2016/17 REPORTS

Wednesday 12th April 2017

Benitachell v El Cid

After a long hard season our Winter League Squad brought the curtain down on the 2016/17 League campaign with a home game against El Cid, where a win would see us leap-frog our other local rivals, Javea Green and secure fifth spot in the League table.

On Rink 2, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Iris Gardiner & Carol Davies got off to a great start picking up 6 shots in the first two ends and never really looked back in a game where Dudley and his team maintained a comfortable lead throughout, running out worthy winners by 6 shots, 19 – 13.

On Rink 3, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Christine Mawson had to battle hard in a very competitive opening nine ends, where a 3, immediately followed by a 4, on the sixth & seventh ends, enabled Maggie’s team to take control of the game, leading 11-7 at the half way stage. Although El Cid tried hard to reduce the deficit, 8 shots picked up over the twelfth & thirteenth ends gave Maggie’s team an unassailable 11 shot, 20 -9 lead, a comfortable margin which they maintained throughout, eventually taking the match 23-11, for a well-deserved victory.

On Rink 4, Trevor Neale, Clive Langan, Bert McLean & Linda Richards dropped two 4’s in the first two ends, against a very experienced and ‘in-form’ El Cid rink and never really managed to get close enough to get back into the game. Although it was a more evenly contested second half, the visitors eventually took the game, with the final score, 10 – 25.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Alex Fisher & Annie Jones picked up a super 5 shots on the fourth end to take a 2 shot, 7 -5 lead. However, a strong fight back saw the opposition pick up 11 shots on three of the next four ends, to lead 9 -16 at the half way stage. Despite battling hard, Jeff’s and his team were unable to reduce the deficit, going into the last end, trailing 12 -23. However, with BBC trailing El Cid by 3 shots in the overall shot difference, Jeff’s team rose to the occasion by securing the requisite 3 shots on the eighteenth, for a share of the overall points, with the final score on the rink, 15 – 23.

On Rink 6, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick fought out an evenly contested opening nine ends, with the score level at 7 – 7. A winning run of three ends on the trot, saw Harry’s team take the initiative, leading 13 -7 at the twelfth and despite a fight back by El Cid, another 3 shots on the seventeenth end was enough for Harry and his team to secure a thoroughly deserved 5 shot, 17 -12 victory.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Richard Gardiner, Derek Mawson & Jinty Chamberlain were involved in an evenly contested game, until a costly 6 on the seventh end enabled their opponents to build a 9 shot, 8 -17 lead by the half way stage. Despite winning the majority of ends in the second half of the game, Bob and his team were unable to reduce the deficit, with the final score, 14 – 23.

So, on the final day of the season it was another good overall performance by the squad, winning on three rinks and sharing the overall shot difference (84 – 84) to secure a 7 – 5 victory. This latest win was enough for us to move up one place in the League table, finishing the season in 5th spot.

The margins between success and failure in this League are small and we are not too far off being a Championship winning squad. There are many factors at play in determining the outcome of a League campaign, but I have no doubt that we have the inherent ability within the Club to go on and achieve greater success in the future. Finally, my thanks to all those involved in this season’s Winter League squad for all your effort and support throughout the season, I wish you all every future success.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 22nd March 2017

Benitachell v Finca Guila

Following a tough sequence of fixtures, the Winter League squad was at home this week, facing a Finca Guila side that has been struggling to find form over the past few weeks. With only five League games remaining, it was an opportunity for the squad to get back to winning ways and to build a platform for a strong finish to our League campaign. As the sides took to the green the sun shone brightly and with little or no wind, the conditions were near perfect.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Derek Mawson & Linda Smith played out a fairly evenly contested opening seven ends with the lead changing hands several times, until a super 5 on the eighth opened up a 4 shot, 9 -5 advantage. Although the opposition tried hard to close the deficit, getting back to within 2 shots, 9-7 at the eleventh, Trevor’s team went on to dominate the rest of the game, taking all of the remaining eight ends for a thoroughly deserved 14 shot, 21-7 victory.

On Rink 3, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Bert McLean & Linda Richards started well, picking up a couple of great fours on the second & fourth end before also going on to take the last three ends of the first half of the game to lead by 9 shots, 15-6 at the ninth. In an equally impressive second period, Dudley and his team won six ends on the trot, scoring freely throughout to record an emphatic and richly deserved 19 shot, 29-10 victory.

On Rink 4, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick fought out an evenly balanced opening eight ends, trailing by just 1 shot, until a great 4 on the ninth end gave them a 3 shot, 10-7 advantage at the half way stage. The game was still finely balanced until a fantastic 6 on the thirteenth end, followed immediately by a couple of 2’s, gave Harry’s team a commanding 12 shot lead, which they maintained until the end, for a well deserved 23-11 victory.

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Christine Mawson got off to a good start, picking up 5 shots on the first three ends and although the deficit was reduced to just 1 shot at the sixth, Maggie’s team took the next three ends to lead by 6 shots, 10-4 at the half way stage. Despite a fightback by a determined opposition, who managed to get to within 2 shots, 12-10 at the fourteenth end, Maggie and her team put the outcome beyond doubt by picking up a 4, immediately followed by a fantastic 7 shots on the sixteenth to secure a hard fought and thoroughly deserved 9 shot, 23-14 victory.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Clive Langan & Jinty Chamberlain “came out of the traps flying” to build a commanding 13 shot, 14-1 lead by the seventh end, in a first half they totally dominated, leading 16-4 at the ninth. In an equally impressive second half performance, which included a couple of superb 5’s, Jeff and his team dominated the game, eventually running out very worthy winners by 21 shots, with the final score 31-10.

In a superb home performance that was much more like ourselves this week, BBC won on all five rinks, with an overall positive shot difference of 75 (127 - 52), for a 12-0 victory. If we can show the same desire and belief in our penultimate away fixture of the season next week, at bottom club La Siesta, then we might just build the right foundation for a great end to our League campaign and finish once again on a real high; well done everyone.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 15th March 2017

Benitachell v Quesada

This week the Winter League squad made the long journey south to face current League Leaders, Quesada, a side in form having won their last five games, dropping only 4 points during this run. However, our squad were hoping to repeat last season’s success in this fixture and make it four consecutive wins in a row over Quesada. As the sides took to the green, the strong winds were gusting, making for difficult playing conditions for both sides.

On Rink 1, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Christine Mawson fought out a closely contested opening nine ends, finishing the first half of the game strongly to edge ahead for the first time by 1 shot, 6-5. However, the home rink rallied winning five of the next six ends to lead by 7 shots going into the last two ends and despite a late fightback by Harry’s team, they managed to see out the game, with a final score 10-14.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Derek Mawson & Linda Smith took a few ends to find their feet and despite picking up a 3 on the third end, trailed by 5 shots, 3-8 at the fifth. However, in a superb performance, Trevor and his team went on to dominate the rest of the game, winning all but three of the remaining ends, for a thoroughly deserved 8 shot, 20-12 victory.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Gail Chick & Clive Langan fought back well after a costly 5 on the second end and looked to be in control, leading 10-5 at the sixth. However, another 6 shots on the eighth end saw the home side lead by 2 shots, 11-13 at the half way stage. In a solid second half performance Jeff and his team won 6 of the next eight end to, lead by 2 shots, 19-17 going into the last. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be today for Jeff’s team as the home rink managed to pick up a 4, to take the game, with the final score, 19-21.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Jinty Chamberlain started well, taking the first three ends to lead 6-0 and although the home side fought back, a couple of 4’s on the seventh & ninth ends respectively, gave Maggie’s team a commanding 15-6 lead at the half way stage. Maggie’s team increased their advantage to 14 shots by the eleventh end, before the home team fought back to reduce the deficit to just 6 shots, 20-14, at the fifteenth. However, Maggie and her team finished off the game just as they had started it, by taking three ends on the trot for a well-deserved 12 shot, 26-14 victory.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Bert McLean & Linda Richards just simply couldn’t get a foothold in their game and despite picking up a 5 on the seventh end, found themselves trailing 7-24 at the half way stage. Although Dudley and his team, managed to win five of the next six ends, they were unable to significantly reduce the deficit with the home side eventually running out comfortable winners, with the final score 14-32.

On Rink 6, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Richard Chamberlain, Rebecca Langan & Viv Humble got off to a flyer and never looked back against the current League leaders, leading by 9 shots, 14-5 at the half way stage. It was a similar pattern in the second half with Bob and his team well in control and eventually running out comfortable & deserved winners by 7 shots, 21-14.

At the end of the day it was another one of those games where a 4-8 result could so easily have been an 8-4 victory and with just 4 shots (89-93) separating the sides, it could not have been much closer. There were lots of positives to take from today’s performance into our next home game against Finca Guila, where a good win would get us back on track and provide a platform for a strong finish to our season.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 8th March 2017

Benitachell v Vistabella

This week the Winter League squad was at home to ‘high flying’ Vistabella, who arrived at Benitachell full of confidence, having taken 34 out of a possible 36 points in their last three games. This was important game for both sides but particularly for Benitachell, where a win would keep us in contention with the leading group at the top end of the table.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Derek Mawson & Linda Smith started the game strongly, picking up three 3’s and a 2 in the first seven ends to lead by 8 shots, 11 – 3. However, a determined fightback by the visitors saw them square the game within three ends, 11 – 11 at the tenth. The match to’d and fro’d over the next six ends, with the score all square 16 -16 going into the last two ends. A single on the seventeenth gave Trevor and his team a 1 shot advantage and in a tight finish they were holding game shot, until the very last wood of the game from the opposing skip drew shot, resulting in a draw, with the final score 17 -17.

