UP AND AWAY

28/4/22
Leyland & District League Div-4: Wymott 192-163 Eagle Reds
v STEFAN HARGREAVES W 21-14

This was only my second away win in the leagues, but at the first attempt this season and with good reason to think there should be a few more to come. Intrepidation of away greens is turning in to something more like anticipation.
On the slightly bobbly but far from unplayable surface at Wymott, my first two bowls were on the right road but ran on and clunked in to the ditch. Not a great start, but I settled down a bit after that and after some alternating exchanges of the jack, got a good run together on a patch of green I took to and clocked up a lead of 18-6, I was later informed. My opponent wasn't a bad bowler but tended to play straight peg when he had the block which always gave me a good chance of stealing it back unless his lead bowl was very good.
Once 'all-but' and needing a point to sew the game up, Stef found a side of the green were he played some good leads and went on a run which I wasn't getting near to breaking.
Fortunately for me, eventually another match played in to his favourable path, forcing a different line across the clubhouse and I got in there first time with a decent winner.
This marginal victory by just seven was our team's best win on the night in an overall difficult evening for the Eagle Reds team, going down to a second successive defeat.

Practice matches:
9-21, 10-21 v Graham Whittle (At Bretherton) After a couple of close games at the Eagle, Graham showed his class on home soil and his consistency was my undoing. I had to earn every single point. First game felt closer than the score suggests, in the second one I lost my way to trail by a very scary 0-14, but got my act together again and was happy enough to claw back in to double figures.