MATCH REPORTS

Wednesday 25th March 2015

Benitachell v San Miguel

This week saw the Winter League squad entertain San Miguel for what was the last game of the 2014/15 season, with only pride to play for, following last week’s crowning of Quesada as League Champions. It was an opportunity for Benitachell to “do the double” following our away victory over San Miguel earlier in the season. With six regular squad members unavailable for selection, some reshuffling of the side was required. However, on paper, Benitachell still looked strong enough to win this game and finish the season on a positive note.

On Rink 2, Bob Cockell, Clive Langan, Mary Cockell & Linda Richards started the game well enough, winning five of the first seven ends. However, restricted to just single shots, Bob’s team trailed by 1 shot, 5 – 6 at the half way stage. A good start to the second half saw Bob and his team take a 2 shot lead, 8 – 6 at the eleventh and despite being pulled back at the thirteenth end, a single shot on the next end saw Bob’s team lead 10 – 9. However, an experienced San Miguel Rink was not to be denied and a fight back saw them take the remaining four ends to close out the game with a score of 10 –15.

On Rink 3, Lynda Warnes, Brian Doggett, Harry Chick & John Avey, got off to a good start and took an early lead,
5 – 1 at the fourth end. However, in a closely contested game San Miguel fought back to square the game by the tenth end, with the score at 6 – 6. Despite picking up 2 shots on the next end to lead 8 –6, Lynda’s team were unable to add to this tally until the last couple of ends, where they trailed by 6 shots, 8 –14. In a good finish to the game Lynda and her team pulled back 3 shots, but were unable to get back on level terms and lost narrowly with a score of 11 –14.

On Rink 4, Dave & Jacquie Roberts, Richard Gardiner & Tim Woodcock also started the game well, taking an early 6 shot lead, 7 – 1 at the fourth. However, San Miguel fought back to take a 1 shot lead going into the ninth end. A single by Dave’s team squared the match at the half way stage. The lead changed hands over the next couple of ends, before Dave and his team took charge of the match, winning five of the last seven ends to record a much needed and well deserved 4 shot victory, 17 –13, securing 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 5, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, contested a very close and evenly balanced game against a very strong San Miguel team. With never more than 2 shots between the teams throughout the game and the lead constantly changing hands, Alex and his team reached the penultimate end trailing by 1 shot, 10 –11. A single on the seventeenth end squared the game and in a tense finish, Alex’s team managed to get the single shot, which gave then a much deserved 12 –11 win and 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Tony Lawley, Peter Collins & Yvonne Browne got off to a flyer and led by 8 shots, 9 –1 at the fourth end. Scoring freely, Jeff’s team built a commanding 13 shot lead by the half way stage, with the score at
17 –4. Although San Miguel fought hard to stage a fight back, they were no match for Jeff and his team, who produced a season best performance, winning six of the remaining ends, adding a further 14 shots to their tally, to record a very impressive 21 shot victory, 31 –10 and 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Trevor Rush started slowly, winning only one of the first five ends to trail by 4 shots, 1 – 5. However, in a remarkable turn around, Vivian and her team went on to win all but one of the remaining thirteen ends of the game, scoring 28 shots in the process, whilst conceding just 1 shot, to record a fantastic 23 shot victory, 29 – 6. It was a fitting end to what has been a very good season for our Berleen team, finishing in 3rd place in the League, only 1 point behind the overall winners.

At the end of the day, it was a very good overall team performance, winning on three of the rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 18 shots, 81 to 63 for a well deserved 8 points to 4 victory. This win was enough to secure another top half (5th place) finish in the CBBA Winter League. Although we had perhaps hoped for more this season, there were some notable achievements along the way, including significant wins against Quesada and Javea. We also remain strong at home, losing only one game during the course of the season to League runners-up San Luis. A key to future success, is finding a way of winning more away games, particularly against mid-table teams, if we are to challenge for League honours. I suspect if we have learned anything from this season, it is that we remain a team in transition. Fortunately, the Club has some good potential within it’s ranks and we therefore need to find ways of nurturing and developing this potential in order to provide a stronger pool of resources from which the Winter League can draw on in the future.