On Rink 3, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Bert McLean & Linda Richards got off to a solid start before picking up a couple of 4’s to lead 10 – 1 at the fifth end. At the half way stage Dudley and his team had increased their advantage to 11 shots, 14 – 3, before a determined fightback by the opposing rink saw the deficit reduced to just 6 shots, 14 – 8 at the twelfth. However, Dudley’s team finished the game strongly, winning five of the remaining six ends, for a comfortable and well deserved 12 shot, 21 – 9 victory.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Bob Bailey & Christine Mawson fought out a closely contested opening five ends with Maggie’s team leading by 1 shot, 4 – 3, before the visitors put together a winning run of seven ends on the trot, to lead by 11 shots, 4 – 15 at the twelfth. Despite falling further behind, Maggie’s team never gave up and fought back to win the last three ends, reducing the deficit to just 7 shots, with a final score of 11 – 18.

On Rink 5, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Iris Gardiner found themselves trailing by 6 shots after three ends, before picking up a 5 and a couple of singles to lead 7- 6 at the sixth end. Just when it looked like Harry’s team might push on from this point, the opposition put together a great winning run, taking seven of the next eight ends to lead by 11 shots, 8 – 19 at the fourteenth, a margin they were able to maintain until the end of the game, final score 10 – 22.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Clive Langan & Jinty Chamberlain fought out a fairly evenly contested game, with Jeff’s team just keeping their noses in front, 7 – 6 at the half way stage. Despite being pulled back by the thirteenth end, Jeff and his team managed to retake the lead at the fifteenth, by 3 shots, 13 – 10. A couple of singles by the visitors saw Jeff’s team’s advantage reduce to just 1 shot going into the last and in the tightest of finishes the opposition secured the 2 shots required to win the game, with a final score of 13 – 14.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Richard Chamberlain, Carol Nicholas & Carol Davies started well leading 5 – 0, at the third end. But in a complete turn round the visitors went on to win all but two of the remaining ends for a convincing 16 shot 12 – 28 victory.

With just one rink winning and a draw on another to show for our efforts, it was a disappointing result for BBC today, our first home defeat for over two years. The 3 – 9 score line could have been very different, going into the last end leading on three rinks and with the possibility of securing the overall shot difference, the score could easily have been 8 – 4 in our favour! However, it wasn’t to be for us this time around! I think we should acknowledge that Vistabella are a good side, playing with confidence and belief, based on a winning momentum and as a result, are genuine title contenders. However, there’s a long way to go and lots of points to play for and with most of the top teams still to play each other anything can happen – we just need to get back to winning ways and to win as many games as possible and then see what happens.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 1st March 2017

BBC v La Marina

This week the Winter League squad were on the road for the second successive week, travelling south to take on La Marina, who would no doubt be in buoyant mood following last week’s excellent 10-2 home victory over San Miguel. With only 2 away points to show for all our efforts last week, it was important to get back to winning ways and to secure as many points as possible, to keep in touch with the current pace setters at the top end of the League table.

On Rink 1, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Bert McLean & Linda Richards got off to a solid start winning three of the first four ends to lead by 6 shots, 7 – 1. The game evened out over the next few ends, with Dudley’s team reaching the half way stage, still leading by 5 shots, 10 – 5. However, a great second half performance by Dudley and his team, saw them win six of the remaining nine ends, including three 3’s, for a superb 14 shot, 23 – 9 victory, securing 2 valuable away points.

On Rink 2, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick found themselves involved in an evenly contested opening few ends, taking a 2-shot lead, 7 – 5, with a super 5 shots on the sixth end and going on to reach the half way stage still leading by 4 shots, 10 – 6. Harry’s team increased their leading margin over the next few ends, leading 15 – 6 at the twelfth, before a determined fightback saw the home rink reduce the deficit to just 4 shots, 15 – 11 going into the last two ends. In a great finish, Harry and his team won both ends, scoring 5 shots in the process for a comfortable and well-deserved 9 shot, 20 – 11, victory, securing another valuable 2 points

On Rink 3, Trevor Neale, Iris Gardiner, Mike Smith & Linda Smith shared the opening four ends with their opponents, the game all square at 3 – 3, before the home side put together a run, winning six ends in a row to leading 3 – 9, at the half way stage. The deficit remained until a superb 5 from Trevor’s team on thirteenth end, squared the game, 11 – 11. Despite this set-back, the home team managed to get their noses in front and going into the last, led by 3 shots, 12 – 15. However, in a dramatic finish, Trevor and his team scored an unbelievable 6 shots, to win the game by 3 shots, 18 – 15, adding another valuable 2 away points to BBC’s tally.

On Rink 4, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Clive Langan & Jinty Chamberlain got off to a great start, winning the first four ends to lead 8 – 0. However, a determined fightback saw the home rink take the next five ends to reach the half way stage all square, 8 – 8. A costly 6 on the eleventh end, saw the home side lead by 5 shots, 9 – 14, adding a further three singles by the fifteenth end to lead by 7 shots, 10 -17. Despite a determined fightback by Jeff and his team, which reduced the deficit to 3 shots going into the last end, the home team managed to see out the game, final score 14 – 19.

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson had a solid start to their game but despite winning five of the first seven ends, the match was all square at 5 – 5. A costly 6 on the eighth end helped the home side to reach the half way stage leading by 3 shots, 8 – 11. In an evenly contested second half, the home rink managed to maintain their 3-shot advantage until the fifteenth end before adding a couple of singles, reaching the last end with a 5 shot cushion. Despite a great finish from Maggie & her team, picking up a 3, it wasn’t to be today, eventually being squeezed out by just a couple of shots, with the final score 16 - 18

On Rink 6, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Derek Mawson, Bob Bailey & Carol Davies played really well, leading for most of the game and looked to be on course to secure a win, when a costly 4 on the very last end, saw them being squeezed out by the narrowest of margins, 16 – 17.

At the end of the day it was a hard fought and much needed away victory by the squad, winning on three rinks and taking the overall shot difference by +19 (91 – 72) for a great 8 points to 4 win.

This result was exactly what was required and we can now look forward with confidence to next week’s home game against fellow challengers Vistabella, where a home win will keep us right in contention. We can still do this BBC….

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 22nd February 2017

BBC v San Luis

This week the Winter League squad were on the road again, travelling south to take on reigning champions San Luis, on their own green. Having collected no more than 3 points on each of our last three visits to San Luis, the squad were hoping to break this hoodoo and close the small points gap on their opponents, at the top end of the table.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Bert McLean & Linda Richards fought out an evenly balanced opening to their game, trailing by just 3 shots, 5 – 8, at the half way stage. However, Jeff’s team were unable to sustain their challenge, picking up just a couple of 2’s in the remaining nine ends, eventually going down, with a final score of 9 – 26.

On Rink 3, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson took a couple of ends to get going but by the sixth end, had pulled a few shots back, trailing, 3 – 5. However, a very experienced home side managed to pull away again, to lead by 9 shots, 3 – 12 at the ninth. A super 4 shots on the tenth end saw Maggie’s team reduce the deficit to 5 shots, before the home side rallied to lead by 8 shots, 7 – 15 at the twelfth. Once again Maggie and her team battled back taking four of the last six ends, whilst scoring 7 shots in the process, but it wasn’t to be, with the home side managing to hold onto their advantage, with the final score 14 – 19.

On Rink 4, Iris Gardiner, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith made a real game of it against another very experienced San Luis rink and despite falling behind in the early stages, pulled it right back, trailing by just 3 shots, 9 -12, at the half way stage. A solid start to the second half saw Iris and her team reduce the deficit to just 1 shot, 11 – 12, only to see some stubborn resistance by the opposition, who took four singles on the trot to lead 11 – 16 at the fifteenth end. Once again Iris’s team reduced the deficit to just 3 shots, 13 -16, going into the last two ends. However, it wasn’t to be today and they were eventually squeezed out, with the final score 13 – 19.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Carol Davies struggled to get a foothold in the early stages of their game, trailing by 8 shots, 0 – 8, after four ends. A determined fightback by Dudley’s team saw them win seven of the next ten ends to reduce the deficit to just 1 shot,
11 – 12, at the fourteenth. However, the home team held their nerve and managed to recover, scoring a 2 and a couple of singles to squeeze out Dudley’s team by 4 shots, 12 – 16.

On Rink 7, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick took a few ends to get the measure of the green, turning around a 6 shots deficit after three ends, into a 3 shot, 9 - 6 advantage by the sixth end. Some good play by the home team saw then retake the lead at the half way stage
9 – 11. However, in a very strong second half performance, Harry and his team won six of the next seven ends to lead 19 -12 and despite a determined fightback by the home team, Harry’s team held their nerve to take the game by the narrowest of margins, 19 -18, for a hard earned 2 points.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Derek Mawson, Richard Chamberlain & Jinty Chamberlain put in a tremendous performance, winning twelve of the eighteen ends & scoring freely throughout, including a couple of 5’s, for a superb 27 – 9 away victory.

