SWINGERS claimed a very welcome first win of the Swan Studley Skittles League season in week ten and their success over Team BG proved enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.
They won the opening leg before falling 12 pins adrift after leg two. Swingers recovered in the next leg to be just four pins behind, only to lose another five pins in the penultimate leg.
All looked lost for Swingers when they recorded a below-par score of 58 in their last leg which left Team BG a very modest total of 50 to win.
However, Team BG inexplicably imploded with a poor 46-pin leg to lose narrowly by three pins to their grateful opponents.
For Swingers, Paul Clifton top scored with 36, Norman Sutton made 35 and Christine Hallam 33. Team BG’s lowest team score of the season saw Carl Baker make 35 and Maggie Reynolds 33.
It was an even closer game between Chris & Gerry Show and Alley Cats as the former recorded their first win of the season.
However, the victory was not enough to stop C&G Show dropping to the bottom of the table.
They fell narrowly behind after two legs but opened up a seven-pin advantage after leg three. Alley Cats then cut the deficit to just two pins after the next leg and finally left C&G Show 57 to win which last man Arthur Sears secured with his best leg score of the game.
Paul Hollis with 40, Craig Sears 36 and Dave Charlesworth 35 were best for C&G Show, while Alley Cats’ best came from Sam Billyard with 37, Loz Gazeley 34 and Neil Harrison 33.
Table-toppers Maudslay could afford to put in their worst performance of the season but still win comfortably against Well Developed who remain winless.
Well Developed did avoid bowling their usual one suicidal leg and grabbed a consolation point with the best leg score of the game (68 in leg two) to be at that stage only a single pin adrift.
Maudslay then pulled away and had Stu Griffiths scoring 37 (12-stack), Keith Fryer 37 and Paul Matthews 36. For Well Developed, Martin Brennan made 34 and David Searle and Dave Bevan 33 apiece.
Alcester Nomads and Lodge Farmers played the week’s highest scoring game.
Farmers would have won most games with their total but found Nomads in fine form.
This match was close with Nomads one pin to the good after leg three and two pins up after leg four before leaving Farmers requiring 70 pins to win.
However, Farmers then had their poorest leg score and slid to a 14-pin loss.
For Nomads, Alan Cummings made 41 (15-stack), Eddie Upright 39 (14-stack) and Annette Upright 37. Good replies, and season bests, from Richard Long 37 (ten-stack), Chris Prichard 36 (13-stack) and Roger Powell with 36 kept Lodge Farmers in the game until that final leg.
Results: Team BG 3 (289) Swingers 8 (292); Chris & Gerry Show 6.5 (298) Alley Cats 4.5 (296); Maudslay 9 (318) Well Developed 2 (302); Alcester Nomads 8 (337) Lodge Farmers 3 (323).