Finally, on a personal note, I would like to record my appreciation and thanks to all of those members involved in this year’s BBC Winter League squad for their unwavering support and commitment to the BBC Winter League 2014/15 campaign.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 18th March 2015

Vistabella v Benitachell

This week the Winter League squad traveled south for the last away game of the season at Vistabella, who sit just one place above us in the League. With several regular players unavailable this week, a bit of reshuffling was again required. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was not good and as the sides took to the green, it was under cold grey skies with a blustery wind sweeping across the exposed rinks.

On Rink 2, Harry Chick, Bob Cockell, Brian Doggett & Linda Richards, got off to a good start winning the first few ends to lead by 4 shots at the third, only to see Vistabella fight back to take the next three ends and lead by 7 shots, 4 – 11 at the sixth. Once again Harry and his team put together a good run, winning five of the next six ends to level the match 13 – 13 at the twelfth. However, Vistabella were not to be denied taking the next five ends to close out the match with a 7 shot victory 14 – 21.

On Rink 3, Dave & Jacquie Roberts, Derek Mawson & Tim Woodcock, took a single on the first end but found themselves trailing by 7 shots 1 – 8, at the fifth end. However, Dave’s team managed to reduce the deficit to just 2 shots, 7 – 9, at the half way stage. A good start to the second half by Vistabella saw them take an 8 shot lead, 7 –15 at the eleventh. Once again Dave and his team fought back winning five of the next six ends to go into the last end trailing by just 2 shots 15 –17. In a close finish and going all out for the win, Dave and his team just didn’t get the break they were looking for and Vistabella closed out the match with a score of 15 – 21.

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Trevor Neale, Clive Langan & Mary Cockell, found it difficult to get a foothold in the game and trailed by 9 shots, 2 – 11 at the half way stage. Despite finding themselves 12 shots adrift early in the second half of the game Maggie and her team dug in and fought back to close the deficit to just 3 shots, 12 – 15, with two ends to play. Unfortunately, it was not to be and Vistabella managed to close out the game by taking the last two ends with a final score of 12 – 19.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Tony Lawley, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson fought out a closely contested game with the lead changing hand four times in the first nine ends, where Vistabella lead by 2 shots 8 – 10 at the half way point. However, Jeff and his team put in a strong second half performance winning six of the next seven ends to lead 17 – 12, with just two ends to play. Despite Vistabella scoring a 4 on the penultimate end, Jeff’s team took a single on the last end to earn two points for BBC with a well deserved, 18 – 16 victory.

On Rink 6, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & John Avey fought out an evenly contested match where there was never more than a couple of shots between the teams and the lead changing hands several times in the first half with the scores tied at 7 – 7 at the ninth end and 9 – 9 at the twelfth. However, in a strong finish Vistabella managed to break away, winning four of the last six ends to take the game with a score of 12 – 19.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas & Sheila Lucas, produced a really great team performance, particularly in the second half of the game where a 5 on the thirteenth, sent them on their way to an impressive 23 – 14 victory.

It was a day when most of our rinks were still in with a chance of picking up some points well into the game but just couldn’t quite get on terms with the home side, who coped marginally better that we did in the difficult cold and windy conditions on the exposed green at Vistabella. Well done to Jeff and his team for picking up today’s 2 points and to Richard and the Berleen team for a super victory, which puts them into third place in the Berleen table. Let’s hope for better weather conditions and a good result to finish off the season next week at home to San Miguel.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 11th March

BBC v Greenlands

This week saw the Winter League playing at home against Greenlands, a team packed full of very experienced, fine players. BBC were suffering from 7 of their regular squad players being afflicted by the flu virus that has come to torment us. Nevertherless, BBC came out fighting, determined to do well.
This proved to be the case in the Berleen, where BBC fielded 2 relatively inexperienced bowlers, Steve Griffin and Trevor Rush. Along with their team mates, Lynn, and skip Richard, they produced a very convincing win, 25 - 10. New players are the future strength of BBC. It was great to see them playing so well at a high, competitive level. Well done.
On rink 2, Harry, Lynda, Brian and John were always there or thereabouts. Unfortunately, losing a 4 on the 15th end didn't help their cause, and despite a determined fight back, they were pipped at the post 17 -20.
Rink 3 saw another relatively newbie, Tim Woodcock, joining the main team. He had a fabulous game and along with our "old faithfuls", Dave, Jacquie and Carole, recorded a stunning 28 - 10 victory, winning 12 of the 18 ends.
Not to be outdone, next door on rink 4, Maggie, along with Trevor, Clive and Mary also won 12 of the 18 ends - they managed a great win, 27 -11.
Bob, Peter, Derek and Christine fought all the way against determined opposition. At 14 all, on 13 ends, it was all to play for. Unfortunately, Greenlands came out on top, 17 -21.
Alex, Iris, Rod and Sheila who replaced Bert, had a hard time on rink 6. Strong opposition denied them many shots, but a good finish from BBC kept the score close at 13 -19.
This match showed that BBC has "strength in depth" with many fine bowlers rising through the ranks. Keeping the scores tight on the losing rinks enabled us to take the shot difference 102-81, for a final score of 6 points apiece and of course that fabulous result for the Berleen.
I am sure that Bert will be "well chuffed".

