Sampford Peverell & District Skittles League

KNOCKOUT CUP – FIRST ROUND
Last season’s Knockout Cup runners-up, Queens Head are through to the 2nd round, thanks to a captain’s innings, from Steve Butt, of 60 [with 3 spares] in a new alley record of 378 and a good win over Jims Boys. But the last season’s winners, All Blacks, are out, going down to Globe Appley. Another captain’s innings, this time from C Gillett of The Beare, as his 3-spare 69 took his team to a victory over Tiverton RBL, followed by Rob Acton, captain of Bradninch C Club, who took his team to a win over Redwoods, with a 3-spare 74.

1. Bickleigh 430 Bulldogs 435; 2. Booze Cruzers 383 The Ponies 423; 3. The Merriemeade 369 Elmore Club 433; 4. Barley Mow 378 Otterheads 355; 5. The Beare 373 Tiverton RBL 350; 6. Oggies 387 Bullocks 367; 7. Globe Appley 406 All Blacks 3583; 8. Castaways 389 Odd Balls 362; 9. Bradninch RBL 399 Trout Inn 360; 10. Queens Head 378 Jims Boys 339; 11. Bradninch CC 476 Redwoods 425; 12. Uplowman 388 Barmy Army 375; 13. Catherine Wheel conceded game to Calverleigh; 14. Uffculme Bellies 408 Hare & Hounds 358; 15. New Pins 413 Globetrotters 398; 16. Welcome Rebels 320 Settler Boys 341;

High Scores: 74 – Rob Acton (Bradninch C Club with 3 spares); 69 - C Gillett (The Beare with 3 spares); 68 – Daren Partridge (Redwoods with 3 spares); 65 – Marc Gubb (Booze Cruzers with 3 spares), Craig Hawkins (The Ponies with 2 spares);

Reports;
1. Bickleigh were battered in the first leg, with their visitors Bulldogs posting 87 with spares to take a 17 pin lead. The home team took another 4 legs to get over their shock, and the huge 6th leg of 99 with 4 spares, was too late to stop Bulldogs winning.
2. Booze Cruzers found The Ponies in top form, and when they posted 4th & 5th legs of 82 the home team had no answer.
3. The Merriemeade has no answer to Elmore Club’s game, which included 6 good spares, as the latter powered their way to the second round.
4. Barley Mow set up their victory against Otterheads by going 22 pins in front after 3 legs, and basically maintained that lead all the way.
5. The Beare led by their new captain C Gillett, who was Man of the Match, with a 3-spare 69, beat Tiverton RBL to go through to the next round. Alec Deary was top score for his side with a 2-spare 62 and was influential the away team taking the 2nd leg by 10.
7. Globe Appley shocked the current holders of the cup, All Blacks, by handing out a heavy defeat, with the away team only winning the last leg and sharing the 3rd.
8. Castaways used to play at Blue Ball, and hosted one of the new teams to the league, who play out of Blue Ball. The new boys started off the best, but a good third leg of 72 and a final leg of 73 gave the home side the win.
9. Bradninch RBL stormed into a 41 pin lead at the end of the 4th hand against Trout Inn, who pulled back 2 in the 5th, the 6th being shared.
10. Queens Head look determined to reach the final again, with comfortable win against Jims Boys, and apart from a very poor last leg, scored well to post a new alley record of 378, helped by a captain’s game from Steve Butt.
11. Another captain led by example, and this time it was Rob Acton of Bradninch C Club against Redwoods. He helped himself to a 3-spare 74, and though Daren Partridge of Redwoods, posted a 3-spare 68, it could not stop the home teams charge, with only the 4th shared.
12. Uplowman find 13 to be a lucky number, winning by that margin for the second week running. This time it was against Barmy Army, the 5th leg of 71, being the leg which won the match for the home team.
14. League Champions, Uffculme Bellies, took on Hare & Hounds, and had a comfortable win, with the top 4 players on the card scoring over 55 and sharing all the spares between them!
15. New Pins found themselves 39 pins up after 4 legs against Globetrotters, and then slipped in the 5th and 6th legs to leave the away team to score 157 to win. They pulled 141 out of the bag, leaving a deficit of 15. and only 1 spare difference between them.
16. Welcome Rebels found their opponents, Settler Boys, on form, and were unable to stop them winning, after they had lost the first 4 legs. By that time they were 16 pins down, and though they pulled by 8 on the 5th, the away team took another 13 off them in the final leg.