Sunday 31 August 2008

Woodman start with a win

Milborne Woodman 412 Patriots 410

Woodman started the season with a 2 pin victory over Patriots at the Royal Oak, Milborne. D.Hopkins was top score for the home side with 56, while B.Kimber was top for the visitors with 58.

Saturday 30 August 2008

Allsorts back with a win

Allsorts 452 Skimmers 449

Allsorts returned to the top league with a narrow 3 pin win over Skimmers.

Throwing first Allsorts struggled to 55 hand as they were one short and had to play the sticker up, and Skimmers took full advantage taking a 11 pin lead with Sean Baker having a 15 stick up in a 66 hand.

A 13 stick up from Lee Claridge gave the Allsorts a good start and a hand of 68 was hit, and Skimmers lost 6 pins hitting a 62 hand in which Daryl Burt had 15 stick up.

Allsorts moved in front on the third with a 67 hand to which Skimmers could only reply with a 56 hand to leave the home side 6 pins up.

Allsorts fourth hand was a poor 56 and Skimmers stormed back in front with a 70 hand led by Captain Steve Willsher who had a 14 stick up as his team went 8 pins in front.

Allsorts picked themselves back up on the fifth hand and hit 73 with two 14 stick ups from A.Travers and Martin Murray. Skimmers replied well with 8's and 9's until anchor man Derrick Knight had a 3 which left Skimmers with a 61 hand to leave Allsorts 4 pins in front.

The Bull's Head side again scored high on the sixth hand with a total of 69, but a 15 stick up from Derek Burt kept the visitors in the match as they hit a 66 hand to leave 7 pins between the sides.
Martin Murray again hit a stick up (13) to help Allsorts to a 64 hand to leave Skimmers 72 to win. The first 7 players for Skimmers could not get the stick up they needed and anchor man Derrick Knight was left needing 18 to tie the game and he got his stick up but was unable to get the flopper which would have got his side a point scoring a 15 to leave Allsorts with a 3 pin victory.
Martin Murray was top for Allsorts with 67, while Sean Baker and Derek Burt both hit 63 for the Skimmers.

Breakaways come back to win

Breakaways 445 Plodders 435

Plodders started life in Section A with a 71 hand and a 9 pin lead, and although they were only hitting hands of 60 and 61 they managed to keep their lead until the sixth hand as Breakaways could not find the stick ups to get in front.

But the sixth hand saw the Wool side play to their normal standard and with stick ups from Zimmer (15) and anchor man Clive Williams (15) they hit 77 to go 14 up and turn the game in their favour.

Plodders finished with a 64 hand to leave the home side 51 to win, Breakaways could not match the sixth hand but managed to win the game by 10 pins hitting a 60 hand.

Zimmer was top score for Breakaways with an impressive score of 68, M.Hellin was top for Plodders with 66.

Marco edge a classic

Marco Wanderers 472 Colliton Spares 470

Marco started their defence of the Section A title, with a hard fought two pin victory over the Collition Spares. Both teams showed rustiness in the first leg with scores of 55 to 58 giving the Spares a small advantage. The second leg saw both teams up their games with stick ups from Ian Penney (16) and skipper Chay Fox (15) leading Marco to a 71 leg. In reply a solid leg of 69 aided by Andy Aylott 14 left the Spares one up. A poor third leg of 57 by the home side opened the door for the Spares who again hit 69 with Andy hitting his second stick up of 15 to leave his side thirteen up. The fourth leg saw the Spares increase their advantage to fifteen pins after scores of 65 to 67. With the home side up against it they responded with an 80 leg with stick ups from Pete Bolton (15), Pogo (10) and Vaughan Penney (16) leading the way, however sensing they had a good chance of a victory the Spares hit back with a fine 72 leg with Doug Chalmers (15) and excellent back up scoring leaving them still seven pins up. Another big leg was needed by Marco, and helped by Pogo hitting the first 'flopper' of the season to record an 18, and Vaughan hitting his second stick up (14), they were able to put up a 78 leg to put further pressure on the visitors. The failure to record a stick up in the sixth leg proved costly for the Spares as they could only muster 58 and with it the match turned around with Marco now 13 up going into the last leg. The home side were looking for a big leg to secure victory but despite chances they could not muster a stick up themselves, but with solid scoring down the line a score of 66 was hit to leave the Spares 80 to win. After a 6,7,7 start Marco were beginning to think the match was their's, however Spares skipper Dave Trevett had other ideas and hit a flopper on his first ball on his way to a 17, and after Doug (15) hit his second stick up on the night, the last two players needed 18 to win. Try as the might the pins didn't fall kindly from their first balls and after recording 8 a piece, the win went to Marco by the narrowest of margins. Top score for Marco was Vaughan Penney 70 and for the Spares Doug Chalmers also hit 70.