At the end of the day, the record will show a final score of 2 – 10 and an overall shot difference of 31 (67 – 98), in San Luis’s favour. However, despite securing just 2 points for our efforts, the score could have been very different, with four of the five rinks still in the game going into the last couple of ends and three losing out by just a handful of shots.

So, let’s take the 2 hard earned points from this week’s game and add them to the 10 points earned at home against San Luis earlier in the season, making it 12 points apiece and look forward to our next game and to getting back to winning ways at La Marina, next Wednesday.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 15th February 2017

Benitachell v Greenlands

This week the Winter League squad were at home to Greenlands, hoping to make amends for the 8-4 reversal away from home earlier in the season and to keep our long standing unbeaten home record in-tact. A return to winning ways was this week’s objective to keep our League title aspirations alive.

On Rink 2, Harry Chick, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tony Lawley started strongly leading 6 -1 at the third end and by 2 shots, 8 -6, by the time they reached the half way stage. Another good spell saw Harry’s team increase their advantage to 8 shots, 14 – 6 at the twelfth end. Just when it looked like Harry and his team were in control of the game the Greenland’s rink put together a tremendous winning run, taking all of the remaining six ends, to win by 5 shots, 14 – 19.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Bert McLean & Linda Richards got off to a good start, winning four of the first six ends to lead by 5 shots, 7 -2. However, a couple of superb 6’s gave Jeff and his team a commanding 16 shot advantage, 19 – 3 at the half way stage. In an impressive performance Jeff’s team went on to dominate the game, winning five of the last six ends, to take the match by 23 shots, 31 – 8, for a thoroughly deserved victory.

On Rink 4, Iris Gardiner, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith led from start to finish in arguably the best team performance of this season. Limiting the opposition to just three ends and 6 shots, Iris and her team scored freely throughout the game for an emphatic and richly deserved 29 shot, 35 – 6 victory.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Carol Davies struggled to get a foothold in their game, trailing by 9 shots, 2 -11 at the seventh end, before a couple of good ends reduced the deficit to 5 shots, 6 – 11 at the half way stage. Despite falling further behind, 7 -15 at the thirteenth, Dudley’s team fought back again to within 5 shots, 10 – 15 at the fifteenth end. However, it wasn’t to be today for Dudley’s team, who were eventually squeezed out by a further three singles, 10 – 18.

On Rink 6, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson got off to a great start, leading 7 – 0 at the third and despite the deficit being reduced to just 3 shots a few ends later, Maggie’s team took the next three ends on the trot to lead by 6 shots, 11 – 5 at the half way stage. Just when it looked like the opposing rink might be clawing their way back into the game, Maggie’s team put together a great run, winning five of the remaining seven ends for a well-deserved 9 shot, 18 – 9 victory.

At the end of the day, it was another very good performance by the squad, winning on three rinks and taking the overall shot difference by an impressive 48 shots (108 – 60), collecting 8 valuable points in the process. This keeps our fantastic unbeaten home record going, so well done everyone. With just 4 points now separating the top five sides, it could not be closer and our challenge for League honours is still very much on track. A similar result next week, away to title hopefuls San Luis, would see us leapfrog them in the title race, so it’s still everything to play for – we can do this BBC.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 8th February 2017

Benitachell v San Miguel

This week the Winter League squad travelled south to take on San Miguel in a fixture where there is normally very little between the two sides. As the teams took to the green, it was ‘blowing a hoolie’ , which was obviously going to present a significant challenge for both sides. With valuable League points at stake, it promised to be an interesting encounter.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean started well and had the better of the first nine ends, leading by 3 shots, 8 – 5 at the half way stage. Had it not been for some excellent saving shots by the opposing Skip, Jeff’s team would have been out of sight by this stage. Ironically, a dropped 6 on the twelfth end was to prove costly for Jeff’s team, who despite fighting back, were unable to get back on level terms, eventually going down by 5 shots, 13 – 18.

On Rink 3, Harry Chick, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tony Lawley looked to have their work cut out against a very strong and experienced home rink. However, a 3 on the first end, provided the platform for Harry’s team to go on and edge the first nine ends, leading by a single shot, 9 – 8, at the half way stage. In a closely matched second half there was nothing between the two teams, who were all square, 15 -15 going into the last, with Harry and his team taking a single for a hard earned and much deserved 16 – 15 victory and 2 valuable away points.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson found themselves having to mount a fightback after dropping a costly 5 on the third end, managing to reduce the deficit at the start of the second half to just 3 shots, 7 – 10. However, it wasn’t to be for Maggie and her team this week, as an in-form home rink went on to take the match with a final score of 8 – 27.

On Rink 5, Iris Gardiner, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith edged the opening nine ends of a closely contested first half, leading by 1 shot, 9- 8 at the ninth. However, in a superb second half performance, Iris and her team went on to dominate the game, winning all but one of the remaining nine ends for a resounding and thoroughly deserved 11 shot, 21 – 10 victory and another 2 great away points.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Clive Langan & Carol Davies started strongly, winning five of the first seven ends and looked to be in control, leading by 5 shots, 7 – 2. However, a costly five on the eighth end enabled the home team to get a foothold in the game, squaring the match, 7 - 7. In an evenly contested second half with no more than a single shot separating the two teams throughout, Dudley and his team took a single on the last end to square the match 14 -14, for a hard fought and well-deserved point.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Derek Mawson, Richard Chamberlain, Richard Gardiner & Jinty Chamberlain looked to be in control until a costly 6 on the ninth end provided the home side with a way back into the game, squaring the match 12 – 12, at the half way stage. Despite falling behind early in the second half of the game, Derek and his team never gave up but just couldn’t get back on level terms eventually going down by 5 shots, 16 – 21.

At the end of the day, both sides won on two rinks and drew the other, but with the shot difference of +12 going to the home side (72 – 84), the final score was 5 – 7 in San Miguel’s favour. Overall it was a good performance and a decent return for our endeavours in difficult conditions and who knows how valuable those hard earned 5 points might be, come the end of the season! With only 2 points now separating the top four sides, it’s still everything to play for and with a home game next week against Greenlands, we have a great opportunity to get back to winning ways and to keep ourselves right in the mix at the top of the League.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 1st February 2017

Benitachell v Bonalba

Today’s fixture was the Winter League squad’s second game within 24 hours, following ‘hot on the heels’ of yesterday’s excellent 10 points to 2 away win at El Cid. It was a great opportunity for the Winter League team to make it three straight wins in a row and to preserve our long standing undefeated home record. With only a handful of points separating the top two or three teams, a good home win would keep us right in the mix at the top of the table.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith picked up 4 shots on three occasions, during the first nine ends, to lead by 2 shots, 12 – 10 at the half way stage. However, a determined fight back by the opposing rink saw them take the next five ends to lead by 8 shots, 12 – 20 at the fourteenth. In a strong finish, Trevor and his team closed the deficit to just 2 shots going into the last end and were holding the three shots required to win, when the opposition Skip drew shot with the last bowl of the game, for a final score of 18 - 21

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean picked up a 4 on the first end, only to drop a 6 on the second, to trail by 2 shots going into the third. However, some good bowling saw Jeff and his team dominate the majority of the game, winning eleven of the next twelve ends, to lead 21 – 9 at the fourteenth. Despite a spirited fightback by their opponents, Jeff’s team saw out the game with a comfortable 5 shot, 21 – 16 victory.

On Rink 4, Harry Chick, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tony Lawley started strongly and never looked back, scoring freely throughout the first ten ends of their game, whilst restricting their opponents to a single shot, to lead by 19 shots, 21 – 1, at the start of the second half. Despite a determined fightback by Bonalba, Harry’s team picked up another couple of fours, including one on the last end to finish the game in style, with a convincing and thoroughly deserved 17 shot, 28 – 11 victory.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Clive Langan & Carol Davies shared the opening ends of their game until a superb 7 on the sixth, saw them take a 7 shot, 12 – 5 lead. However, Bonalba fought back well to square the game 13 – 13, at the start of the second half. With the game finely balanced 15 – 14, at the twelfth end, Dudley’s team picked up another superb 7 shots, which was the catalyst for a great winning run of six ends on the trot, including a 6 on the sixteenth. In the end, it was a very convincing and thoroughly deserved 23 shot, 37 – 14 victory, for Dudley and his team.

On Rink 6, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson got off to a great start, winning four of the first five ends of their game to lead 8 – 2, at the fifth and by 6 shots, 10 – 4 at the half way stage. Maggie and her team continued to control the game, extending their advantage to 14 shots, 18 – 4 by the fourteenth end and then going on to see out the game, for a comfortable and well deserved 19 – 9 victory.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Iris Gardiner, Derek Mawson, Rebecca Langan & Richard Gardiner looked to have their work cut out, trailing 0 – 7, at the fourth end. Just when it looked like they might get back on level terms, trailing by 3 shots, 5 – 8, at the ninth, Bonalba pulled away again to lead by 8 shots, 5 – 13 at the eleventh. This pattern of scoring continued until the fifteenth end, with the score 9 – 16. However, in a tremendous finish, Iris and her team won the last three ends, including a fantastic 5 shots on the last end, to square the match 16 – 16, for a hard-fought draw and a share of the points.

