In Division One, the top four faced off on Wednesday night with leaders Lads’ Night Out winning out against closest rivals Gutter Nutters, and BGS thumping Living On A Spare to move into second place. LNO were in the box seat early against the Nutters, despite losing stalwart Tom Morgan to injury in leg 1 with Adam from the Swindon league stepping in. They won 2 quick legs before Nutters’ legendary thirst powered them to a beer leg win, 40-38. The fightback was fully on after leg 4 was pinched by a pin, but the Lads gathered themselves in the decider, hitting their best of the night (42) to secure victory. Bryan Archer was the best of the bunch with his 39 (naturally, spare-free) whilst Dave ‘Mighty’ Quinn & Graeme Gillan were top Nutters with 35, with Dave moving top in the averages as a result. Birdies, Goals & Spares had a comprehensive 8-2 win, but LOAS will be wondering what might have been. A high-scoring and close leg 1 went to BGS 40-39, and Callum’s team also sneaked the last by a single pin so a few pins decided the game in truth. Solid scoring from BGS (38 & 36) took legs 2 & 3 and the win; LOAS were on the board in the 4th with a 40. Matt Wright (35) & Simon Bennett (34) were best Spares, Lee Dickson’s 33 was the highest of five Birdies who made 30+. Absolutely Skittled destroyed Alsorts 10-0 to put themselves amongst the contenders at the top. AbSki were consistent throughout with scores between 34 & 39 across the 5 legs, and Sorts were well off the pace, only getting close in a couple but never over the line. Best in show here were Mark Grainger with 34, and Dave Norris & Craig Davis with 33. The defeat puts Alsorts down in the relegation mire - one of 3 teams staring at the drop now. The other two teams contemplating Division 2 were also in action this week, and both fell to 6-4 defeats. Best Sellers were beaten by Young & Bald in a see-saw game. YAB opened with a blob in leg 1 and the Sellers duly went 2 points up, but the youngsters stormed into the contest with 41 in the second. The beer leg was the pick of the evening, Best Sellers bookending things with a pair of 9s to take the points, but drinks were shared as it finished 43-39. Young & Bald were stung again by defeat and marched to victory with 38 & 37 in the last two legs. Ollie Wilkins struck a mighty 37, with Ben Mayo (33) supporting; Rob Wadsworth matched this for Sellers. Splitz ‘n’ Giggles loss followed a similar pattern against Last Six, though there was little to separate the sides. Six just lost out in a tight first leg, 35-33, but got their noses in front after taking the next two by 3 pins, 34-31 & 37-34. Splitz hit their best with 37 to draw level in the 4th, but it was the veterans who edged it in the end, just snatching the decider 35-34 thanks to 8 from the evergreen Jez Denton. Jeremy finished with 34, whilst Nikki Seville top-scored for Splitz with 32, a new PB for her. Division 2 games last week saw Rollin’ Pins overcome Sianie’s Angels to move into the 2nd promotion slot, Big ‘Uns give themselves hope of making the top 2 after a big win over Remnants, and Maclean Smilers topple Late Knights to condemn them to a likely Wooden Spoon finish. Rollin’ Pins were in good voice, but came up against a resolute Angels side who hit some 20 pins better than their average - it’s been a story of improvement for Sian’s charges in recent weeks. Pins took the match with winning legs of 39, 38 & 37, whilst the Angels whacked 39 in the beer leg (with 4 beers won) and sneaked the last by a single pin. It was competitive all game long, with best performances of the night from Andy Bell (36) and a PB-matching 34 from James Crosby. Maclean Smilers got themselves over the line early in their match with Late Knights, winning three straight legs off the bat for victory. Knights gathered themselves after an expensive beer leg and snatched 2 points in the 4th, thanks in part to a zero from Smilers’ AN Other, and points were shared in the final leg. Richard WIlliams walloped a season’s best 36, while Nathan Rickards and Paul Ingrem both made 32. The match also featured a rare 9 pin total from a player on each side - something of a record perhaps…? Last up, Big ‘Uns got back to winning ways with a statement 8-2 demolition of Remnants. Big ‘Uns got in the groove from the off, taking 4 legs in a row with scores of 34, 31, 39 & 38; Remnants only got themselves in gear in the 4th where they posted a much-improved 35 total. The last was high quality, with a 9 from Josh Barton propelling Remnants to the points, 36-35. Debut of the night (season?) came from young Arthur Wright who smashed 34 in his try-out for Big ‘Uns and Bert Lovegrove matched this at the other end of his skittling career. See you for more fun and games this week!!

WEEK 29