FRENCHWOOD TAMED IF NOT PERFECTED

Thursday 28th May 2026

Leyland & District League Div-1: Frenchwood SC (200) 9-3 Eagle & Child Blue (146).

v BARRY SIMM W 21-20

As a team and individually, we didn't expect much from a trip to Frenchwood. It's what's called a good home green and they've got a very decent squad too. I've yet to experience much joy there in various guises of competition and wasn't exactly bubbling with confidence.
We were without our star player and captain Aaron this week too, who would be our strongest fancy to get us on the scoreboard here. With only two winners last year, low expectations were very realistic and so three winners this year was an improvement and we would have taken that before the start.
Stand-in captain Steve Wilson mixed things up and chucked me on at number eight rather than my usual first four slot. I'd been wondering all week and right up to and including practice time if I was going to be playing at all after two defeats in this league and brutal ones at that. Early on I scored Phil Bradshaw's match against Mark Simpson and despite not doing too much wrong, our Phil lost to twelve. It certainly set me up mentally for how tough it is here.
This notorious sloping green had been baked by hot and dry weather and was running, much quicker than I'd experienced here before. That seemed to work better for me though as I ended up playing quite well at times and getting myself in to the match against Barry Simm.
I went four down, got a few back and went behind again. But I was bowling steadily and only conceding ones. When that happens, even when on the back foot in a match, you know it's close and just hope you can turn the tide at some point.
Turn the tide I did, enjoying a good spell which gave me a bit of belief and I went 12-10 I think at one point. But Barry came back and had me scratching my head on a dropping mark across the bottom of the slope. I was finding the road in but couldn't nail the pace. Short one side, playing through on the other and getting rather frustrated. Barry was upping the pace and I felt he was fancying his chances of seeing me off down here, but thankfully I landed one eventually, won the next end and asked for the scores. I was 14-18. A good time to put a bloody good two up, then on to seventeen... before Barry stole back in with a great bowl and then led perfectly to reach twenty and we were back along that bottom end again. But Barry's lead left me with hope this time and with previous experience of this mark now, I got my length right. Having had joy with some quite ridiculous round pegging marks over the crown towards the edge of the green against the social club from this corner, I thought what a good time to be brave and do it again. My first bowl was wide but I tightened up and sent a belting second one to go nineteen across with jack in hand. Flashbacks from three nights earlier in a similar position - let's get it right tonight. Although sending the jack a little too near the edge than I intended, my two bowls a yard short were good ones actually. There wasn't much land to get past them without running off in to the gutter and they were spaced apart nicely as blockers. Barry's first bowl went off, so I was thinking he must surely have a go to hit something - anything - to save the game. He drew instead and couldn't believe he bowled just short of mine and that was it. I'd got over the line and registered my first win at Frenchwood.
Harry Derbyshire and Steve Marginson scored our other victories on the night. Colin Proctor played ever so well to rescue a large deficit and score seventeen. A better start and Col might have turned a good night in to a very good one.
Eagle Blues have now dropped off the pace to fifth as expected with this run of three extremely difficult matches. Penwortham Sports occupy sixth spot and are next game up for us at home. A big game and another tough game to test if we really have top six credentials.