HARD TO BEAT

Monday 3rd June 2024

CHORLEY & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2: Coppull 'A' 146-116 Eagle & Child 'A'
v JOHN WHITE W 21-17

To Coppull then for the first of two away games this week and my first time at this green. A well kept surface with interesting marks, a big crown that plateaus at one side and dips away quickly off the other.
It seems unfortunate that they had to forego what was once a notoriously difficult corner to make way for the Con Club's extended patio-cum-beer garden. It's the same sort of sporting venue sacrilege that reminded me of the Normid Superstore in the corner of Bolton's Burnden Park.
I started the game brightly enough, but it soon became clear that anything less than a good bowl would get licked by home bowler John. I could feel him edging away and getting too much possession of the jack. But I wasn't bowling badly by any means, just caught out on a few home marks that took a few ends to work out.
When I heard 9-13 I expected worse, it felt like worse, but I'd been putting some savers up. Sometimes only by a measure, but they all counted to keep me in with a shout.
If the key to success was scoring twos in my last game, it was saving twos in this one. John had me under the cosh a couple of times with looping round pegs off this big crown that he played very well and was difficult to follow. I'm past panicking in these situations though, it's a case of concentrating, sticking at it and believing that eventually a break will come.
It would have been 8-13 when I was a bit narrow, but my length was good. On closer inspection, I was in and broke Mr White's spell.
I then went on a run myself, coming back to take the lead before a couple of overshot woods let John back in for two.
There was nothing in it over the next few exchanges as we edged up to 16-16 and a tight finale.
My leads were frustratingly not quite as tight as I would have liked from that point, but John wasn't quite managing to sieze opportunities like he had been doing. Maybe a bit of tension from John's end, but I'd put even better woods up that got beat earlier in the game. A big end to win was getting the jack straight back off him at 17-18 and I managed to battle over the line, with a bit of fortune on the last end when, having to reach to save, he knocked me up for two.
This wasn't the best I've played of late, but with a first visit to this green I showed a bit of grit, didn't get flustered and whatever the results of late, I'm becoming hard to beat.

Three winners out of eight on the night for our team wasn't a bad return here, but we'll be hoping to fair better at home in the local derby match against Fox Lane next week.