Bees stung by Imps

The Imps 439 Brewers Bees 395

After qualifying for the finals of the Blackthorn British Skittle Championship the Imps were on a high, but a very disappointing first hand of 52 brought them back down to reality, and Brewers Bees took full advantage hitting a 66 hand with spares from Andy Dunford (13) and Tony Hewitt (11) to go 14 pins in front.
The Imps rallied together on the second hand to hit 63, while Bees struggled to a 48 hand, and the lead swung in Imps favour and they led by 1 pin. The home side managed 61 on the third hand, but when Gus James started with a 13 stick up it looked as if the Bees were again going to take control of the match, but they were unable to build on the start and tied the hand with 61.
Barry Gosney had a 13 stick up on the fourth hand as the Imps hit 65, but Bees kept in touch with a 60 hand to leave 6 pins between the teams.
The fifth hand was where the match was won as the Imps hit a 72 hand with stick ups from Terry Gosney (13) and Keith Wyatt (15) and Bees could only reply with a 54 hand to give the home side a 24 pin lead.
Four more pins were pulled by the Imps on the sixth hand 59 to a 55 hand. The Gurkha side finished strong with a 67 hand with another stick up from captain Terry Gosney (15) and with the game over the visitors finished with 51 to give the Imps a 44 pin victory.
Terry Gosney was top score with 67 while Keith Wyatt hit 64 and for the Bees Kev Holbrook was top score with 56.

Chilly is back

Puddletown Wanderers 409 v 3CA 469

This first game of the season saw the awaited return of the one and only Andrew "Chilly" Childs whatever his skittling skills he certainly adds to the 3CA noise level!

Puddletown Wanderers took a first hand lead of 3 pins thanks to a stick up 12 by last man Tony Belt. Two 15s by Phil Slade and Rob Smith in the second hand resulted in a lead of 10 for 3CA. Solid skittling in the third hand of 8s & 9s culminating with a 16 from captain Malcolm Slade gave 3CA a hand total of 74 and an overall lead of 26 pins.

Further stick ups for Phil Slade (12) in the fourth hand and Steve Prior (11) in the sixth saw 3CA go into the last hand 46 pins in front despite a spirited sixth hand rally by the Wanderers who hit 65 (Martin Tucker 12 and Luke Rainey 11) they still failed to reduce the 3CA lead.

A last hand 14 from Malcolm Slade gave him the highest score (70) and an opportunity to start saving for the next cruise!!!

Luke Rainey 59 was highest scorer for Puddletown Wanderers.

Friday 29 August 2008

Rod seals it for Monsters

Wide Boys 436 - 438 Dewlish Monsters

Throwing first Wide Boys began the new season with a steady hand of 61 to lead by 2 pins. They followed this with two consecutive hands of 66, compared to Monsters less consistent hands of 72 and 53 to give them a lead of 9. On the fourth hand Wide Boys hit their only hand of the night below sixty (58) that Monsters beat by just a single pin. Monsters then pulled another 2 pins with a hand of 62 to leave Wide Boys 6 pins in front. The turning point of the match then came in the sixth hand when Wide Boys hit another solid hand of 60 but Monsters managed to hit three stick-ups in the single hand that led to a total of 79 and a 13 pin lead. With the game virtually lost Wide Boys couldn't find a stick-up on the last hand but still managed a very creditable 65 to leave Monsters requiring just 53 to win. A 13 pin stick-up from Monsters second man looked to have sealed the win until their next four players hit 7 - 4 - 5 - 7 to leave their bottom two needing 11 between them. Their penultimate player could only manage a 6 to leave Rod Chutter needing 5 to win which he managed with two balls and a winning margin of just 2 pins.
For the Wide Boys it was the fourth season in a row that they lost their first game.

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Imps are on their way to Weston

The Masters 327 The Imps 334



Dorchester skittle side The Imps have qualified for the grand finals of the Blackthorn British Skittles Championship at Weston Super Mare on Saturday 20th September.

After winning the 1st leg by 46 pins the Imps were always favourites to go through but still had six more hands to throw to make certain.

Throwing first the Imps hit 56 at the West Bay Hotel, but were 1 down as Masters hit 57. A hand of 55 by Imps was not matched as the Bridport side managed only 50 to give the county town side a 4 pin lead. The Imps pulled six more pins on the third hand hitting 58 to Masters 52.