At the end of the day, it was another very impressive home performance by the Winter League squad, winning on four rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 52 shots (123 - 71), for an excellent 10 – 2 victory. This was our third consecutive 10 – 2 win, making it 30 points collected out of a possible 36, in our last three outings. These excellent results were enough to move us back to the top spot in the League table, 4 points clear. Today’s hard fought draw in the Berleen, was enough to move us up into second position and keep our title hopes in this League very much alive. So well done everyone, I couldn’t have asked for more. Let’s use our winning momentum and current good form to secure another positive result, away from home, next week at San Miguel – bring it on!

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Tuesday 31st January 2017

Benitachell v El Cid

Conditions were near perfect as the teams took to the green for this rearranged Winter League fixture at El Cid, the first of two, back to back, League games for the squad this week. A good win would enable us to overtake the two teams immediately above us in the table and put pressure on the current League Leaders.

On Rink 2, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson found the going tough in the opening few ends but a good 4 on the fourth end reduced the deficit to just 1 shot, 4 – 5. The home team continued to have the upper hand at this stage of the game, reaching the half way stage leading by 7 shots, 6 – 13. Despite fighting back and reducing the deficit to just 2 shots, 11 – 13 at the eleventh, Maggie’s team found themselves 6 shots adrift, 11 – 17, with five ends to play. However, in a tremendous finish to the game, Maggie and her team won four of the five remaining ends, scoring 10 shots in the process, for a hard fought 3 shot, 21 – 18 victory.

On Rink 3, Harry Chick, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tony Lawley took a few ends to get into the game and although trailing 2 – 7 at the sixth end, they fought back well to reach the half way stage just 1 shot down, 6 – 7. The game remained finely balanced with the score all square 11- 11 with three ends to play. However, in a strong finish to the game, Harry and his team scored 3 singles, for another hard fought, 3 shot, 14 – 11 victory.

On Rink 4, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith found themselves 6 shots down after two ends, before fighting back to lead 12 – 6 at the sixth end. However, a determined fight back by the experienced opposition rink, saw this advantage reduced to just 2 shots, 13 – 11, at the half way stage. A winning run of three ends on the trot, saw Trevor and his team pull 6 shots ahead, 17 – 11, at the eleventh and although the home team fought hard to get back into the game, Trevor’s team saw the game out for a well-deserved 3 shot, 22 – 19 victory.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean fought an evenly matched encounter, but despite sharing the first six ends, Jeff’s team trailed by 3 shots, 3 – 6, at this stage. However, a great run of four winning ends on the trot, saw Jeff and his team take an 8-shot lead,
14 – 6 at the tenth. A determined fightback by the home rink saw the deficit reduced to just 1 shot,
18 -17 going into the last two ends. In a tense finish to the game, Jeff’s team held their nerve, winning both ends to close out the match for a well-deserved 4 shot, 21 – 17 victory.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Clive Langan & Carol Davies fought out a closely contest opening 9 ends, with nothing much between the two rinks; the home rink leading by 2 shots, 5 – 7, at the half way stage. Although Dudley and his team were still very much in the game, a costly 6 on the fifteenth end, effectively put the game out of reach and despite picking up a 4 on the sixteenth, it wasn’t to be today, with the home team seeing out the match, with a final score of 14 – 23.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Iris Gardiner, Derek Mawson, Carole Nicholas & Richard Gardiner, recorded a superb 14 shot, 27 – 13 victory. In a fairly one sided game, Iris and her team lost just 5 ends, whilst scoring freely throughout a game they dominated from start to finish. It was a super performance and a much-deserved victory, which keeps our Berleen title hopes very much alive.

Overall, it was a very impressive away performance by the Winter League squad, winning on four rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 4 shots (92 - 88), for an excellent 10 – 2 victory. This was our third and biggest away win of the season to-date, a result which closes the gap on the current Leaders to just 2 points. We can now look forward to tomorrow’s home game against Bonalba and to keeping our current winning run going - well done everyone.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 25th January 2017

Benitachell v Monte Mar

With last week’s storms already starting to fade from memory, we had beautiful clear blue skies and rising temperatures to greet this week’s visitors from Monte Mar. Following our enforced lay off, the Winter League Squad were keen to get back to winning ways and to hopefully keep our great unbeaten home record intact by doing the double over our opponents.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean took a couple of ends to get into their stride before putting together an impressive run, winning five of the next six ends, whilst scoring 14 shots in the process to lead 14 – 5, at the half way stage. However, a determined fightback from their experienced opponents saw the deficit reduced to just 1 shot, 15 -14, going into the last two ends. A single on the seventeenth gave Jeff’s team a 2-shot cushion going into the last end, where Jeff had to burn the end with his last bowl, with Monte Mar lying 3 shots and game. The replayed end was a nervy affair with Jeff’s team taking the end by 2 shots for a hard fought 18 – 14 victory.

On Rink 3, Harry Chick, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tony Lawley got off to a flyer and never looked back, scoring freely throughout the first half of their game, leading by 16 shots, 18 – 2 at the ninth. In an equally impressive second half performance, which Harry and his team dominated, the pattern of scoring also continued. It was a truly outstanding performance by Harry’s team, who ran out worthy winners by a margin of 32 shots, for a season best 39 – 7 victory.

On Rink 4, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Carol Davies & Clive Langan fought out a closely contested encounter where there was nothing between the two teams, with the lead changing hand four times in the first half of the game and where Dudley’s team held a 2-shot, 9 - 7 advantage, at the ninth end. Although the opposition managed to get their noses in front on the eleventh end and maintain a small advantage until the sixteenth, Dudley and his team fought back to take a 1 shot lead going into the last. However, an unfortunate ‘rub of the green’ in a tense finish, which went down to the last couple of bowls, saw Monte Mar secure enough shots to take the game, with the final score, 14 – 16.

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson started strongly, winning four of the first five ends, which included a couple of superb 4’s, to lead 10 – 1 at the fifth. A determined fight back by their opponents saw the deficit reduced to just 4 shots, 12 – 8, at the tenth end. However, a solid second half performance by Maggie and her team saw them take singles on five of the next six ends, to lead 17 – 9 going into the last couple of ends and despite a final push by their opponents, Maggie’s team ran out worthy winners, with the final score of 17 – 14.

On Rink 6, Trevor Neale, Mike Smith, Bob Bailey & Linda Smith found themselves involved in a closely contested game, where the lead changed hand on four occasions, during the first nine ends, with Trevor’s team trailing by just 1 shot, 8 – 9, at the half way stage. Despite getting their noses in front on the tenth end, the opposition once again fought back, to lead by 4 shots, 10 – 14 at the twelfth. However, Trevor and his team were not to be denied and in a superb finish to the game, they went on to take all, of the remaining six ends, scoring 10 shots in the process, for a thoroughly deserved 6 shot, 20 – 14 victory.

Unfortunately, Monte Mar was unable to field a Berleen team for this week fixture and therefore there was no game, with BBC being awarded the 2 points and 10 shots, in the Berleen League table.

All things considered, it was another very impressive performance by the Winter League squad, winning on four rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 43 shots (108 - 65), for an excellent
10 – 2 victory. This result keep our season bang on track and with two games to play next week (El Cid away Tuesday & Bonanlba at home the following day) we have a great opportunity to get ourselves right back in contention at the top of the table – so well done again everyone.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 11th January 2017

Benitachell v Emerald Isle

This week the Winter League squad was back on the Coach for the long journey south to take on Emerald Isle in our first away League game of 2017. Having just replaced Emerald Isle at the top of the League, with our fine home win against Javea Green, it promised to be a keenly fought contest.

On Rink 1, Harry Chick, John Coates, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick started strongly winning five of the first six ends to lead 9 – 2 at the sixth. However, a determined fight back by the home team saw them take the next four ends, scoring 12 shots in the process, to lead by 5 shots, 9 – 14 at the tenth end. The next four ends were equally shared with the home team managing to maintain their 5-shot advantage, 12 – 17, with four ends remaining. Despite a strong finish and winning all four ends, Harry and his team were just squeezed out, going down by the narrowest of margins, 16 – 17.

On Rink 2, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Carol Davies & Clive Langan found themselves 6 shots adrift after just three ends and trailing 0 – 6, before picking up three singles to reduce the deficit to 3 shots, 3 – 6, at the sixth end. Just when it looked like Dudley’s team were getting back into the game, the home team put together a great run, taking six of the next seven ends, to lead by 12 shots, 4 – 16, at the thirteenth. However, Dudley and his team fought back again and in very strong finish to the game, they won five of the remaining six ends, scoring 11 shots in the process, which on the day just wasn’t quite enough to get back on level terms, with the home side winning by 3 shots, 15 – 18.

On Rink 3, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike Smith & Linda Smith found it tough to get going in the opening half of their game, trailing by 11 shots, 3 – 14, at the ninth. Some determined play in the second half, saw Trevor and his team win the majority of the remaining ends, however, a costly six on the fourteenth end, effectively put the game out of reach, with the home side going on to win, 10 -26.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Christine Mawson fought out a keenly contested game, where they won six of the first nine ends and despite a set-back on the seventh end, where the opposition picked up a 5, Maggie and her team led 11 – 8, at the half way stage. The game to and froed, with the score all square 18 – 18, going into the last two ends. A 3 on the seventeenth looked to have given Maggie and her team a winning edge, but in a tight finish and with the last bowl of the game, the opposition skip managed to get the third shot required, to draw the game, 21 – 21.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean started well and despite dropping a 3 on the first end, Jeff’s team won five of the next six ends, to lead 10 – 5 at the seventh. However, a great run by the home side saw them win eight ends on the trot, to lead by 7 shots, 10 – 17 at the fifteenth end. Despite winning two of the last three ends, it was not to be for Jeff’s team today, with the home side taking the game by 5 shots, 13 – 18.

