenks	14–3

Final score: Courtfield 8–0 Maryport

Shots: Courtfield 44–22 Maryport

Carliol League — Courtfield A 6–4 Wetheral

Monday night continued with more Carliol League action, and after a shaky start to the season, the A team faced yet another problem when Dave Mc forgot to turn up. This left Captain Campbell scrambling around for players.

Luckily, Kev was thinking, “Who have I not told about my stitches yet?” and realised Dusty Miller was next on the list. A quick jog round to his house & Dusty came to the rescue.

Rink 1, Andy, Tom and Paul Campbell faced B Graham. It was nip and tuck early on, with Courtfield leading 4–3, but sadly that was about as good as it got. They soon found themselves 15–5 down after 11 ends.

Comment of the night came when Paul shouted to Tom, “Just aim for me.”Tom’s reply was simple: “Don’t tempt me.”Paul did not realise that the other 22 players on the green had also picked up a bowl.

A night to forget, with Wetheral winning 18–8.

Rink 2, Tayler, Ian P and the wounded Kev have become as reliable as the sun rising. They ran out comfortable 18–7 winners, with the closest Wetheral only getting as close as 10–6 after nine ends.

Rink 5, Ste G, Dai and Lee started well but could not shake off Mike Scott’s triple. An 8–4 lead after eight ends proved to be the highlight, as the visitors clawed their way back to level the game at 10–10 after 12 ends. The next three ends all went to Wetheral, who took the rink 15–10.

Rink 6, Dusty came to the rescue as he teamed up with John B and Carsy — and what a team they were. Against D Kam’s triple, a 7 on the 6th end all but sealed the game and the aggregate. Courtfield powered home 29–11.

Final score: Courtfield A 6–4 Wetheral

Shots: Courtfield 65–48 Wetheral

A win is a win, even if Captain Campbell continues to age everyone watching him.

Carliol League — Stanwix 6–4 Courtfield B

The B team travelled to Stanwix and came away just short after another battling performance.

Rink 2, Julie, John M and Gill lost five of the first six ends to trail 7–2. Two ends later, a 2 and a brilliant 5 put them in front in a back-and-forth encounter. Ed Johnston’s triple then moved 13–10 ahead with two ends to play, but Courtfield still had victory in sight. A 2 on the 14th was followed by another 2 on the last to seal a superb 14–13 win.

Rink 3, Tony R, Chris S and Mike D found themselves behind from the start, but they refused to give up. A 6 levelled the game at 10–10 after 10 ends, but losing the next three ends took the game away from them. A spirited finish saw the game end 17–12 to P Rutland’s Stanwix triple.

Rink 4, Jean, Aileen W and Evelyn faced G Bullamore’s triple. They were behind early and trailed 11–4 after 10 ends, but the girls kept battling all the way, just losing out 14–10.

Rink 5, Tony A, George P and Dave G took an early lead and never let go of it. Despite a nervy finish, losing four shots over the last two ends, they held on for a fine 16–14 victory.

Final score: Stanwix 6–4 Courtfield B

Shots: Stanwix 58–52 Courtfield

A narrow defeat, but plenty of fight across the rinks.

Cumbria Ladies League

On Wednesday, the ladies got their season underway against Dalston West.

Unfortunately, it was a tough start to the season, with Courtfield losing on all three rinks.

Jean, Evelyn and Aileen M were never in front and eventually went down 16–7.

Julie, Leslie and Corrine made a good start and were 9–2 up at the 7th end. However, dropping a 4, two 3s and two 2s put them on the back foot, and they eventually finished 16–12 down.

Joanne, Anne and Gill had a difficult start, dropping eight shots over the first three ends. They battled on, but finished 18–9 down.

Not the result the ladies wanted, but on the plus side, everyone turned up for the game — unlike the Carliol League on Monday — and it didn’t rain.

Onwards and upwards, with the ladies hoping for a better result away at Brampton next week.

Final Word

So, another full week of bowls at Courtfield, and the season is now properly up and running.

The Over 55s started with a brilliant one-shot win against the champions, the Stan Bragg team opened with an excellent 8–0 victory, the A team battled to two important Carliol wins, the B team showed plenty of fight, and the ladies got their season underway.

There were narrow wins, narrow defeats, missing players, stitches, seagull luck, county call-ups and enough late drama to keep everyone’s blood pressure nicely ruined.

With the county ties now getting underway and plenty more league action to come, there should be no shortage of drama, disasters and occasional good bowls in the weeks ahead.

Good luck to everyone representing Courtfield this week — and Dave Mc, please check the team sheet before Monday tea time.

Stan Bragg League Table