the lifers

After our return to form last week we were desperate to put on a good showing this week too. This was a crucial game for us as the Inequalities are the only team capable of taking our second spot in the league.

The team was unchanged from our success last week and Dawn and Sean opened up the scoring. Both scored well and got 26-a-piece. This was in reply to the Inequalities’ 20 and 24. We now had an eight pin lead.

Next up it was Paul and Kieren. Kieren again struggled to find his form and punctuated his scoring with a two and three. Paul, on the other hand, was scoring well and produced some fine fives and sixes. This combination took Paul to a masterful 32 and Kieren scored the reverse with a 23. This was still enough to tie the pair and retain our eight pin lead.

The last pair was always going to be a tough one as the big guns went head-to-head. Thankfully Andy was on fire and punctuated three fours with a seven, six and a five to take him to 30. Steve started well but suffered a cruel duck in the second Up. He rallied well and still scored a very impressive 27. This took Steve and Andy past the Inequalities’ score of 54 by three pins and secured a superb 1-11 win for The Lifers.

This keeps the league title alive (just). We need to score eleven points in our game against PUS and rely on the Bolts not scoring anything against MARACANA for us to take the league. We also need eleven points to make sure the Inequalities can’t catch us by scoring 12-nils in all their remaining games. We also need any points at all to stop PUS catching us (and even then they have to win every game 12-nil).

The final scores were:

• Dawn 26
• Sean 26
• Paul 32
• Kieren 23
• Andy 30
• Steve S 27

The final scoreboard looked like this:

After our crushing defeat at the hands of The Bolts we needed a good result to restore morale. Thankfully the team was on fire and, from our lowest score this season last week, we recorded our highest this week. The game was against the Crawfords Crackers and they’re a fun team and the games are a good laugh.

Dawn and Sean started well, the pins were flattened and last week just a distant memory. Dawn cruised to an impressive 29 and Sean supported well with a 22. With Jill and Rosy only managing 38 between them this gave a good solid start.

The second pair started well with Paul scoring three fours and Kieren a six, two, five combo. George and Nick put up a strong fight but The Lifers stuck with it and finished with 54 compared to the Crawfords Crackers’ 47.

The return of Steve and Andy was met with joyous scenes on the alley… although not for the pins as they were clattered out of the way. Andy was on fire and scored a very impressive 34, Steve scored well with a 22 and the pair won their end by nine pins.

This gave The Lifers a morale boosting twelve – nil victory.

The final scores were:

• Dawn 29
• Sean 22
• Paul 27
• Kieren 27
• Andy 34
• Steve S 22

The final scoreboard looked like this:

It had to end, up until last night The Lifers were an undefeated force in the realm of UoB Winter skittles. However, all good things must come to an end and it’s hard to have a more stark ending than being on the receiving end of a proper pasting by another team.

The Bolts are always a good side and usually close to the sharp end of the table. We’ve beaten them twelve – nil before and they’ve dealt the same punishment right back. Usually the games are pretty closely fought though.

Unfortunately not last night. It’s difficult to work out exactly what went wrong… probably something to do with us not being able to knock enough pins down though. We were a staggering 50 pins down by the end of the second pair. Not even Steve and Andy could pull that back…. and they weren’t there anyway!

The team soldiered on all night but something odd happened. Basically we fell apart, maybe it was too much beer, maybe it was too little, maybe it was just bad luck. Whatever it was, it was horrible. The team struggled to its lowest score in ten years (although this is a new alley with much lower top scores) an aesthetically pleasing but, wholly unimpressive, 123.

The Bolts, feeling sorry for us in our plight, decided to get the current highest male score, the current highest pair score and miss out on matching the current top team score by one pin.

The final scores were:

• Verity 17
• Sean 20
• Lucy 17
• Kieren 17
• Steve C 25
• Paul S 27

The final scoreboard looked like this:

We had a strong game last time out and, as we’re nearing the end of the league, things are really hotting up. We know that several of the other top running teams have games in hand on us so it’s important that we keep up the pressure.

