Sunday 18th May 2025
Result confirmation back-dated from 1st May:
LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-1: New Longton 'A' (183) 5-8 Eagle Blue (183)v IAN ARMSTRONG L 9-21 (2-6 on the day, off 7-15)
Cue a rendition of the theme tune from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly for an 11am Sunday shootout at New Longton. Two bowlers with a score to settle.
This unprecedented situation was finally resolved with a sense of justification from our camp as I scratched up the two chalks required to keep us level on aggregate and win the match.
I was delighted and honoured to get a loyal following of six team mates who turned up to support for barely fifteen minutes of play, showing our fantastic team spirit. Thankfully I sent the away fans home satisfied!
The bowl-off proceeded from the last known agreed score at 7-15 and I required nine to win what felt very strongly like the moral ground. I started out well enough and won the second end with a good bowl. The opportunity to lead out hard was squandered though, finishing up well short for Ian to mop up and tension crept in. An end or two later, still needing just the one point, pressure intensified and Lady Luck's absence from our first meeting seemed to continue. So close to getting the second point required, my bowl somehow doesn't find jack or woods to tap on to and trickles through by a whisker. Two to Ian and 1-5 on the day with 8-20 on the card.
Up and down the longer sided middle of the green again, next end Ian shoots through but I know how well he adjusts so a big bowl coming up and my arm is clammed up with tension. Scared of being short, I shot through too and rest on Ian's first.
My opponent corrects himself as expected and is only a couple of feet short, but leaving just about enough room to get around his if I can get the length right.
I take some juice out, tighten my land up and despite looking like it might not make it at one point, my second bowl runs well and passes the outside of Ian's before settling down to win it. A little fist pump was had and why the hell not?!
Job done. I didn't manage any more scores for the aggregate win. I suppose that would have been a bonus for the inconvenience, but although frustrated at not adjusting my second bowl on a tricky mark to the corner and Ian winning it marginally with a short bowl, I never did get to ten in the first place so I feel the shoot-out finished suitably scored in the end.
Circumstantial evidence strongly suggests 9-21 was the original result and in absolute genuine hand-on-heart fairness with all things considered, I don't think either side can complain at that.
No comments:
Post a Comment