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With leaders Gutter Nutters resting this week, opportunity knocked for Alsorts and Lads’ Night Out to hit the league summit. Alsorts grabbed their chance on Monday night, winning out 8-2 against Big ‘Uns, to go top by 5 points. ‘Sorts started slowly and lost the first leg, but once they got going, their opponents had no chance - legs of 38, 40, 40 & 36 propelled them to victory. Captain Grainger’s 35 was Alsorts best effort, with 33 from Martin Orme & 32 from Stephen ‘One Ball’ Rogers; Jamie Purnell made 30 for Big ‘Uns. Lads’ Night Out managed the same 8-2 result against a strong Rollin’ Pins side in the highest scoring game this week, and leapfrogged Alsorts to reclaim top spot. There was nothing between the teams for much of the match, with LNO snatching leg 1 by a pin before Pins took the points in the second, 41-40. The beer leg went to Lads by just 2 pins, but from there they took control and closed out with scores of 43 & 39. Dawn Gray was top skittler hitting a new PB of 36 in just her 6th game, and was backed by Mark Reeves (33) for Rollin’ Pins; Alex Slezak, Tom Morgan & Alan Pointer all made 34 to keep amongst it at the top of the averages. Living On A Spare won out 8-2 themselves against Spare Ribs to move fourth, just 2 points behind the Nutters. Ribs now find themselves in danger of slipping into the bottom half with the split just 5 weeks away. LOAS sealed victory by the end of the beer leg, with Ribs only coming close in the 2nd and finally stealing a couple of points in the low-ball 4th. Ribs’ actually had the better individuals with James Billinge & Adam Mattison posting 32; Kieran Parsley was Spares’ finest with 31. Young & Bald and Last Six shared the spoils in a tight contest on Thursday. The Six started this one like a train, hitting 40 in the first, but YAB were ahead in leg 2 before a stumble from anchor Derek allowed Last Six to claim a draw. Thirsty skittlers all round in the high quality third, with beers shared but Six whacking a massive 44 leg for the points. From there, the veterans faded and their youthful opponents hit top gear, YAB striking 40 & 39 to take the last two legs and square the match. Jeremy Denton made an excellent 36 for Six, whilst Marcus Groves smacked 34 and Karl Dawson 33 for YAB. Birdies, Goals & Spares drew their game with Cross Keys, and the Keys still harbour hopes of squeezing into the top half; BGS might trouble the top places if they win big in their game in hand. It was Jekyll & Hyde stuff from the pub skittlers in this match, losing by 10 or more pins in the 1st and 4th legs, but stunning BGS in the second & third with legs of 40 & 38. The decider was nip & tuck with the lead switching sides and never bigger than a pin so a draw seemed the best result in the end. BGS skipper Callum Dickson struck an immaculate new PB of 38, whilst Grant Shergold & Kevin Allen made 33s for Keys. Absolutely Skittled nicked a 6-4 win against Best Sellers despite losing the pins 179-175. Skittled were strong in winning legs 1,4 & 5, hitting totals of 39, 37 & 37, but Sellers had given them pause after winning out in the second & third with 35 & 39 themselves; in the beer, Cath Somerville hit the sixth 9 spare of this season. Rob Wadsworth whacked 38 to continue his charge up the averages table, and Peter Abery returned to the alley with a fine 36. AbSki were solid across the piece, with Ben Collis’ 32 their best score. Splitz ‘n’ Giggles performed a similar smash-and-grab on Newcomers, winning out 6-4 but losing the pins by 3. Both teams started in decent order, Splitz taking the first by a pin, 34-33. This game them impetus and they grabbed the advantage and sealed the win with 34 & 37 in the next two legs. Newcomers brought their A-game too late, walloping legs of 39 & 40 to secure 4 points and rueing what might have been. John Underhill smashed the high score this week with a magnificent 39, and Josh Hart made Splitz’ only 30. Well done to Sianie’s Angels who sealed their first ever win in the battle at the bottom of the division, beating Late Knights 6-4. Angels took the game with victory in the legs 2, 3 & 4, with 5 beers and a big 37 total in the most important middle leg. Knights were at their best in the first & last but couldn’t touch the Angels otherwise. Ralph Weldon’s tidy 32 marked a new PB for him; John Jeskins toppled 30 for Knights. More fun and games this week, with big games amongst the top 5...