Courtfield Chaos, Comebacks and Chip Promises

Ladies Brave the Wetheral Weather

The ladies travelled to Wetheral on Wednesday and, at first, it looked like the game might fall victim to the weather again — rain this time, rather than the recent heat and sunshine.

After a 15-minute wait, the ladies decided to brave the elements. It was agreed that if the weather deteriorated, each triple would play 10 ends as per the rules.

Anne, Corrine and Gill took on I Ward’s triple. Despite Anne having trouble getting the jack up at times, she certainly didn’t have the same problem with her woods. Corrine has fitted in well with this triple, and Gill played a strong game, helping secure an excellent 14-5 win.

On rink 3, it was a game between two experienced skips as Jean, Leslie and Aileen M faced Judith Clifford’s triple. Courtfield were in impressive form, with everyone playing their part in a convincing 13-2 win.

On rink 4, Julie, Aileen W and Evelyn had a much closer battle against S Kay’s triple, with both sides winning an equal number of ends. Evelyn’s triple held their nerve to edge a tight game 9-8.

Luckily, 30 ends across the green had been completed when the rain became torrential and the match was brought to an end.

A fantastic 8-0 win for the ladies and an excellent result in very testing conditions.

Courtfield Dig Deep in Title Clash

Thursday evening brought the big one, as title holders Courtfield took on title contenders Subscription A.

On rink 2, Andy, Lawrence and Hong Kong faced Ian Gallagher’s triple and started strongly, moving into a 7-3 lead. If not for some brilliant bowls from Ian, the gap could have been even bigger.

On rink 3, Mr Chris, John B and Captain Chaos faced Ricky Gallagher’s triple. It was a tight start from both teams, with the scores locked at 4-4 after six ends.

Rink 4 saw Ste G, Dai and Lee get off to the worst possible start against Barry Millgate’s triple, finding themselves 8-0 down after five ends.

On rink 6, Tayler, Ian P and Kev helped balance things out with a strong start, leading Lawrence Kelly’s trio 7-1 after five.

Back on rink 2, the Subscription triple began to find their way and edged ahead 10-7. Likewise on rink 3, Subscription moved into a 9-5 lead.

On rink 4, a very important three, taken from one down with the last bowl, gave the Courtfield trio hope, although they still trailed 11-6. Meanwhile, on rink 6, a disastrous five on the ninth end brought Subscription right back into the game at 10-9, and suddenly things were looking gloomy.

With two ends to play on each rink, it felt as though Courtfield had lost their grip on the title race, with an 8-2 win for Subscription looking likely.

But bowls can change very quickly.

On rink 2, Hong Kong’s trio came back in style to finish 12-12, earning a valuable point. Captain Chaos’s triple also fought back well, reducing the deficit before eventually going down 12-9.

Then came the big turnaround on rink 4. Trailing 13-7 after 13 ends, Ste G, Dai and Lee refused to give in. A five on the 14th gave them a fighting chance, before a four on the last completed an outstanding comeback to win 16-13.

On rink 6, Subscription took it right to the wire, but Kev held firm to secure a 16-14 win.

From what looked like an 8-2 defeat, Courtfield somehow turned it around to win 7-3.

A massive result, full of fight, bottle and belief.

Over 55s Edge It at Subscription B

On Friday afternoon, the Over 55s travelled to face Subscription B and, while details are a little thin on the ground, there was still plenty of drama.

Steve Boyd’s triple had looked in complete control, leading by 13 shots at one stage, only to find themselves 13-13 going into the closing stages.

With the aggregate also in the balance, Steve was left with the last bowl and, by all accounts, produced a worldie when it mattered most, trailing the jack to win the game.

That bowl proved enough to secure the aggregate and give Courtfield a hard-fought 6-4 win.

Not much of a report, maybe, but certainly one big finish.

B Team March On in National Club Fours

Saturday evening saw the B Team face Silloth in the National Club Fours, the same Silloth side who had knocked out the A Team in the previous round.

The B Team went one better, producing a magnificent result to win 37-32, despite a nervous finish.

George Gray’s rink dropped a five on the last end to make things very nervy, eventually losing 19-18.

Thankfully, Hong Kong’s rink had done the business, winning 19-14 to see Courtfield over the line.

They now move on to face Whitehaven in the regional final, after Whitehaven edged past Aspatria B 31-30.

The final will be played at home, with full details to follow once confirmed.

It would be brilliant to see as many Courtfield members and supporters there as possible to get behind the lads and support the club.

Following such a brilliant win, President Dawes has promised fish and chips for everyone at Thursday night’s A Team v B Team match.