On Rink 6 our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Derek Mawson, Steve Griffin & Tim Woodcock just couldn’t get a foothold in the opening part of their game, where they trailed by nine shots, 0 – 9 at the fourth end. A couple of singles and a 2 on the next three ends looked to have given Bob and his team a way back into the game. However, a costly couple of ends saw the home side extend their advantage, leading by 15 shots, 4 – 19 at the half way stage. Despite the score, Bob’s team never gave up and fought back strongly, winning six of the remaining nine ends, scoring 13 shots in the process, to reduce the deficit to 7 shots, with the final score 17 – 24.

So, at the end of the day, we managed to return home with just the 1 point to show for all our efforts, which is disappointing. Having said that, there was only a total of 9 shots separating the two sides on four of the five rinks, so overall not that much between us. It was one of those games where on another day the score could quite easily have been 6 – 6. The good news is that we can make amends for this week’s score, later in the season in the return fixture at BBC. It’s not unusual to lose big in at least one game during the season, particularly away from home and to be fair Emerald Isle are a decent side who will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season – so today was a set-back, that’s all and a reminder that we need to be at our best to win away in this League. The important thing here is not the defeat, it’s how we react to this type of set-back and I’m confident we have the experience and character within the squad to get our season back on track in our next game. So, let’s look forward to next week’s challenge which marks just the half way stage in the season, in our game against El Cid – we can do this BBC.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 4th January 2017

Benitachell v Javea Green

This week, it was second place versus third in the League as our Winter League squad got 2017 underway, facing neighbours and local rivals Javea Green, in what promised to be a tough encounter.

On Rink 2, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trevor Evans & Tim Woodcock had the better of the opening exchanges, leading by 2 shots, 5 – 3 at the fifth. However, a determined Javea Green rink fought back to lead by 1 shot, 5 – 6 at the seventh before Maggie’s team battled back to lead by 2 shots, 8 – 6 at the half way stage. Once again the opposition fought back to take a 3-shot lead, 8 – 11 at the eleventh, before Maggie and her team squared the match 11 – 11 on the very next end. However, it wasn’t to be today for Maggie’s team as Javea finished the match strongly, taking five of the remaining six ends, to run out winners with a final score of 12 – 21.

On Rink 3, Dudley Davies, Brian Doggett, Carol Davies & Christine Mawson took just a few ends to get into their stride, trailing 2 – 3 at the third, they put together a tremendous run, winning four consecutive ends, scoring 13 shots in the process, to lead 15 – 3 at the seventh. Although this 12-shot advantage was reduced by a couple of shots at the half way stage (15 -5), Dudley’s team effectively put the game beyond their opponent’s reach, winning another four consecutive ends, to lead by 15 shots, 20 -15, at the thirteenth. Despite a spirited fightback by the experienced Javea rink, Dudley and his team never looked in trouble, running out comfortable winners by 10 shots with a final score, 21 - 11

On Rink 4, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean fought out a very closely contested game, with the lead changing hands four times in the first nine ends and the score all square 7 – 7, at the half way stage. A 4, followed by a single shot, saw Javea take a 4-shot lead, 8 -12, at the twelfth end, before Jeff’s team fought back to lead 14 -13 going into the last two ends. A 2 on the seventeenth saw Javea lead by 1 going into the last. However, Jeff and his team were not to be denied today, scoring the couple of shots required to win the game by the narrowest of margins 16 -15.

On Rink 5, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike Smith & Linda Smith shared the opening four ends with their opponents, with the score all square, 3 – 3. However, a great run of four ends on the trot gave Trevor and his team a commanding 12 – 3 lead, at the seventh. A determined fight back by Javea saw the deficit reduced to just 2 shots, 12 – 10 at the tenth end. However, in an impressive second half performance, Trevor and his team went on to dominate the game, winning six of the remaining eight ends, scoring 18 shots in the process for a tremendous and thoroughly deserved 14 shot, 30 – 16 victory.

On Rink 6, Harry Chick, John Coates, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick started well and despite dropping 3 shots on the first end, went on to win five ends on the trot to lead by 4 shots, 7 – 3, at the sixth. A determined fight back by an experienced Javea rink saw the deficit reduced to just 1 shot, 7 – 6 at the half way stage. A 3 on the tenth followed by a single on the eleventh saw Harry’s team take a five-shot lead, 11 – 6, but once again this lead was reduced to just 2 shots 11 – 9, at the thirteenth. However, in a strong finish to the game, Harry and his team picked up another 7 shots, to take the game by 7 shots, for a well-deserved 18 – 11 victory.

On Rink 8 our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Derek Mawson, Jim Dobbins & Steve Griffin started well picking up a couple of 3’s in the opening three ends, before a superb 7 on the seventh end gave them a 6 shot, 13 – 7 lead. Another 3 shots on the ninth end provided Bob’s team with an 8 shot, 16 – 8 advantage. However, a determined fight back by Javea reduced the deficit to just 1 shot, 17 -16 at the thirteenth. In a close and tight finish to the game, Bob and his team held their nerve for a hard earned 21 – 19 victory.

Overall, it was a very impressive performance by the Winter League squad, winning on four rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 23 shots (97 - 74), for a 10 – 2 victory. This result moves us into top position in the Winter League table for the first time this season. The Berleen team’s result also keeps our Berleen title hopes alive, sitting in fourth spot, just 4 points behind the current leaders. So, it’s all to play for and we can now look forward with confidence to next week’s away fixture at Emerald Isle. We have worked hard to get ourselves into this position, so well done everyone, let’s keep it going.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 14th December 2016

Benitachell v La Siesta

Following yesterday afternoon’s excellent performance and home win over Quesada, it was our turn to host La Siesta, in the last game before the festive holiday period. It was a great opportunity to finish the year on a real high and to get ourselves right back into the mix at the top end of the League table.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike Smith & Linda Smith started the game well and dominated the first nine ends, dropping just one end, to take a comfortable 10 shot, 13 – 3 lead at the half way stage. Despite the oppositions best efforts to fight their way back into the game, Trevor and his team looked well in control and went on to run out worthy 12 shot winners, with a final score of 23 - 11

On Rink 3, John Coates, Bob Cockell, Gail Chick & Bob Bailey just couldn’t get a foothold in the early stages of their game and looked to be in trouble, trailing by 11 shots, 0 -11 at the sixth end. However, a great fightback saw John and his team square the match 11 – 11, at the tenth, before La Siesta once again took the initiative to lead by 6 shots, 11 – 17 at the thirteenth. Once more John’s team showed great character by digging in and starting to chip away at the deficit, picking up three singles on the trot, before a magnificent ‘hot-shot’ on the seventeenth end, gave them the lead for the first time in the game. Going into the last 5 shots ahead, a superb 4, rounded off a remarkable comeback & performance by John’s team, taking the game by 9 shots, with the final score of 26 -17.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Malcolm Sprawson & Annie Jones took just a couple of ends to get into their stride before going on to dominate proceedings, scoring freely throughout the first half of their game, where they led by 18 shots, 21 – 3, at the ninth end. Despite some resistance at the start of the second half, Maggie and her team continued to dominate the game and finished strongly for a thoroughly well-deserved 22 shot, 34 -12 victory.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean put together a superb performance, starting strongly and going on to dominate a game where they scored feely throughout, dropping just four ends in the entire game, for an impressive and well deserved 30 shot, 38 -8 victory.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Brian Doggett & Carol Davies fought out a close and keenly contested game with little separating the teams until a 4 on the ninth gave Dudley’s team a 9 -5 lead at the half way stage. The game was still ‘nip and tuck’ with La Siesta leading by 1 shot at the fifteenth, until another 4 by Dudley’s team gave then a 3 shot, 16-13 advantage going into the last two ends. In an extremely tight finish, Dudley and his team held their nerve to close out the game, winning by the narrowest of margins, for a hard earned 16 -15 victory.

At the end of the day, it was another very impressive performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on all five rinks and taking the overall shot difference by a massive 74 shots (137 - 63), for our first 12-0 victory of the season. This result moves us up into second position in the League table, just 3 points behind the current leaders. There’s a long way to go and many challenges ahead. However, we have given ourselves a great platform from which to build future success and I couldn’t have asked for more from the squad.

I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank those individuals that joined the squad, as much needed replacements, in the past couple of games and performed so well for the Club, enabling us to keep our League aspirations very much alive.

We can all now look forward to a well-earned festive break – well done everyone!

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Tuesday 13th December 2016

Benitachell v Quesada

Following last week’s good away win at Finca Guila, the squad faced a tricky “double header” at home this week, first taking on Quesada in the rearranged “rained off” fixture on Tuesday, followed less than 24 hours later, by the visit of La Siesta. Quesada arrived in ‘good form’ and 5 points above BBC in the League table. However, it was a good opportunity for BBC to close the gap on Quesada and start to reduce the points deficit on the current pace-setters in the League. With six additional members of the squad unavailable for this game, it was necessary to bring players into the squad in order to field a side.