We’ve played the Bottlers (nee Airheads) quite a few times in recent years and the games are often unpredictable. For example, last season we won one game 12-0 (home) and lost the other 9-3 (away).

Opening up for The Lifers were Steve C and Lucy. Lucy put down an initial marker by scoring an 8 in her first Up. Things remained fairly close for the six Ups in the End but it was the strength of Steve and Lucy that won through. The husband and wife pairing finished the End with a five pin lead.

In the second pair Sean and Verity (The Lifers) took the fight to Chirpy and Al. Again this was a closely contested End with both Chirpy and Verity suffering the full venom of the of the alley’s fickle nature. On the other hand Sean and Al were scoring well. This meant both pairs were evenly matched but ultimately it was Sean and Verity who emerged victorious and extended The Lifers‘ lead to nine pins.

Going in to the final End Steve S and Andy had a nine point lead but, as we all know, anything can happen in skittles.

Things started well for Andy as he set down an intention loaded eight. Steve struggled through the first Up with a two. The Bottlers’ pairing of Adam and Dave started well and the End was nip n’ tuck for most of the Ups.

Going in to the final Up the pair was still too close to call. Adam scored well with a six and then Dave stepped up to the alley. His first two balls were a little wayward but the third was terrifying. The ball flew for almost three quarters of the alley before crashing onto the woodwork and missing everything. This left Andy and Steve needing nine to take the pair.

Up to the alley went Andy but, disaster, the alley unleashed all her fury and Andy could only knock down a single pin. However, this still left Andy on a superb 29. Steve now had to score eight to take the pair. His first two balls weren’t bad but leaving five pins Steve had a mountain to climb. That is, until he unleashed a ball that rivaled “Shane Warne’s ball of the century”. This gem of a ball from Steve took four pins and secured the pair and a 12-nil victory for The Lifers!

The aftermath of “Steve’s ball of the century”:

The final scores were:

• Steve C 25
• Lucy 28
• Verity 16
• Sean 31
• Andy 29
• Steve S 28

The final scoreboard looked like this:

After a close match last time out The Lifers were keen to give a good showing this week. Brownian Motion are another new side but with a joint-holder of the current top men’s score on their side we were careful not to underestimate them.

Jim and Steve C opened up for the home side and quickly developed a good lead. This was partly due to some strong scoring from The Lifers’ pair but also due to a dip in form from the skipper of Brownian Motion. After the final Up Jim and Steve C had put twelve points of daylight between us and Brownian Motion.

Going into the second pair, Paul and I just had to protect our lead. Unfortunately, looking at my recent form, that’s a lot easier said than done. For once though the pins seemed to fall for me and, in only four ups I was only one pin away from my dismal score last week. However, it was Paul’s turn to experience the alley’s fickle nature. In the end Paul managed a respectable 24 and I got a season best (for me) 28. Unfortunately the Brownian Motion pairing were scoring well and El Tel scored a mighty 29 and Barnsy a 23 to draw the pair.

Of note was El Tel’s skittling style, in a bizarre homage to great cricketing spin bowlers, he’d rub the ball against his right buttock before stepping up to bowl. Perhaps most worrying was the success achieved with the technique!

Andy and Steve S now took up arms and, with a twelve pin lead on the game, set about putting it beyond reach. However, the Brownian Motion pairing of “bizarre Prince-esque symbol” and Jazzy had other ideas and the end was closely contested up until the fifth Up. In the fifth Up Andy and Steve unleashed an eight and a six and the Brownian Motion pair could only respond with a six and a four. Despite pulling a few pins back in the final Up the final scores for the third End showed Andy and Steve with a four pin lead.

The game ended as an 11 – 1 win to The Lifers.

The final scores were:

• Jim 26
• Steve C 21
• Paul S 24
• Kieren 28
• Andy 28
• Steve S 25

The final scoreboard looked like this: