Agony by One, Glory by Eight and Courtfield on Top

County Cup Heartbreak

Tuesday evening saw both the A and B teams in County Cup action, with neither tie lacking in drama.

The A team welcomed Dalston, with Tayler, Ian P, Carsy and Kev facing the small matter of Chris and Andy Rogerson, Kenny Johnstone and Stuart Airey. Not exactly the draw you hope to pull out of the hat. Courtfield battled away, but the Dalston four were in ruthless form and ran out 27-7 winners.

Over at Dalston, John B, Lee, George and Hong Kong were doing everything possible to drag the tie back into life against Mike Lamb, Davy Simpson, Peck Orchard and Steven Watson.

With the game still going well after 9pm and the light beginning to consider packing in before the players did, Courtfield looked to be holding three, possibly four, on the 16th end. Steven Watson then produced a superb bowl to take second shot and leave everyone wondering why he could not have saved it for another night.

Without that bowl, Courtfield would have been just three shots behind with two ends remaining. The lads even killed the final end in one last attempt to rescue the tie, but despite an excellent 24-13 rink win, Dalston held on to progress 40-31 overall.

The B team faced Subscription B and somehow managed to make their tie even tighter.

At Courtfield, Ste G, Andy, Brian L and President Dawes made a bright start against John Buxton’s four, racing into a 6-2 lead after six ends. Unfortunately, the scoreboard then became a little less cooperative, with Courtfield managing only four singles over the remaining 12 ends. A costly three on the last gave Sub a 15-10 victory.

Over at Middleton Street, Lawrence, Dai, Ste B and Captain Chaos had the exact opposite start against Colin Reed’s four, finding themselves 6-2 down after six ends.

They recovered well to level the game at 9-9 after 11, only for Sub to move 13-9 ahead. That was where their scoring stopped.

Courtfield piled on eight shots over the final five ends to turn the game around and win 17-13, leaving everyone reaching for the calculators.

Unfortunately, Subscription had done just enough, progressing 28-27 overall.

One shot after 36 ends. About as cruel as bowls gets.

Ladies Blow Silloth Away

The ladies travelled to a bright and breezy Silloth this week and returned with an excellent 8-0 victory, although the afternoon began with a little confusion.

On rink two, Joanne, Aileen W and Evelyn had a delayed start after Liz Graham from the opposing triple believed the match started at 2.30pm. Courtfield clearly did not fancy waiting around and, once play began at 2.15pm, raced into a 9-1 lead after six ends.

Silloth then gained the jack, brought the mat right up and changed the game completely. Six shots disappeared over the next four ends, cutting the lead to 9-7 and giving everyone the sort of unnecessary excitement bowls teams seem determined to create.

Courtfield settled themselves, stopped the comeback and closed out a deserved 13-8 victory.

On rink three, Anne, Corrine and Gill were locked at 6-6 after ten ends. With the game finely balanced, the Courtfield trio found another gear, scored six more shots and finished with a strong 12-8 win.

On rink four, Jean, Leslie and Aileen M faced E Weightman’s triple and never really looked in danger. All three played well, winning 12 of the 15 ends and cruising to a convincing 16-5 victory.

A superb 8-0 win for the ladies, who are back at home next week against Stanwix. After this performance, Stanwix may already be checking the weather forecast and hoping for rain.

Carliol League: A Team Take the Points

Thursday night saw Courtfield A and B meet in the Carliol League, with the B team arriving in confident mood after a good run of form.

The A team, however, needed every point available and made full use of the heavy green, producing a strong performance to win 106-26 and take all ten points.

It was a tough evening for the B team, but the game was played in good spirit and the lovely snacks put on by the ladies afterwards were very much appreciated by everyone.

County Comps: Chaos, Comebacks and Cruise Control

The Fab Four were back in action this week, although Mr Chris was missing after somehow arranging a 21-day cruise around Europe during the bowling season. John B, George G, Captain Chaos and Carsy therefore made the trip to Silloth to face Ian Blenkinsop’s Whitehaven quartet.

Courtfield were picking up plenty of ends early on, but Whitehaven were making theirs count and gradually built the better score. A two on the 11th pulled Courtfield level at 10-10, before Whitehaven edged back in front at 13-10 after 13 ends.

From there, Courtfield began to turn the screw. They chipped away at the deficit, stayed patient and then collected a crucial three on the 17th to put the game beyond Whitehaven’s reach.

An excellent 18-13 victory sends the lads into the semi-finals, where they will face Aspatria’s S Bowman on 6 July. Hopefully Mr Chris will be back from inspecting Europe’s all-inclusive buffets by then.

In the Gents Pairs, Tayler and Kev faced David Forster but went down 23-14. Hard luck, lads.

Chaos and Carsy had a far more comfortable evening against A Jenkinson, racing through with a 35-8 victory to reach the fourth round. For once, Chaos left the drama to somebody else.

The Mixed Pairs provided more than enough of it.

Paul and Julie faced Appleby’s Peter and Lesley Metcalfe and found themselves 10-6 behind after eight ends, with the Appleby pair very much on the front foot.

The match then swung completely. Appleby became stuck on 11 while Paul and Julie won five ends in succession and added ten shots to take control. A couple of singles later, Courtfield led 17-13 and appeared to have one foot in the next round.

That was clearly far too straightforward.

In true Chaos fashion, four shots disappeared and the game was tied, forcing an extra end. Thankfully, Julie kept her head while everyone else’s nerves were being tested and Courtfield took the decider.

They now move on to face Workington’s David Forster in the next round.

Stan Bragg: Courtfield Go Top

Monday afternoon saw Courtfield welcome local rivals Subscription, looking to continue their recent good form.

Ste B, Ian P and Ian B faced Simon Kerridge’s trio in a close contest. Two costly threes on the 11th and 12th ends did not help their cause, and despite battling to the finish, they went down 17-14.

Steve Briggs, Mike D and Captain Chaos, apparently enjoying a rare afternoon with no parcels to worry about, had a much more dramatic route to victory against R Burrell’s triple.

Courtfield found themselves seven shots down after only four ends and remained behind until a four on the 12th finally edged them 11-10 ahead. Subscription responded by taking the next two ends to regain the lead at 13-11.

With one end remaining, Courtfield needed something special and delivered exactly that, collecting a massive five to steal a 16-13 victory and the two points.

Ste G, Dai and George G were in no mood to leave the aggregate result in doubt. An 11-3 lead after ten ends looked comfortable enough, but clearly not comfortable enough for these three.

They piled on another 16 shots over the next four ends and raced away to a superb 27-5 victory.

The 6-2 win sends Courtfield to the top of the Stan Bragg table. Not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon.

A shorter report this week, but there has still been plenty happening at Courtfield.

We saw no fish and chips, Ian Proudfoot managed a wrong bias and then somehow topped that by learning how to use the internet, while Campbell caused chaos once again. So, all things considered, just another perfectly normal week at the club.

The big one comes on Wednesday evening, when the lads face Whitehaven in the Area Final.

And no, we do not mean the England football team. Get yourselves down and support Courtfield instead, because this is one team that might actually give you something to cheer about.