FYLDE 6 BOWDON earls 1

Fylde: Ian Theakstone 10 (c), Peter Hallett 11, Ken Harper 14, Philip Bass 18.
Bowdon Earls: Barry McKensie 6 (c), Andrew Kenyon 14, John Howarth 14, Mike Shelmardine 14.

This was the final match of the season and we needed a win to get us off the bottom spot of the league.

Ian and Ken took on Barry and Mike,some good bisque usage saw us take command and win 26 - 12. Peter played John and after a good game pegged out 26 - 20. Philip took on Andrew and again a tight game but Philip Held on to finish the game on time 22 - 20. So there it was 3 - 0 up looking good eh?

Ian up against Barry looked to be a tough one but Ian went 1st ball to rover then the 2nd ball to rover in no time at all and pegged out 26 - 12 in 90 mins. Peter came up against with Andrew losing 12 - 26. Ken's game was close and on time it went to Ken by 1 hoop 19 - 18. Philip's game again was close but failure by Mike close to the end saw Phillip take advantage to secure another win for Fylde 22 - 20.

So there it was, we won, no problem.

Posted by Ian, 21st September

Chester 4 Fylde 2

The team of Ian (c), Liz, Alan and Philip travelled to Chester arriving in good time for the 10am start. Liz and Ian played doubles against Paul Watson and David Guyton losing -2 in a very close game in which Ian showed great accuracy with his hitting in. Philip was lucky that Robin didn’t think until afterwards that he could have pegged Philip’s ball out. After lunch Liz took on Paul giving 3 ½ bisques and was lucky to win +3 with Paul leaving 1 ½ bisques unused. Paul pegged Liz off and left his balls by rover. Liz attempted a hit in from behind hoop 2 – missed the brown but scored rover to leave an easy peg out! Ian had a close game with David Guyton hitting anything from anywhere. Despite managing a two ball break from hoop 4 to two back (5 hoops) he eventually lost -5. Philip was beaten by Michael and the match was lost. The weather had been glorious but as all who had finished retreated to the club house to await the finish of a close game between Alan and Robin the heavens opens and a deluge of biblical proportions rapidly turned the lawns into a cascade of water.

Alan and Robin had to abandon their match with it all but won for Alan who was in a break with only two hoops to run. Both teams were trapped in the clubhouse for a good 15 minutes whilst the slopes of Chester did their best to drain the wall of water onto the bowling greens at the bottom of the hill.

Commiserations to a frustrated Alan but well done to the team playing as well as they did on Chester’s home turf.

Posted by Ian, 15th June

Southport 6 Fylde 1

Fylde: Liz Wilson 1.5, Peter Wilson 1.5, Peter Hallett 12, Alan Morton 12.

Southport: Carol Lewis 3, Tony Thomas 5, John Maudsley 12, David Key 16.

Constant rain overnight drew us at dawn to the Southport CCTV which showed flooding. However Tony did an inspection finding lawns 4 & 5 to be OK. Somewhat sceptically, we set off in the rain which only stopped as we arrived. Despite the tide also being in, the lawns were in good shape. The Sun arrived bringing steam off the lawns and Cambodian humidity.

Following on from the England Ladies, Liz took top spot in the team and was the only FCC player to win a game. The home side played with freedom and style making hoops and recovery shots in equal measure. In contrast FCC were stiff and laboured, unable to take any of the few chances that came their way.

Posted by Peter, 18th May

Fylde 1 Pendle 6

Fylde: Peter Wilson 1.5, Ian Theakstone 10, Peter Hallett 12, Alan Morton 12.

Pendle: Roger Schofield 2.5 Howard Bowrin 4 Gary Wilson 8 Robin Delves 10

A nice sunny but chilly day for our first match of the season. Both Peters formed the doubles game against Howard and Robin which turned into a very low scoring game with Fylde losing by 6 - 11. Alan played Gary and lost on time 12 - 16 . Ian took on Roger and after a steady plod of Hoops came out the winner 26 - 8. Lunch was served by Liz a very nice chicken stew followed by a pud. The afternoon session proved our downfall with Peter W losing by just 1 point 22-23 on time. Peter H losing to Gary 14 - 20 Alan down to Robin 16 - 26 and finally Ian losing to Howard 9 - 26.

Posted by Ian, 20th April