The fourth hand was tied 56 each, and masters pinched 2 pins on the fifth hand 56 to 54. Imps finished with 55 and Masters gained 1 more pin with a 56 hand as the Imps won the match by 7 pins and the two legs by 53 pins to reach the grand finals.

Imps captain Terry Gosney was top score with 49 , while Nick Tett was top for the home side with 46.

Imps captain was pleased with his team performance " we struggled through the group stages and maybe were a bit lucky but all my players have been brilliant in the knock out stages and we hope to carry on our form into the finals"

The grand finals take place at the Sand Bay Holiday Village, Weston Super Mare on Saturday 20th September 2008.

Monday 25 August 2008

Good luck

Good luck to all teams taking part this season, enjoy your matches.

Anyone wishing to send me a report on their games please do and I will post them as soon as I can. If I get a report from both sides I will try to include as much as possible from each sides view of the game.

If anyone has any news or views on any skittle issue I will be glad to post them.

Also on that issue the committee would be glad to hear from anyone who has any ideas on anything that could improve our skittle league. Please email me tgosney@tiscali.co.uk and I will be pleased to take your ideas to skittle meetings.

Notice to all captains please send your result cards to 12 Eddison Avenue.

Section A fixtures

The first match in Section A takes place at the Colliton Club on Thursday night where one of last seasons most consistent sides the Wide Boys take on Dewlish Monsters. The rest of the matches are on Friday, reigning Section A champions Marco Wanderers host Colliton Spares at the Greyhound. The top match takes place at the Gurkha Inn where two sides who will be hoping to challenge Marco meet as The Imps take on Brewers Bees in what should be a noisy encounter. Last seasons runner ups Patriots play away to Milborne Woodman, 3CA another team who should be challenging play away to Puddletown Wanderers. Plodders who were promoted from Section B face a tough match away to Section A stalwarts Breakaways. The most interesting match of the week takes place at the Bull's Head where Section B champions Allsorts make a welcome return to the top section and play Skimmers who are one of the best away teams in the section and a team total of 500 could happen there. Slingers for a second season running have a bye in the first week.

Section B fixtures

There are two matches on Thursday night, at the Trinity Club Section C champions Tinklers play Vic Jokers while at the Colliton Club Colliton Flingers play the Chimps. The top match in the section takes place on Friday at the Trinity Club when both teams relegated from Section A Hammers and Colliton Muckspreaders play each other. Vic Reeves promoted from Section C play home to Supertramps on Friday. The other Friday games sees Villains at home to Old Spice Yokels, Colliton 'A' at home to Alcotops and Hotshots at home to Heathens. Barmy Army have their bye.

Section C fixtures

The first fixture in Section C takes place at the Vic on Wednesday night when Half Pints take on New Strugglers. The two relegated teams from Section B both have home games on Thursday Unpredictables home to Swan Abbots and Steamers home to Strimmers, also on Thursday Swankers play Country Boys at the Goldies. Friday night sees last seasons promoted teams in action as Section D champions Brewers Wurzels host Untouchables, while Bull's Headliners play away to Westerners. The other Friday game takes place at Frampton Arms where Merrymen play Colliton Hartstoppers. Frampton Rollers have their bye.

Sunday 24 August 2008

Section D fixtures

The season kicks off this week and the first match takes place at the Conservative Club on Tuesday when Casuals play Huntsmen. There are two games at the Colliton Club on Wednesday night Colliton Scorpions host Funseekers while Colliton Thatchers host Gunslingers (formally Worthington Casuals). Two new teams play each other on Thursday night at the Trinity Club when Trinity Tankers take on Chalclyffe Chuckers, also on Thursday Upwey side Ship Wrecked play Gophers. On Friday the third new team Colliton Collisions play away to Puddletown Nomads. Hopefuls and Fisherman have their byes this week.

Saturday 23 August 2008

Management fail at last hurdle

Dorchester mixed side the Management failed to qualify for the grand finals of the Blackthorn British Championship after losing their 2nd leg match away to Bath side Our Gang by 27 pins.
It was always going to be a tough task after the Management only managed to win the 1st leg by 2 pins.
The Management found it hard to adapt to the Bath alley which did not suit double handed players as the balls were small and rubber, which the home side bounced when throwing them, while the pins were plastic and small.
But after a poor start they did manage to get back into the match but after a poor fifth hand by the visitors the game was over.
Martin Gifford was top score for the Management, while Mel Gosney plucked a flopper out of somewhere on the fourth hand.
Amazingly with the big gaps and small balls there were no oxo's, although there were some low scores the lowest being a 1 from Wendy Burt.

