JUST ABOUT CHUCKED HARD ENOUGH

Thursday 7th August 2025

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-1: Fox Lane 'A' (179) 8-4 Eagle Blues (162)

v TIM PILKINGTON W 21-17

Fox Lane's big green does my head in. Bowlers all have a few favourites and a few they don't enjoy. The word enjoy contains the word "joy" for a reason. Yes I won and in my first singles match here, but there was little joy in it. Why on earth I've signed up for Winter Doubles here again I do not know!

Notoriously a stiff green at any time of the year, trying not to sound rude but it needed a cut before tonight's match and my teammates would agree unanimously. The green runs smooth and is in excellent condition, but what the hell happened to the mower? One strip down the far side was clipped and then the mower put away it would seem. Bizarre really. I believe they are struggling for a greenkeeper and all, but bloody hell! A Lawn of the Year contender perhaps, but these thick lush green blades were not condusive to artful bowling. It was a proper chuck.

My game against Tim was closely fought out. We both played some good stuff, we both played some bad stuff. The difference was split at 17-17 when I sent two very good ends to see the game out. The penultimate end I was maybe lucky not to leave Tim on after lightly tapping the block through with my second bowl on a slope - if the mower had been allowed out, maybe a different story.

Then I whizz the jack round peg on a short uphill mark convinced it was going to go down the ditch, but it stopped dead a good yard from the abyss. I thought I'd sent my first bowl too hard as well but that reared up quick too and was a good lead. So same again and it was enough, Tim too short with both bowls.

A sense of relief rather than jubilation. That was reserved for watching our last two players, Geoff Bibby and Jack Dickinson, etch out victories to make what was looking a bad night in our local derby not so bad afterall with four winners. Jack from 1-10 down and then all-but against versus Peter Dalton for quite a few ends before serving up the perfectly timed comeback using the full expanse of this green's mega-chuck corners.