Whether this promise is honoured, or whether he follows the path of another current president and quietly goes back on his word, remains to be seen.

Top Club Sunday

With Captain Chaos causing more stress than necessary, Courtfield gave up home advantage against Wigton Park just so he could play.

To be fair, he made a good start, beating Ryan Baxter in the singles to put Courtfield ahead.

In the fours, John B, Dai, President Dawes and Lee faced a strong rink skipped by Stephen Farish. They were well in the game up to 10 ends, but could only manage two singles after that, allowing Wigton Park to level the match at 1-1.

Steve Boyd played the two woods but was second best, giving Wigton Park the advantage.

Kev and Tayler took a big early lead against Lewis Baxter in the pairs. It got closer in the latter stages, but they held on to level the match at 2-2.

That left the triples of Lawrence, Brian Lightfoot and George G. They had been behind for most of the game but, buoyed on by the big crowd of Gerry, Aileen M and Mike D, they rallied superbly to sneak into a 16-15 lead.

With hopes raised, they just could not quite get over the line.

A valiant effort from Courtfield, but it was Wigton Park who progressed.

County Competitions

In the Secretaries’ and Treasurers’ Singles Championship, Steve Boyd travelled to Cockermouth to face Henry Stewart.

Steve struggled early on in the wet conditions and found himself 7-2 down, but battled his way back into the game to level things at 11-11.

At that stage Steve was lying four, only for Henry to come in with his last bowl and half the jack for three. On the next end, Steve was lying three again, but Henry once more produced the goods with his last bowl to turn it into two.

Those two ends proved to be a big turning point.

Henry played the full game without a cloth of any kind, which was impressive in itself given the conditions. How he managed to bowl as well as he did with wet hands and a wet bowl is anyone’s guess.

A tough one for Steve, but a strong effort in difficult conditions.

Jean, Aileen W and Evelyn faced S Robinson’s triple from Keswick in what sounded like a very close contest.

From what was seen, the Courtfield trio were more than holding their own and, for long spells, looked to be playing the better bowls.

The game could have gone either way, but Evelyn felt that Keswick finished the stronger and outplayed them in the closing stages.

A tough result, but another good effort from the Courtfield ladies.

Stan Bragg

On Monday afternoon, Courtfield travelled to a tricky West End in the Stan Bragg and came away with a hard-fought result.

Ste G, Mike D and Chaos had the narrowest of wins, picking up two singles on the last two ends to edge it 12-11. Never in doubt, apart from most of the game.

George P, Tom K and Trump were unlucky against John Lindsay’s triple. A good mid-game fightback saw them take the lead, but dropping a three on the last proved costly as they went down 15-14.

Dave G, Steve B and Brian L also decided that a comfortable finish was completely unnecessary. Leading 15-7 with two ends to go, everything looked under control, until dropping a two and then a four made it far too close for comfort. Thankfully, they held on to win 15-13.

Courtfield took the match 6-2, with the aggregate finishing 41-39.

Another afternoon where Courtfield got the job done, while doing their very best to make it look far more difficult than it needed to be.

Carliol League

After a quiet couple of weeks, the B Team were finally back in Carliol League action on Monday evening with a trip to Dalston, who have been going well and keeping pressure on near the top of the league.

On rink 1, Anne, David G and Dawesy faced Andy Rogerson’s trio. Dalston were edging the ends and led 10-6 after 11, but Courtfield were still very much in the game. Then came the turning point. Two magnificent fours completely changed the match, and although Dalston picked up a single on the last, the damage had already been done. A cracking 14-11 win for Courtfield.

On rink 2, Tony R, Tony A and John M clearly had no interest in making a night of it against Kev Mawdsley’s triple. They flew out of the blocks, were 15 shots up after six ends, and went on to win comfortably 18-8.

Rink 3 saw Julie C, Corrine and Steve B take on Steve Watson’s triple. A five on the fifth end put Courtfield in control, and they kept their noses in front from there. Dropping a three on the last made the scoreline a little closer, but the rink was already in good hands as Courtfield won 14-10.

On rink 4, Jean, Aileen and Evelyn faced Mike Beattie’s triple. This was the tight one, with very little between the sides, but two dropped threes on the ninth and tenth ends proved costly as Dalston took the rink 12-8.

A strong away win for the B Team against a Dalston side who have been on the up. More importantly, it keeps things very interesting at the top of the Carliol League.

All in all, a fairly normal Courtfield week: plenty of drama on the green, questionable stress levels off it, and President Dawes learning the hard way that fish and chip promises made in public are legally binding.