Friday 22 August 2008

Imps take 1st leg lead

The Imps 391 The Masters 345

The Imps will take a 46 pin lead when they play away to the Masters at the West Bay Hotel next Wednesday in the Blackthorn British Championship.
Throwing first at the Conservative Club on Thursday night The Imps hit a 61 hand, and the Masters hit 59 to give the home side a 2 pin lead.
The second hand Phil Slade had a 15 stick up for the home side as they hit a 66 hand, while the Bridport side could only manage 55 to put the Imps 13 pins in front.
The Imps struggled on the third hand to a 53 hand and the Masters responded with a excellent 65 hand with out a stick up to leave 1 pin between the teams.
The county town side came back strong with star man Phil Slade again getting a stick up(13) and captain Terry Gosney also hit 13 as the Imps scored a 77 hand, and a 57 hand from the visitors put the Imps back in control with a 21 pin lead.
The Imps skittled well on the fifth hand and hit a 65 hand and gained another 6 pins as the Masters hit 59.
A 14 stick up on the last hand from Martin Haime gave the Imps a 69 hand while the Masters struggled to their worst hand of the night and only hit 50 to give the Imps a big lead.
Phil Slade was top for the Imps with 59 while Martin Haime hit 57, for the Masters Martin Horton hit 47.

Saturday 16 August 2008

Management take 2 pin lead to Bath

The Management 349 Our Gang 347

Dorchester mixed side the Management will take a slim 2 pin advantage when they travel to Bath next Friday to play Our Gang in the Blackthorn British Skittles Championship.
The host had a great start to the match when first man Phil Slade started with a 13 stick up and a 66 hand was hit, the Bath side hit 55 to give the Management a 11 pin lead. The next hand both teams hit 59, while the home side hit 61 on the third and that was with a 16 stick up from Martin Gifford, but the visitors struggled to 49 and the county town side were 23 pins up and looking in control of the match.
The Bath side managed to pull 6 pins on the fourth hand as they hit 58, but it was the fifth hand that brought them right back into the match as the Management again struggled and only hit 53, while the visitors went on and hit a 67 hand with a 15 stick up from Keith Eddy, to leave the difference between the two teams to just 3 pins.
Management hit 58 on the last hand and again Our Gang beat the hand hitting 59 to leave them favourites to go through trailing by just 2 pins.
Phil Slade from the Management was top score on the night hitting 51, while for the visitors Keith Eddy and Terry Adams both hit 47.
The winners from this tie will qualify for the grand finals at Sand Bay Holiday Village, Weston Super Mare on Saturday 20th September 2008.

Friday 15 August 2008

Monsters and Imps go out

Barbarians 369 Puddletown Imps 361

Both Dewlish Monsters and the Imps lost in the semi final of the Wonston Club knock out at Hazelbury Bryan. Dewlish Monsters lost to Avengers after an extra hand on Wednesday night, while the Imps lost by 8 to Barbarians.
The Imps found themselves 23 behind after Barbarians started with a 79 hand, but by the fourth hand Imps had pulled it back to 10 pins. The fifth hand though proved to be the Imps downfall as they struggled to a 49 hand, and that included a 15 stick up from Keith Wyatt. Luckily for the Imps Barbarians themselves struggled and only pulled 2 pins.
The Imps needing a big hand could not get the stick ups they needed on the last hand and Barbarians were never in danger of losing.
Keith Wyatt was top for the Imps with 53 with Barry Gosney second with 50.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Fixtures Books at Vic

The fixture books for the fourth coming season will be available for collection on Friday 15th August at the Victoria Hotel, Dorchester from 9pm.

Sunday 10 August 2008

Blackthorn dates

Dorchester side The Imps will play Bridport side the Masters in their 2nd round 1st leg match in the Blackthorn British Skittles Championship at the Conservative Club on Thursday 21st August. The 2nd leg will take place at West Bay on Wednesday 27th August. The winners will qualify for the grand finals, which is being held at Sand Bay Holiday Village on Saturday 20th September 2008.

Saturday 9 August 2008

Fixture books

The fixture books for the forthcoming season are now available from the league secretary Brian Newton, please contact him on 01305 264948.

