FRIENDLY FIRES UP CONFIDENCE
Thursday 30th March 2023Eagle & Child Pre-Season Friendly:
Steve's Superstars v Harry's Hotshots
v STEVE MARGINSON W 21-16
With the Leyland & District League having a last minute reshuffle due to teams having to drop out, one division less means four more matches on the card than last season and as such, an unusually early start to league season bowls in the first week of April was announced.
With this in mind, an in-house friendly was arranged to stoke up the competitive juices and by incredulous coincidence I was drawn against my Chorley League and Winter League captain Steve Marginson - incredulous as this is our fourth meeting since Autumn 2020 in club competition.
I won the toss and landed a front toucher, but Steve nudged me out with a perfect bowl and then went on to win the first five ends with strong leads, but only managing to take singles as a more calm and confident self kept a cool head and waited patiently for a break.
I got back on level terms soon enough and edged in to the lead before Steve came back and we were tied on thirteen each in what was a close game of bowls, with only one or two ends that looked straggley to the spectating eye.
I felt like I was just getting going though and went on a good run from this point to hit nineteen and the fringes of victory. Once again though, Steve reacted and pulled back to sixteen before two loose bowls by his standards left enough room to take the match, albeit with a fortuitous double kiss off his woods with my last delivery.
Although Division Three champions last year in the Chorley League, our ambitious skipper has made it clear he is further strengthening the squad, so in hindsight this was something of a statement win. A pre-season reminder that despite losing my way towards the end of the Winter League doubles, I am still here, I'm getting back to some form and I want to be on that first draft of Margy's new teamsheet!
v STEVE MARGINSON W 21-16
With the Leyland & District League having a last minute reshuffle due to teams having to drop out, one division less means four more matches on the card than last season and as such, an unusually early start to league season bowls in the first week of April was announced.
With this in mind, an in-house friendly was arranged to stoke up the competitive juices and by incredulous coincidence I was drawn against my Chorley League and Winter League captain Steve Marginson - incredulous as this is our fourth meeting since Autumn 2020 in club competition.
I won the toss and landed a front toucher, but Steve nudged me out with a perfect bowl and then went on to win the first five ends with strong leads, but only managing to take singles as a more calm and confident self kept a cool head and waited patiently for a break.
I got back on level terms soon enough and edged in to the lead before Steve came back and we were tied on thirteen each in what was a close game of bowls, with only one or two ends that looked straggley to the spectating eye.
I felt like I was just getting going though and went on a good run from this point to hit nineteen and the fringes of victory. Once again though, Steve reacted and pulled back to sixteen before two loose bowls by his standards left enough room to take the match, albeit with a fortuitous double kiss off his woods with my last delivery.
Although Division Three champions last year in the Chorley League, our ambitious skipper has made it clear he is further strengthening the squad, so in hindsight this was something of a statement win. A pre-season reminder that despite losing my way towards the end of the Winter League doubles, I am still here, I'm getting back to some form and I want to be on that first draft of Margy's new teamsheet!
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