News Update
Marine Gardens update w/ending 9, August 2020
(August 09, 2020)“Mad dogs, Englishmen…and bowlers!”
Noel Coward famously wrote that only “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun.” He was two thirds right; omitting to mention bowlers! Another week of splendid weather saw Marine Gardens completing three more friendly games of triples. That first win is proving elusive as four matches in total have brought three defeats and a draw – but still lots of fun in the sun.
Monday 03/08 – away to Goring Manor. 2 rinks lost but a complete wipe-out was avoided by experienced skip Albert Leatham. Backed up by Terry Ashley and Dave Mugridge they were 12 -8 down after 11 ends, but gradually turned the tide to secure the narrowest of wins: by a single shot, 16 to 15.
Rink scores summarised below
Jenny Ashman, Alan Paterson & skip Ivan Godsmark – 10 shots; lost to C Wood 19 shots
Terry Ashley, Dave Mugridge & skip Albert Leatham – 16 shots; won against T Tsoi 15 shots
Frieda Goulding, David Hughes & skip Harry Smith – 11 shots; lost to P Hillier 15 shots
Marine Gardens 37 shots; lost to Goring Manor 49 shots
Wednesday 05/08 and another away match, this time to our friends at Worthing Pavilion. A closely fought affair through-out ended with 2 losing rinks for the visitors. However, those defeats were only by tight margins; skips Ivan Godsmark and Dennis Martin losing by 5 shots and 4 shots, respectively. However, the third Marine rink; Terry Ashley, Leon White and skip Harry Smith carved out an excellent win by 9 shots having led all afternoon.
Net result – a draw!
Rink score summarised below
Terry Ashley, Leon White & skip Harry Smith – 19 shots; won against K Chapman 10 shots
Jenny Ashman, Dave Mugridge & skip Ivan Godsmark – 16 shots; lost to A Vidler 21 shots
Gerry Perch, David Hughes & skip Dennis Martin – 13 shots; lost to Dennis 17 shots
Marine Gardens 48 shots drew against Worthing Pavilion 48 shots
Friday 07/08 found Marine Gardens on the road for the third time in five days: westwards to Maltravers BC in Littlehampton. A friendly game ensued but the visitors could never quite overcome the home side’s familiarity with the conditions. Maltravers proving deserved winners by 53 shots to Marine’s 39. The best rink result was a tie for Matt Ryan, Harry Smith, and skip Ivan Godsmark.
Rink score summarised below
Bob Cole, Dave Mugridge & skip Mike Hitchin – 13 shots; lost to Denise 18 shots
David Smith, David Hughes & skip Leon White – 9 shots; lost to Agatha 18 shots
Matt Ryan, Harry Smith & skip Ivan Godsmark – 17 shots; tied with Alex 17 shots
Marine Gardens 39 shots lost to Maltravers 53 shots
In addition to the inter-club friendlies the internal comps have continued apace with many close games recorded. Arguably the stand-out was a men’s Championship Pairs match played on Saturday 08/08. Steve Davis and Bryan Hartley took on Clive Wootton and Mark Berriman. It was a scorching day but with a 10am start the players were hoping to avoid that “mid-day sun” which Coward sung about so wittily.
It was to prove a low scoring but entertaining affair, with single shots being exchanged on most ends. Coming into the 18th and final scheduled end Davis / Hartley led by 12 shots to 10. But Wootton / Berriman scored the 2 shots required to force an extra end. Again, skip Bryan Hartley drew a bowl right onto the jack, only to watch as Mark Berriman knocked it out for the winning shot.
19 ends, a winning score of just 13 shots to 12. And a match running time of three hours and fifteen minutes – well past Coward’s mid-day sun!
