Men's Weekend Woes

‘A’ team must take it to the wire

The destination of the Lincs Men’s League southern section could be decided on Saturday with Stamford ‘A’  powerless to influence it - despite a game in hand.

Their nearest rivals Spalding - eight points ahead but with an inferior shots difference - travel to third place Boston ‘A’ needing nine points to secure a play-off spot against likely northern section winners Lincoln at Boston on April 14.

If they succeed, even maximum points at home to bottom of the table Boston ‘B’, won’t earn Stamford ‘A’ a shoot-out spot. But if Spalding slip up, Stamford will know exactly what they have to do on March 23.

The dilemma for both teams involved emerged when Spalding beat Stamford ‘A’ on Saturday 79-69, taking 12 of the 14 points at stake to take that eight point lead in the table.

In the early stages, it looked like the Spalding would take a maximum haul from all rinks when they raced into a 30-shot overall lead.

But inspired by the rink of Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, skip Roger Martin and the team’s latest recruit Mike Anderson - who has moved recently from the Doncaster Indoor Club - the  remaining rinks reduced the deficit to just ten shots by the close.

Anderson, who learned to bowl on crown greens with his grandad as a teenager, quickly settled into the match and despite his rink trailing 7-17 played a key role in the comeback which saw them overhaul Danny Mills’ Spalding rink 23-18 with 13 shots from the last five ends.

Adam Warrington’s rink had a tight game against Martin Simpson, who eventually prevailed 15-10, while Jon Earl’s four trailed Simon Lilley by only two before they were finally undone in the last three ends.

Mick Linnell’s rink were always in arrears against the animated former Stamford bowler Brian Martin, but at 7-20 and Linnell facing a seven count he drove the jack off the rink for a single, chipping a chunk from it into the bargain. It was the start of a comeback that left them behind by four at the close.

Lincs Men’s League (South) Spalding 79 (12 pts) Stamford ‘A’ 69 (2) Stamford names only. B Warters, C Jones, C Ballard, M Linnell lost 17-21; M Humphreys, D Heffernan, N Wright, A Warrington lost 10-15; M Ramsden, D Miller, O Aspinall, J Earl, lost 19-25; W Aspinall, M Anderson, A McNaughton, R Martin won 23-18.

Pete Linnell’s B team were unable to hold a rampant Boston A, returning to the town and determined to seek revenge for a 12-0 drubbing by Stamford ‘A’ the previous week.

They eventually lost 61-90, conceding all but two points from a well-earned 21-17 rink win by John Suffling, Bill Orme, Don Bruce and Dennis Henshaw against a Boston quartet that included former Stamford left-hander Richard Allam.

The ‘B’ team complete a much improved season at Grantham on March 23.

Lincs Men’s League (South) Stamford ‘B’ 61 (2) Boston ‘A’ 90 (12). Stamford names only. J Suffling, B Orme, D Bruce, D Henshaw won 21-17; H Gordon, G Clarke, S Downs, D Wilkinson lost 12-17; S Christie, J Hare, P Smith, N Crees lost 18-22; P Linnell, M Owens, G Patrickson, M Hewitt lost 10-34.

TEAM LINE-UPS

STAMFORD’s mixed team complete their Lincs League (South) fixtures at Grantham on Saturday looking to improve their fifth position against the league’s bottom club.

Team: R Roberts, PJones, J Hare, H Gordon; L Cave, R March, A March; M Christie, J Suffling, S Suffling, B Crouch; M Ramsden, J Lonslow, S Christie, S Moir.

Completing their fixtures next Thursday are Stamford’s Over 60s, who travel to Lincoln to face the southern section’s title winning ‘A’ team.

Team: J Bourne, TBC, M Owens, B Warters; D King, S Miner, P Burt, R Martin; P Shaw, I Hall, M Hewitt, P Smith; G Patrickson, C Jones, M Hewitt, M Linnell.