On Rink 2, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Brian Doggett & Carol Davies fought out a fairly evenly balanced game, where a 4 on the first end gave the visitors an advantage, which they just about manged to maintain throughout the match. Although Dudley and his team managed to reduce the deficit to just 1 shot, 5 – 6 at the sixth end, it took until the seventeenth end to get back to just a 1 shot deficit, 16 – 17, going into the last. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be today, with Dudley’s team eventually being squeezed out by 3 shots, 16 – 19.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean found the going tough in the early stages of their game against a very strong & experienced Quesada rink, trailing 1 – 5 at the fifth end. However, a superb 5 on the sixth, was the foundation of a great performance by Jeff’s team, who went on to win nine ends on the trot, scoring 24 shots in the process to take a commanding and unassailable 25 – 5 lead at the fourteenth end. Despite the expected fightback by Quesada, Jeff and his team went on to take the match by 15 shots, for an impressive 28 – 13 victory.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Malcolm Sprawson & Annie Jones started well, in a keenly contested opening period, and by the half way stage held a 3 shot, 9 – 6 lead. Some good play saw Maggie and her team increase their lead by the twelfth end, with a 9 shot, 15 – 6 advantage. Despite some strong opposition play, Maggie and her team looked comfortable and in control throughout the rest of the game, running out very worthy winners, with a final score of 18 – 10.

On Rink 5, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike Smith & Linda Smith fought out a keenly contested opening to their game, where they were all square, 3 – 3 at the fourth end. However, Trevor and his team started to assert themselves and by the half way stage, led by 5 shots, 11 – 6. A superb 5 on the twelfth end, increased Trevor’s teams advantage to 9 shots and despite some determined play by the opposition, Trevor and his team never looked in trouble, running out worthy winners, with a well- deserved 21 – 14 victory.

On Rink 6, John Coates, Bob Cockell, Gail Chick & Peter Collins picked up a 3 on the first end but had to wait until the seventh end before adding another couple of shots, in a first half which saw some solid play by the opposition, with Quesada leading by 6 shots, 5 – 11 at the half way stage. Some good play by John and his team saw them close the deficit to just 1 shot, 13 – 14 at the fourteenth. However, it wasn’t to be today, with the opposition finishing the game strongly for a final score of 14 – 20.

In a quite remarkable, high scoring game on Rink 8, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Jim Dobbins, Rebecca Langan & Margaret Bailey found themselves trailing 0 – 16, at the fifth end. However, a great run of five winning ends on the trot, saw Bob’s team reduce the deficit to just 3 shots, 13 – 16, at the tenth. In a real ‘ding-dong’ of a game Bob’s team got to within 2 shots of Quesada, trailing 21 – 23 at the sixteenth, and despite fighting all the way, were finally squeezed out by 3 shots, 22 – 25.

Overall, it was another impressive performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on three rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 21 shots (97 - 76), for a final score of 8 points to 4, in BBC’s favour. This result closes the gap on Quesada to just 1 point, moves us up three places to fourth spot in the League table and keeps us in touch with the current pace-setters in the title race, where only 4 points separate the top five teams. With La Siesta at home tomorrow, we have an opportunity to finish the year on a real high and maintain our 100% home record – well done everyone.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 7th December 2016

BBC v Finca Guila

Following last week’s postponed home fixture, our Winter League squad was once again on the road, making the short journey down the coast to face Finca Guila. Nothing short of a good win was required to keep pace with the current pace setters in the League, who all played and picked up points last week.

On Rink 2, Harry Chick, John Coates, Bob Cockell & Gail Chick got off to a great start winning the first three ends and picking up 7 shots in the process to lead 7 – 0, at the third. Despite the opposition fighting back to reduce the deficit to just 1 shot, 10 – 9, at the start of the second half, Harry’s team got back on track with a 3 at the eleventh, followed by a 4 on the twelfth, to take an 8 shot, 17 – 9 lead an advantage they maintained, running out comfortable winners with a final score of 22 – 13.

On Rink 3, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike Smith & Linda Smith led from the start and rarely looked in trouble in a game where they were comfortable throughout. A couple of 3’s and a 4, helped give Trevor’s team a 10 shot, 14 – 4 lead at the half way stage. Although the opposition fought hard to get back into the game, Trevor’s team kept them at bay and finished in style, picking up a further 9 shots in the last three ends, for an emphatic 16 shot, 27 – 11 victory.

On Rink 4, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Brian Doggett & Carol Davies found the going tough in the early stages of their game, winning only one of the first seven ends, trailing by 6 shots, 3 – 9. However, a winning run of four ends, saw Dudley’s team close the deficit to just 1 shot, 8 – 9 at the eleventh. Despite trailing by 3 shots, 9 – 12 at the fourteenth end, Dudley and his team put together a superb finish to their game, winning the last four ends on the trot, scoring 9 shots in the process, for a hard earned 6 shot, 18 -12 victory.

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Tim Woodcock took an early lead and looked to be in control of their game, particularly during the opening nine ends, reaching the half-way stage 5 shots up, 10 – 5. Maggie and her team maintained this 5 - shot advantage until the thirteenth end, before a determined fightback saw the opposition take the next five ends, to lead by 2 shots, 12 – 14 going into the last. In a tense finish Maggie’s team scored 2 shots to square the game, for a deserved share of the points.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Bob Bailey, Linda Richards & Bert McLean got off to a good start in a closely contested game, leading by 4 shots, 6 – 2 at the fourth end, an advantage they maintained until the half way stage, where they led 10 -6. However, a determined fightback saw their opponents lead by 1 shot, 11 – 12 at the twelfth and by 4 shots, 13 – 17 at the fifteenth, before Jeff’s team squared the match 17 – 17 at the sixteenth. The final bowl of the seventeenth end saw a four shot turn around, which enabled the opposition to take a 3-shot advantage into the last. In another tense finish, a close measure confirmed third wood to the home side, which saw Jeff’s team squeezed out by the smallest of margins, 19 – 20.

Overall, it was an impressive away performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on three rinks and drawing on one, whilst taking the overall shot difference by 30 shots (100 - 70), for a final score of 9 points to 3, in BBC’s favour. This week’s result keeps us in touch with the current pace-setters in the title race and with two consecutive home games arranged for next week, we have a great opportunity to finish 2016 on a real high, so well done everyone, let’s keep it going!

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 23rd November 2016

Benitachell v Vistabella

This week our Winter League squad boarded the Coach for the long journey south on a dull and overcast match day morning. The weather report from Vistabella confirmed similar conditions there, although the possibility of clearing skies by around 1100 hours. The teams took to the green with light rain still falling and a very soggy carpet underfoot. The trial ends confirmed that the green was playable. However, with so much water having been absorbed overnight by the carpet, most players were finding it difficult to master the tricky conditions, particularly during the early stages of the game.

On Rink 1, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Mike Smith & Carol Davies started well and were leading by 4 shots, 6 – 2, at the sixth. However, by the time they reached the half way stage, the home team had fought their way back into the game, to lead by 3 shots, 6 – 9. Dudley and his team started the second half in much the same way as they started the game, only this time Dudley’s team maintained their great winning run and shots advantage, dropping only one end out of nine and scoring 15 shots in the process for a convincing and well deserved 10 shot, 21 – 11, victory & securing 2 valuable away points.

On Rink 2, John Coates, Bob Cockell, Richard Chamberlain & Jinty Chamberlain just couldn’t get going in their game and found themselves struggling to get on the scoreboard during the first nine ends, trailing 0 – 22 at the ninth end. However, in a gutsy second half performance John and his team battled hard to reduce the deficit, winning six of the remaining ends, with a final score of 13 – 26.

On Rink 3, Trevor Neale, Harry Chick, Gail Chick & Linda Smith fought out a real ding-dong of a game, with the lead changing hand four times in the opening nine ends, with Trevor and his team just edging it, 9 – 8, at the half way stage. A similar pattern ensued until the fifteenth end where, with the scores tied at 12 – 12, Trevor’s team picked up a fabulous 6, to give themselves some breathing space, leading 18 – 12. Although the opposition tried extremely hard to mount a fight-back, Trevor and his team kept the game tight, eventually squeezing the opposition out for a hard earned 2 shot, 18 - 16 victory & 2 valuable away points

On Rink 4, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean fought out another extremely tight affair, with a very strong and experienced home rink, where the lead changed hands on four occasions during the first nine ends, with Jeff’s team leading 10 – 6, at the half way stage. There was nothing between the two teams until a costly 5 at the thirteenth gave the home team a 5, shot advantage, 11 – 16. However, Jeff and his team battled back going into the last end, trailing by just 2 shots, 15 -17. In a very tight finish, Jeff’s last bowl came in for second with BBC now lying 2, to square the game. However, with the very last bowl of the end, the opposition’s skip manged to squeeze his bowl between the two BBC bowls for shot and the game, with the final score 15 – 18.