Imps win Nomination Cup



Gurkha Inn side The Imps won the Nomination Cup last night at the Trinity Club. In the semi final the Imps beat New Strugglers by 99 pins 306-207, while the other semi final was much closer with Wide Boys beating Brewers Bees by 2 pins 289-287. In the final the Imps got in front of their Section A rivals and never looked liked losing the match winning by 20 pins 315-295, Martin Haime of the Imps hit the highest score of the night with a fine score of 70 in the final.

Friday 8 August 2008

Imps into last four

Puddletown Imps 385 Cherry Bees 328

The Imps made it through to the last four at the Wonston Club, Hazelbury Bryan with a 57 pin victory over ladies side Cherry Bees.
The Imps were 23 up after two hands, and were 41 up after four hands of this six hand match.
Top score for the Imps was Martin Haime with 58, while Keith Wyatt hit 55.
The Imps now face a tough match in the semi final against Sturminster Newton side the Barbarians, while in the other semi final Dewlish Monsters play Avengers.

Sunday 3 August 2008

Fixture Books

The semi final and final of the Dorchester & District Skittles League Nomination Cup takes place on Friday 8th August at the Trinity Club, games to start at 8pm.
The fixture books for the forth coming season will be available for collection on the night from 8.30pm.
Alternatively teams can contact the League Secretary Brian Newton on 01305 264948 to arrange to collect from him.

Imps to face Masters

Merlins 386 The Imps 372

Dorchester side The Imps travelled to Somerset on Saturday night to defend their 32 pin lead from the 1st leg of their match against Merlins from the Half Moon, Horsington.
The Imps won the toss and decided to throw first, but that looked like being a mistake as they went on to only hit a 47 hand, and the home side took full advantage of the poor hand when they hit a 65 hand with a 13 stick up from N.Phillips to go 18 up on the night and take a big chunk out of the Imps 1st leg lead.
The Imps improved on the second hand to hit a steady score of 59, while the home side could only hit 57, to put 16 pins between the teams.
The Dorset side sprung into action on the third hand with stick ups from Barry Gosney (16) and Martin Murray (14) to total a hand of 75, but the home side came back strong with seven 8's and a 13 stick up from anchor man G.Mitchell to score a 69 hand which meant they only lost 6 pins to make the difference on the night 10 pins.
The fourth hand the Imps slipped back into the 50's with a 57 hand, while Merlins hit 65 with another stick up for Phillips (11) to go 18 up and now they only trailed the Imps by 14 pins over the two legs.
The Imps now needed to finish the last two hands with decent scores to keep in front, and lead of man Phil Goodland gave them the perfect start on the fifth hand with a 15 stick up and the county town team hit a hand of 65 to which the home side could only reply with a 61 hand to put 14 pins between the teams on the night.
Goodland again started with a 15 stick up on the last hand, and the Imps finished strongly hitting a hand of 69 to leave the Somerset side a tough task of needing a 88 hand to go through, a hand of 69 with Mitchell again having a stick up (16) was enough to win the match on the night for Merlins but it was the Imps who went through winning the two legged match by 18 pins.
Phil Goodland was top for the visitors hitting 57, while Merlins anchor man Mitchell was the star of the night hitting 61.
The Imps now face a tough match against Masters from Bridport in another two legged match with the winners going through to the grand finals at Sand Bay Holiday Village, Weston Super Mare on Saturday 20th September.

Friday 1 August 2008

Draw not enough for Breakaways

Motley Crew 385 Breakaways 385

After losing the 1st leg at home by 9 pins Breakaways were looking for a good start at the Chapelhay against Motley Crew, and after three hands the visitors were looking good with a 21 pin lead, but the home side came back and although Breakaways went into the last hand 9 pins up a 66 hand by the Crew was to many for the Wool side to beat and the match was tied, and the 9 pins from the 1st leg was enough to take the Weymouth side through to face Crewkerne side Disney in the final knock out stage. Skid was top for the Crew with 58, while Pauly Painter was top for Breakaways with 55.

Masters through

Bridport side the Masters knocked out Weymouth's Pin Ups in the Blackthorn British Championships, trailing by 3 pins after losing at home Masters traveled to Weymouth and won by18 pins. The Bridport side now face either the Merlins from Horsington, Somerset or The Imps from Dorchester, who play their 2nd leg match tomorrow night at Horsington where the Imps take a 32 pin lead.

Monsters put out Slingers

Dewlish Monsters 397 Slingers 379

Dewlish Monsters made it into the semi final of the summer knock out competition at the Wonston Club, Hazelbury Bryan with an 18 pin victory over Section A rivals Slingers.