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.