On Rink 5, Brian Doggett, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Tim Woodcock struggled to get into their stride in the early stages but did manage to stay in touch with the home side, who led by 6 shots, 5 – 11 at the half way stage. However, just when it looked like Brian’s team had the measure of the opposition, trailing by just 1 shot, 11 – 12, at the fourteenth, a costly 7, left them 8 shots adrift, 11 – 19. Despite an impressive finish, winning the last four ends, Brian and his team just couldn’t get back on level terms and were eventually squeezed out by just 3 shots, 16 – 19.

On Rink 6, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Steve Griffin, Carole Nicholas & Sheila Lucas took a few ends to get the measure of the rink and the opposition, trailing 0 – 3 at the third end. However, in a superb performance Bob and his team went on to win all but three of the remaining ends, scoring freely throughout for an emphatic and thoroughly deserved 14 shot, 24 – 10 victory, securing 2 valuable away League points, to keep the Berleen League title challenge very much on target.

Unfortunately, it was a day where difficult playing conditions didn’t help either side and with just a few shots separating the teams on three of the five rinks, it was a day when the result could have gone either way. At the end of the day BBC won on two rinks but were unable to secure the overall shot difference, losing out by just 7 shots, 83 – 90. However, we’ll take the 4 points, which is 2 more points than we secured at this difficult venue last year and look forward to getting back on track in our next home game, next Wednesday, against Quesada. It promises to be a cracker!

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 16th November 2016

Benitachell v La Marina

This week our Winter League squad was at home for the second consecutive week, this time entertaining La Marina. It was an opportunity for the squad to build on last week’s excellent home win and to put pressure on the early pace setters, by further reducing the small points deficit at the top of the League table.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean found themselves 4 shots adrift after just three ends, before battling back to within 2 shots, 6 -8, at the half way stage. Just when it looked like the opposition was gaining the upper hand, leading by 5 shots, 6 -11 at the eleventh, Jeff’s team mounted a great fight back, taking the next six ends, scoring 9 shots in the process, for a well- deserved 15 -13 victory.

On Rink 3, John Coates, Bob Cockell, Richard Chamberlain & Christine Mawson found themselves chasing the game in the early stages, trailing by 4 shots, 2 – 6 at the fifth end. However, a superb 6 on the next end, saw John’s team take the lead for the first time in the game and provided the impetus for them to take four of the next five ends, to lead by 7 shots, 14 – 7 at the eleventh. A determined opposition started to chip away at this lead by taking the next four ends with single shots to close the gap to just 3 shots, 14 – 11 at the fifteenth. However, John’s team were not to be denied and finished the game strongly, winning the remaining three ends for a great 9 shot, 20 -11 victory.

On Rink 4, Brian Doggett, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Tim Woodcock took a couple of ends to get into their stride, picking up a 5 on the third end to get their noses in front, 5 -3. A run of four consecutive winning ends saw Brian’s team reach the half way stage with a 6 shot, 14 – 8 advantage. Despite some tough resistance from an experienced La Marina rink, Brian and his team went on to dominate much of the second half of the game, winning six of the remaining ends, finishing with three, 3’s, for an emphatic and thoroughly deserved 15 shot, 28 -13 victory.

On Rink 5, Mike Smith, Trevor Neale, Steve Griffin & Linda Smith struggled to get a foothold in the game and found themselves trailing by 9 shots, 0 – 9 at the sixth end, reaching the half way stage 8 shots adrift, with the score, 2 – 10. However, Mike and his team mounted a tremendous second half fight back, winning six of the remaining ends, including the last four to reduce the deficit to just 3 shots, eventually going down with a final score of 13 -16.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Jinty Chamberlain picked up a 3 on the second end to take the lead and never looked back in a game, which they controlled from the second end onwards. Restricting the opposition to mainly singles, Dudley’s team reached the half way stage leading by 3 shots, 8 – 5. A strong start to the second part of the game saw Dudley and his team win four of the first five ends to lead by 10 shots, 16 – 6. Despite a late rally by the opposition, Dudley’s team always looked to be in control and ran out worthy winners, with a final score of 16 – 12.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Harry Chick, Bob Bailey, Sheila Lucas & Carol Davies took a few ends to find their feet, with a 4 on the fourth end settling the nerves and reducing the deficit to just 1 shot, 4 -5. In a fairly evenly balanced game Harry’s team reached the half way stage still just 1 shot adrift, 7 – 8. The turning point in the game arrived on the thirteenth end, when Harry’s team picked up another 4, to take the lead for the first time in the game, 12 -10. In a finely balanced end to the game Harry and his team maintained their advantage, running out worthy winners by 3 shots, 16 – 13.

Overall, it was another impressive home performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on four of the five rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 27 shots (92 - 65), for a final score of 10 -2 (our third consecutive 10 - 2 home win of the season). This week’s result sees BBC maintain its unbeaten home record and move up one place, to third in the League table, only 4 points off top spot. Our Berleen team’s win this week, also sees them move up the League table into second top spot. All things considered, it was a “good day at the office”, well done everyone. Let’s enjoy these results and take confidence from them into next week’s games.

Robert McLean - Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 9th November 2016

Benitachell v San Luis

This week our Winter League squad was at home for only the second time this season, entertaining the current reigning League Champions San Luis, in a fixture where there is normally very little between the two sides. Fresh from last week’s 12-0 home victory over Monte Mar, San Luis arrived in good form and confident mood. However, the BBC squad was determined to keep our long standing unbeaten home record intact, knowing that a win would put us right back in the mix at the top end of the table. It promised to a highly competitive encounter.

On Rink 2, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Jinty Chamberlain dominated the first half of their game, dropping just 2 shots on the second end, to take a commanding 13 shot, 15-2 lead at the ninth. A spirited fightback by San Luis saw the deficit reduced to just 7 shots, 15-8, at the thirteenth. However, Dudley and his team were not to be denied today, winning the majority of the remaining ends to run out worthy winners, with a final score of 20-10, securing 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean recovered from an early set back, having dropped 4 shots on the first end to level the game 4-4 at the third. However, some inspired play by a very experienced San Luis rink, Skipped by Russell Marks, saw them pull away to lead by 4 shots, 7-11 at the half way stage. In a highly competitive and closely contested second half, Jeff and his team managed to win six of the remaining 9 ends, but were unable to get back on level terms eventually being squeezed out by 4 shots, with a final score of 14-18.

On Rink 4, Mike Smith, Trevor Neale, Steve Griffin & Linda Smith got off to a good start taking an early lead, scoring 5 shots without reply, by the second end. However, a fight back by San Luis saw them lead by 3 shots, 6-9 at the seventh, before Mike & his team levelled the game 9-9 at the half way stage. In an impressive second half performance Mike’s team won six of the remaining ends, scoring 16 shots in the process to record an excellent 10 shot, 25-15 victory, securing 2 good points for BBC.

On Rink 5, John Coates, Bob Cockell, Richard Chamberlain & Christine Mawson had the better of the opening exchanges, where a couple of successive 3’s, saw them lead 7-3 at the fifth end. The next four ends were shared, with John’s team leading by 3 shots, 10-7 at the half way stage. San Luis continued to chip away at the deficit to square the match 10-10 at the twelfth end. However, in a strong finish John’s team won five of the last six ends, picking up 8 shots in the process to record a well-deserved 18 -11 victory, adding a further 2 valuable points to BBC’s tally.

On Rink 6, Brian Doggett, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Tim Woodcock got off to a great start and never really looked back against a very experienced San Luis rink. In a dominant first half Brian and his team won six of the ends, whilst scoring freely, to take a commanding 16-4 lead at the ninth. In an equally impressive second half performance, Brian’s team went on to control the game, again winning the majority of ends for an emphatic, thoroughly deserved 16 shot, 26-10 victory & 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Viv Humble, Carole Nicholas & Sheila Lucas trailed in the early stages of their game but fought back well to reduce the deficit to just 3 shots, 9-12 at the twelfth end. However, it wasn’t to be today and San Luis put in strong finish to take the game with a final score of 12-24

Overall, it was a highly impressive home performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on four of the five rinks and taking the overall shot difference by an impressive 39 shots (103 - 64), for a final score of 10 -2. This week’s result sees us leapfrog San Luis and move up two places to 4th in the title race, now only 5 points off top spot. Our season is very much ‘on-track’ and if we can build on this week’s excellent result with a similar performance in next week’s home game against La Marina, then we will have given ourselves an excellent platform for the remainder of our League campaign. With so many enforced changes to the team in the past couple of weeks, it speaks volumes for the strength in depth we now have in our squad and the great job done by those players that have recently come into the team and performed so well.

Robert McLean - Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 26th October 2016

Benitachell v San Miguel

This week our Winter League squad was at home for the first time this season, entertaining San Miguel, in a fixture where there is normally very little between the two sides. Fresh from last week’s home victory over Quesada, San Miguel arrived in good form and confident mood. However, the BBC squad was determined to keep our unbeaten record intact, knowing that a win would put us right back in the mix at the top end of the table. It promised to an interesting encounter.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean got off to a great start picking up 8 shots on the first four end, including a 5 on the first, to lead 8-1. Just when it looked like a strong San Miguel rink would get back into the game, with the deficit just 2 shots, 8-6 at the seventh end, Jeff’s team picked up a 4 and led 12-7 at the half way stage. In a strong second half performance, Jeff and his team went on to take the majority of ends and shots, to double their advantage and run out deserved winners with a final score of 21-11, securing 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 3, Brian Doggett, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tim Woodcock started well with a 4 on the first end. However, an in-form San Miguel rink fought back, taking ten of the next eleven ends to lead by 11 shots, 5-16 at the thirteenth. However, Brian and his team dug in and fought all the way to the end to reduce the overall shot difference, winning the last four ends, with a final score of 13-22.

