PAKENHAM BOWLS
Weekend Pennant resumed after the Christmas break on Saturday while Midweek Pennant resumed on Tuesday 23 January.
Pakenham One (Div 1) was at home to Clayton Two on Saturday, a team above it on the ladder (although only by two points) but one which it had beaten in round three.
From the outset, their encounter looked as if it was going to be a tight tussle again.
After the first twenty ends Pakenham had two rinks up and one level, but overall the score was 13 shots apiece.
By the half-way mark however, scoring surges on two of the Lions’ rinks saw the home side ahead by 41 shots to 33 overall, with three rinks in front, although some of that good work had been balanced by a marked swing on the other rink in favour of the visitors.
After the break it was the Cobras who fired up and by the start of the business ends they had three rinks up and one all square and had taken the lead…although at that stage it was by just four shots.
Fortunately, Pakenham’s players hung tight in the run home and with Nifty Nev’s rink scoring 12 shots to nil over the last six ends, the Lions scraped in by three shots.
Pakenham’s only winning rink with a score of 25 to 16 was “Nifty” Nev Brown (S), Keith “Golden Arm” Archer (3), Claire Smyth (2) and David Laird (L).
Despite the win, which saw Clayton drop to seventh position on the ladder, the Ones are still in sixth spot with Cranbourne One having leapfrogged both sides into fifth.
Pakenham is only one point behind Cranbourne but 17 points (virtually a full round) outside the four.
They will be home again next round against ladder leaders, Cheltenham One.
Pakenham Two (Div 3) was away against Hampton Park One, a team which had comfortably beaten them at Pakenham in round three of the season.
The game was evenly poised after the first twenty ends, both sides having two rinks up and the overall score sitting at 18 to 17 in the Redbacks’ favour. However there were ominous signs on one of the Lions’ rinks which were battling to register a score.
By the half-way mark Pakenham had three rinks in front and an overall lead of 46 shots to 32, although with five shots to 16, Paul Currie’s rink was still under siege.
After the break that struggling rink continued to drop behind, and further concern was added when the rink of “Stormin” Norm Box dropped five ends in a row, considerably eroding its (until then) comfortable lead.
At the start of the home run, Pakenham was still in front on three of the four rinks but by that stage, the overall lead had been reduced to just four shots. The game then progressed to a dramatic conclusion.
Darren Webster’s crew continued their steady run over the last five ends on their rink, to finish 21 shots to 11 in front; “Stormin” Norm’s team made up for their earlier indiscretion, scoring 10 shots to one over that late stage of the game to finish at 27 to 11; but after travelling well all day, Keith Lewis’ rink somehow lost the last five ends to finish six down.
Meanwhile, Paul’s rink continued to haemorrhage.
With a combination of excellent bowling and a dose of good luck, Hampton Park’s skipper, Mark Paton, had been ripping through Paul Currie’s rink all afternoon, with his weighted shots in particular, producing positive results.
With only a couple of ends to go and the scores extremely close, he decided to have a lengthy mid-green discussion with his lead who, after returning to the waiting group of players, then took an inordinate amount of time to place the mat and also, for some reason, took quite a while to locate his bowl (in fairness, there were a number of red sets in play).
Surely this was not a tactical move – isn’t that against the rules?
By the time play had resumed the other three rinks had finished and the big scoreboard showed Pakenham in front overall by two shots.
The Redbacks then picked up one shot on the second last end and Pakenham’s lead was reduced to one.
The locals then upped the ante on the last end and by the time Des “Grizzly” Leigh (third) stepped onto the mat they held four shots (and game) and the pressure was really on.
The big bloke missed with his first bowl which sailed past the head, stopping about two metres behind the jack.
However his second bowl found its way through the wall to draw shot (Grizzly admitted that was his best bowl for the day and that if he had produced a few more like it the team may not have found itself in such a precarious situation).
Pakenham continued to hold that solitary shot until both skippers had just one bowl left.
Given how well he had performed on the day, Mark Paton had his tail up and he confidently drove at the head with his final bowl.
Bowls were scattered everywhere, including Pakenham’s shot bowl – however Mark’s luck finally deserted him as the jack also went back a couple of metres where Grizzly’s first bowl just happened to be waiting for it.
With one up on the board and one at the head, Pakenham therefore had the overall game by two shots.
Paul finished by drawing another with his final bowl of the day for the Lions to win a very tight encounter by just three shots.
The better of Pakenham’s two winning rinks with 27 shots to 11 was “Stormin” Norm Box (S), Vince Bevilacqua (3), Ash Graham (2) and Mark “Lumpy” Dalton (L).
The win lifted the Twos to fifth spot on the ladder, six points behind Berwick in fourth and six ahead of Parkdale.
They will be away again next round against Cheltenham Two (eighth).
Pakenham Three (Div 5) hosted Burden Park Two, a team which had beaten them by a single shot in their previous encounter this season.
The game started on a positive note for the locals who had two rinks up, one all square and a lead of 19 shots to 14 after the first twenty ends.
Pakenham slowly built up its lead over the next 24 ends and was looking comfortable by the half-way mark with three up, one level and a lead of 50 shots to 30.
That lead was slowly eroded over the second half of the game, however the Lions still finished with two up and a final score of 82 shots to 73.
The better of the two winning rinks with 24 shots to nine was Peter Wilson (S), Rick Burns (3), Wayne Oosthuizen (2) and Russell Jones (L).
As a result of the win, the Threes have taken Burden Park’s position on the second rung of the ladder but are still miles behind clear leader Mulgrave but only seven clear of Burden Park Two, Narre Warren Five and Berwick Five who are all on 92 points.
Their round 11 encounter will be against Berwick, away.
Pakenham Four was away against Keysborough Four in a game in which they were always behind, yet never quite out of the hunt.
After the first twenty ends they were one up and three down and trailed by 16 shots to 24.
By the midway mark they were still one up and three down but the deficit had grown to 13 shots – still manageable.
The Lions rallied after the break and by the start of the business ends, with one up and one all square, had marginally reduced the Burra’s lead to 11 shots. They continued to whittle away at that lead but it was never quite enough and they ended the day seven shots in arrears with two up and two down.
The better of the two winning rinks, with 21 shots to 12, was Eric Peterson (S), John Tarr (3), Ray Illing (2) and Frank Webber (L).
The Fours have slipped to sixth spot on the ladder, three points behind Churchill Waverley Golf and five ahead of Mulgrave Country Club Six.
Their round 11 encounter will be at home to Cranbourne RSL One (fourth).
HI-LO
The first winner for 2024 was Jim Williams with number eight.
-Des Leigh-
