Bruce and Denise Lidbury have been able to regain the Mixed Pairs Championship that they have dominated in recent years after being regulated to runners up last year. It marks the fifth time they have won the title since 2016! In 2020 they could not enter due to ill health.
Their win has been the highlight of events at Tuross Head Bowling Club in the last couple of weeks as the very wet weather played havoc with the bowling program. Both the Mixed Pairs and Minor Singles have been seriously affected by the rain. As well the last round of the Men’s Pennant was washed out!
When the much anticipated semi-final in the Mixed Pairs between Carol and Doug Williams and Sue and John Fahey was finally played it turned out to be a cracking match! It was a tight match from the start with all four players contributing to the tightness of the game. After 11 ends the Williams’ had a 11 – 9 lead. Just as the Faheys grabbed the momentum to be ahead 15 – 11, the Williams’ struck back to narrow the margin to 15 - 14 after 15 ends.
The next six ends followed the same pattern. The Faheys would widen the gap only to see the Williams’ strike back. Going into the final end the Faheys held a 21 – 19 advantage. In an exciting finish Carol Williams showed her nerves of steel to dominate the end to allow her side to score 4 shots and record a remarkable victory 23 – 21.
After a further delay due to the wet weather the final was finally played on Tuesday October 4 with the Lidburys keen to regain their title but they knew they would have a tough task against the Williams’. The clash was very close early with the Lidburys just holding sway after 7 ends at 7 – 6. They slowly built the margin to 14 – 9 after 13 ends.
The 14th end proved to be key to the match. In an effort to change the momentum of the game, the Williams’ tried a longer end. However, the strategy did not work for them as they struggled on the sluggish green to reach the head. As a result the Lidburys scored 6 shots on the end and extended the lead to 20 – 9. This proved too big a hurdle for the Williams’ to overcome. They did not stop trying and played some excellent bowls in the final ends but the Lidburys had the answer to their every move. If Denise did not play a key bowl then Bruce did. The Lidburys regained their title with an excellent 26 -13 victory with the score not a true reflection of the quality of the competition throughout the match that kept the many spectators glued to their seats.
Congratulations to the winners!! Their record shows how well they bowl together. Well done to the Williams’ on their effort to make the final!
Minor Singles
Both of the semi- finals of the Minor Singles have been completed. In the first game Michael Challice played Chris Coddington in a very close game.. Challice managed to keep his head in front – but only just. Every time he looked like running away with the game, Coddington fought back. He lead 10 – 5 to see his margin reduced to 11 – 9. He then made it to 15 – 9 only to see Coddington fight back to 15 -14. At this stage Challice was able to land the killer blows. Over the next 4 ends he scored 10 shots to take the game 25 – 15.
The second semi-final between Rob Payne and Bill Burch proved to be an epic both in the closeness of the scores and how the players coped with the wet weather. They decided to battle the elements on Friday. It was clear when they started but the showers kept on coming. They made the decision to battle on, taking shelter through the worst of the rain. Their marker, Mick Atkinson, also did a remarkable job in keeping the score card dry!!
The game itself was excellent despite the conditions.Overall the lead changed 8 times!Payne had the better of a very tight start and was ahead 8 – 7 after 12 ends.By the 18th end Burch grabbed the lead at 15 – 14 to mark the start of changing fortunes.Payne regained the lead at 19 – 17 only to see Burch back in front 21 – 19!Payne scored 3 shots on the next end to move to 22 – 21 with the finish in sight.Burch won the next end with two shots to again hit the lead at 23 – 22.Payne was able to finish the game on the next end when he picked up 3 shots to win 25 – 23!Well done to both players on a great