On Rink 4, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Carol Davies had a solid start to their game, winning the first three ends to take an early 4-0 lead. However, a determined opposition fought back, winning the next four ends to lead by 1 shot, 4-5 at the seventh. But Dudley’s team were soon back in front, winning the next three ends to lead 9-5 at the tenth. In a fairly evenly balanced second half, Dudley and his team maintained their lead to run out comfortable winners, with a final score of 15-10, securing another 2 points for BBC.

In an extraordinary game on Rink 5, Harry Chick, Tony Lawley, Mike & Linda Smith had a major set-back, dropping 6 shots on the first end. However, Harry’s team fought back well and by the half way stage were only 2 shots adrift, 9-11. The next six ends were shared but San Miguel looked to have the upper hand, leading by 6 shots, 13-19, going into the last two ends. Then in a quite remarkable finish to the game, Harry and his team scored a “hot-shot” on the sixteenth end, to go 2 shots up going into the last end. In a tense finish, Harry’s team held their nerve to take the match 21-20, for a tremendous victory, securing another valuable 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 6, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Christine Mawson continued their impressive run of form, starting the game strongly and dominating the first half, leading 17-7 at the half way stage. In another very impressive performance Maggie and her team coasted to a thoroughly deserved victory and despite a late, late fightback by the opposition, ran out very comfortable winners, with a final score of 24-17, securing 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 8, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Richard Chamberlain, Steve Griffin & Jinty Chamberlain started well and always looked to be in control of their game. Although there was only a couple of shots between the teams at the eighth end, with Bob’s team leading 9-7, a supper 6 shots on the ninth, gave Bob and his team the platform to go on and win the game in convincing style by 12 shots, 25-13.

Overall, it was a very impressive home performance by the BBC Winter League squad, winning on four of the five rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 14 shots (94 - 80), for a final score of 10 -2. So unbeaten in three games and up to third in the League table, tucked in nicely just a few points behind the early pacesetters. Well done everyone - let’s build on this result next week away to Greenlands. The Berleen team’s well deserved victory also puts them back in contention in third place in the League table, so a positive start to our League campaign.

Robert McLean - Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 19th October 2016

Benitachell v Bonalba

This week the squad travelled south once again for their second away game on the trot, this time taking on a Bonalba side, buoyed by their excellent away win last week at Greenlands. It promised to be a competitive game with both sides looking to build on their winning start to the season.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Christine Mawson were in impressive form again this week, getting off to a great start by winning seven of the first nine ends to lead 12-4 at the half way stage. Some great play by Maggie and her team saw them increase their lead, dropping only two singles in the second half of their game, whilst picking up a further 10 shots in the process, for an emphatic 16 shot, 22-6 victory, securing 2 valuable away points for BBC.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Carol Davies found themselves trailing by 6 shots, 1-7 at the third end. Sone determined play by Dudley’s team saw them nibble away at the opposition’s lead to reduce the deficit to just 2 shots, 7-9 at the half way point. A couple of singles saw Dudley’s team close the gap to just 1 at the twelfth. However, just when it looked like they might get back on level terms, Bonalba managed to pull away again and despite a close finish, Dudley’s team were eventually squeezed out with a final score of 11-14.

On Rink 6, Brian Doggett, Gail Chick, Steve Griffin & Tim Woodcock started strongly to take an early 5 shot lead, 6-1 at the fourth, before Bonalba staged a determined fightback to square the game 6-6 at the eighth end. Brian and his team edged ahead again, picking up 3 shots over the next two ends to lead 9-6. However, a determined home rink fought back to take the next six ends to lead by 11 shots, 9-20 going in to the last two ends. A couple of singles saw Brian’s team finish the game on a positive footing, with as final score of 11-20.

On Rink 7, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike & Linda Smith fought out a fairly evenly balanced opening to their game but found themselves trailing by 3 shots, 4-7 at the half way stage. A 4, on the twelfth saw Bonalba increase their advantage to 5-12, before Trevor’s team fought back, picking up a couple of 2’s to close the deficit to just 3 shots, 9-12 at the fourteenth. However, it was not to be today as the home side went on to take the game, with a final score of 10-19.

On Rink 8, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean took a few ends to get into the game, trailing by 3 shots at the third end, Jeff’s team picked up 9 shots in three ends, to lead by 3 shots, 9-6 at the half way stage. A couple of singles increased this advantage to 5 shots at the eleventh. However, the home team fought back picking up 7 shots, including a 5 on the thirteenth to lead by 2 shots, 11-13. But Jeff and his team were not to be denied, picking up a 5 on the very next end, followed by a 4, to lead 20-13 at the fifteenth and going on to take the match by 6 shots 21-15, securing another 2 valuable away points for BBC.

On Rink 3, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Richard Chamberlain, Rebecca Langan & Jinty Chamberlain
found the going tough, particularly during the early stages, trailing 1-10 at the half way point. In a more evenly balanced second half Bob and his team were unable to close the deficit with the home team maintaining their advantage to take the game with a final score of 8-18.

At the end of the day, it was honours even, with our Winter League team winning on two of the rinks and battling hard across the board to take the overall shot difference by the smallest of margins (+1), for a 6-6 draw.

It’s early days in a long season and although we may have liked to have secured a few more League points, that’s us played two away games, with one win and a draw and 13 League points secured, only 2 less than at this stage last season. We can now look forward to our first home game of the season next Wednesday against San Miguel, where a good win would see us right back in contention at the top end of the League table.

Robert McLean - Captain
BBC Winter League


Wednesday 12th October 2016

Benitachell v Montemar

The first week of the new season saw our Winter League side travel south to face an experienced Montemar side. With a number of our squad making their first team debuts and both sides hoping to make a positive start to their respective League campaigns, it promised to be an interesting encounter.

On Rink 2, Trevor Neale, Tony Lawley, Mike & Linda Smith started well and despite dropping 2 shots on the first end, they fought back well, winning seven of the first nine ends of the game to lead by 4 shots, 10-5, at the half way stage. A spirited fightback saw the opposition take six of the next seven ends, to lead 11-16 going in to the last two ends. Trevor’s team rallied once again to close the deficit to just 3 shots going into the last. However, it wasn’t to be today, with Montemar scoring a single to close out the match with a 13-17 score line.

On Rink 3, Brian Doggett, Gail Chick, Bob Cockell & Tim Woodcock started well winning the first three ends to take an early 4-0 lead. Although Montemar pulled a few shots back, Brian and his team played solidly, winning another three ends to lead 10-5 at the half way stage. Once again the opposition reduced the deficit to just 3 shots, 12-9 at the thirteenth end. However, Brian and his team were not to be denied and in what was a very solid and composed performance, Brian’s team won all of the remaining five ends to take the game by 9 shots, 18-9 and secure 2 very good away points for BBC.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Trefor Evans & Christine Mawson found themselves 6 shots adrift after just two ends and had to hold their nerve and battle hard to get back into the game. But some excellent play saw Maggie’s team haul themselves level, 9-9 at the mid-point of the game. Despite briefly falling behind again on the tenth end, Maggie & her team maintained their composure and went on to produce some excellent bowling, winning six of the remaining eight ends, picking up a couple of 3’s and a 4 in the process, to run out convincing winners, with a final score of 22-13, securing another 2 valuable away points for BBC.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Greg Sperring, Linda Richards & Bert McLean found themselves trailing by 4 shots after the opening two ends, before getting into their stride and winning the next eight ends on the bounce, to lead 14-4 at the tenth. The opposition then mounted a determined fightback, picking up a couple of singles before a couple of costly 4’s brought them level, with the score tied at 19-19. Jeff’s team looked to have the game won, scoring 5 shots over the next couple of ends. However, a 2 on the penultimate end and a 3 on the last, gave the home team a share of the points with a final score of 19-19.

On Rink 6, Dudley Davies, Clive Langan, Derek Mawson & Carol Davies got off to a good start winning the first five ends to lead 6-0. However, the opposition nibbled away at this lead to square the game
6-6 at the tenth end. A couple of good ends saw Dudley’s team lead 13-9 at the thirteenth. But once again a determined opposition fought back to lead 13-16 going into the last. A great effort by Dudley and his team saw them pick up a couple of shots, only to go down by the narrowest of margins, with a final score of 15-16.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Bob Bailey, Richard Chamberlain, Steve Griffin & Jinty Chamberlain fought out a very competitive and close encounter with the lead changing hands on no less than eight occasions, with nothing between the teams, going into the last end all square at 16-16. However, a superb 4 on the last end gave Bob and his team a much deserved win and 2 points with the final score 20-16.

So at the end of a very competitive morning’s bowling the team secured its first away win of the season, winning on two rinks and drawing another, with an overall positive shot difference of 13, to secure 7 valuable away points. But for a few shots, it could easily have been 10 points. However, one of the most pleasing aspect of today’s game was the tremendous performances of the new players within the side, which bodes well for the rest of the season. Overall, it’s a solid winning start to our League campaign and something to build on in our next game, away to Bonalba – well done everyone.

Robert McLean, Captain
BBC Winter League

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