With the Division 1 leaders not playing this week, most of the chasing pack were in action hoping to close the gap at the top. Gutter Nutters were up against Alsorts on Thursday night, but it was Alsorts who won out 6-4 in a tight contest. Nutters have signed up Dover skittlers the Cakebreads on short-term deals and put them straight into their line-up, but they couldn’t help Nutters over the line here. There was nothing in it by leg 3, with the first two legs drawn (39 each & 33 all), and Quinn’s lot took the lead in the match after a 38-33 win. Alsorts hit back in the 4th, 37-35, and smashed it in the last, hitting 41 pins to take the match. Dan Cakebread was best Nutter with 38, whilst Martin Orme hit 34 for Sorts, and Nutters were left 17 points off the pace in the league. Living On A Spare managed a cheeky 6-4 victory against Young & Bald to draw level on points with the Nutters. YAB took control early in the game, winning the first two legs with scores of 34 & 38, but a slip in the beer round was allowed LOAS to get a foothold in the match. From thereon, Spares scrapped their way to the win, a couple of 9s securing leg 4, 36-34, and then a single pin steal in the decider. Kieran Parsley was bowler of the match with 35, and Derek Wilkins made 34. BGS have a game in hand of the rest, and their thumping 8-2 win over an off-colour Last Six puts them back in the mix at the top. Last Six initially looked good, whacking 39 pins in winning the first, but after that it was Birdies all the way. BGS posted legs of 38, 41, 35 & 37 as they romped to victory with Last Six only getting close in losing the 4th by a pin. 5 out of 6 of Callum’s team hit 30 or more, with Sam Webb (34) the pick; none of the Six managed to reach the 30-mark. In Division 2, Cross Keys continued their march to the title with a 9-1 destruction of Newcomers. The Keys were rarely troubled in the match, winning the first 4 legs with scores of 40, 35, 41 & 37 along with a clean sweep of beers. Newcomers were only within touching distance in the second, losing out by 1, and they nicked a point at the last as the pub collective slowed down, thanks to strong work from their late order. Geoffff Arnold led Keys from the front with 35, with excellent backing from Ray Shergold (34); Jean Ewen’s 32 was Newcomers’ finest. Spare Ribs big 8-2 win over Late Knights maintains their interest in the second promotion spot, though rivals Rollin’ Pins have a game in hand. Ribs were well on top here, hitting winning totals of 38, 37 twice and 35 to garner 8 points. Knights had two of their own after a 33-30 win in the second. Richard Wicks was back to his best with 36, which was matched by Paul Ingrem for the Knights. Sianie’s Angels walloped their best ever total (174) and recorded their third win of the season in the process, 6-4 over Remnants. Angels went off with a bang, smashing 40 in the first, but Remnants punched back in leg 2, winning out 36-34. Angels had 4 beers and the points in the third (36-25), and they sealed the victory with 34 in leg 4. Remnants managed to finish strongly, hitting 36 in the last for their 4-point haul. Marcus Holford pegged a mighty 37 for a new PB, with quality support from George Andrews (32, PB); Simon Barton’s 33 was best of the Remnants. Finally this week, Rollin’ Pins took the spoils against Big ‘Uns, securing a 6-4 win. It was a mixed bag from the Pins, who bossed it in the legs they won (39, 38, 36), but stumbled in the legs 1 & 3. Big ‘Uns took their chances and sneaked 4 points & 4 beers despite only scoring 32 pins in each leg. Rollin’ Pins finish this one third in the division, but just 2 points behind Spare Ribs with that game in hand. Top skittles here were Andy Bell and Nick Cooper who both managed 32. No spares this week, and not much change at the top of the averages - hopefully, the big spares will be back in week 28…

WEEK 27