AFTER a four-game unbeaten start to the Swan Studley Skittles League season, Alcester Nomads went down to a second straight loss in a nail-biter against Lodge Farmers, but remain league leaders.
Lodge Farmers – now with three wins from their first three games – held a one-pin lead after leg one, then found themselves behind by four pins after leg two and still two pins behind after leg three.
Nomads nicked leg four to extend their narrow lead to just three pins and leave the result of the game in the balance going into the final leg.
However, left 67 to win, Nomads made a wobbly start and could not quite make the target.
For the winners, Roger Powell and Dan Little scored 36 each and Glyn Morley 35 pins. Nomads’ top scorers were Alan Spreckley with 40 (14-stack), Len Jacobs’ 38 and Geoff Loat’s 36.
Although slipping to a fifth straight loss, Alley Cats fought hard to record their best points return of the season.
They even took a first leg five-pin lead against Jumbo Jet Set before Jumbos won the next two legs very comfortably to build a 23-pin advantage.
Alley Cats clawed their way back into the game by taking leg four by seven pins and were seemingly unfazed when Jumbos left them needing to make 83 pins in the last leg to win the game.
The Cats started brightly and built up a good score to deservedly win the last leg but the target was always just out of reach.
However, it would have been even closer if the Cats’ Sam Billyard, having cleared all the skittles with the first two balls, unluckily missed with the third ball and the chance of a big stack went begging.
Billyard still finished with 36 pins as did team-mate Neil Harrison, while Sue Sollis made 34. Jumbos’ Geoff Turrell and Len Quartly both scored 37 and Ray Jones chipped in with 36 pins.
An Engineers team in form are a daunting proposition for any opposition fielding a full side so, playing two players short against them, as did Well Developed, is usually a recipe for disaster.
However, despite that disadvantage, Well Developed only lost each of the first two legs by a single pin after discounting Engineers’ two lowest individual scores in each leg.
That, though, was as good as it got for Well Developed as Engineers stamped their authority on the game by comfortably taking the remaining three legs to record their first maximum points of the season.
Good scores for Well Developed were 38 pins each for Martin and Janina Brennan, whilst Liz Hindson and Jim Child made 34 apiece. Engineers’ best score came from Mark Ganderton with 38, Ian Greenway’s 37 and Andy Clewlow’s 35.
Results: Alcester Nomads 3 (330) Lodge Farmers 8 (332); Alley Cats 4 (307) Jumbo Jet Set 7 (319); Engineers 10 (333 – ten players and 294 – eight players) Well Developed 1 (257 – eight players).