Maggie Lawley
W/L Vice Captain


Wednesday 4th March 2015

San Luis v Benitachell

This week the Winter League squad traveled south to face League Leaders San Luis, a venue, which in the past has proved difficult to obtain points. With just a handful of this season’s games left, San Luis would be keen to maintain pole position in the League, whilst it was an opportunity for BBC to try and reverse the defeat suffered at home to San Luis, earlier in the season. Unfortunately, the virus that is currently circulating within the Club, resulted in some last minute replacements and reshuffling of the team that had performed so well in last week’s excellent home win.

On Rink 2, Maggie Lawley, Trevor Neale, Mary Cockell & Clive Langan, fought out a fairly evenly matched game, where San Luis just managed to keep their noses in front leading by a couple of shots 8 – 10 at the half way stage. This lead increased to 5 shots by the twelfth end, before Maggie’s team closed the gap again to just 2 shots 11 – 13. However San Luis were not to be denied and the next four ends saw them build a 10 shot advantage, 11 – 21. Despite finishing well and taking the last couple of ends, Maggie and her team were unable to get back on level terms with a final score of 13 – 21 in favour of San Luis.

On Rink 3, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, got off to a great start winning the first three ends to take an early 5 - 0 lead. This early advantage was reduced to just 1 shot by the seventh end at 7 –6. However, Alex’s team won the next two ends to lead by 7 shots at the half way stage, 13 –6. A superb 5 on the tenth end saw Alex and his team take a commanding 12 shot lead, which they managed to increase to 13 shots with a 2 on the thirteenth end, to lead 21 – 8. Despite a determined fight-back by a very strong San Luis team, Alex’s team finished a good day’s work with a 3 on the last end to secure a convincing 24 –15 win and 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 4, Harry Chick, Lynda Warnes, Brian Doggett & Sheila Lucas, struggled to get a foothold in a game where seven of the first nine ends were restricted to single shot scoring. However, a 4 on the third and a 3 on the eighth, saw Harry’s team trail by 8 shots, 3 – 11 at the half way stage. San Luis went on to win four of the next five ends, scoring a further 10 shots in the process. Although Harry’s team never gave up, a single on the twelfth end followed by a 3 on the fifteenth concluded their scoring, which saw San Luis finish strongly to take the game with a score of 7 – 27.

On Rink 5, Bob Cockell, Dave Roberts, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, saw San Luis score a 3 on the first end, before getting into their stride, winning five ends on the trot to lead by 8 shots 11 – 3 at the sixth end. Although the next two ends were shared, Bob’s team’s advantage was reduced by 2 shots, 13 – 7, at the half way stage. In what had become an evenly balanced game Bob and his team maintained their advantage leading by 5 shots 17 – 12 going into the last four ends. However, San Luis staged a late fight-back which saw them win three of the last four ends, scoring 10 shots in the process to lead by 5 shots going into the last end. Despite winning the last end, Bob’s team was unable to get back on level terms with a final score of 18 – 22 in favour of San Luis.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Tony Lawley, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson fought out a very tight well- balanced game. Jeff’s team had the better of the first half, winning six of the ends to lead by 2 shots 6 – 4 at the half way stage. In an equally tight second half, San Luis closed the gap and managed to get their noses in front leading by 2 shots 7 – 9 at the twelfth end a lead they increased by one additional shot, 8 –11 with just three ends to play. Jeff’s team recovered to take the next two ends to lead by 1 shot, 12 –11 going into the last. However, it was not to be and San Luis managed to score a 2 on the last end to win by the narrowest of margins, 12 –13.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Jacquie Roberts, Carole Nicholas & Richard Gardiner, started well enough against a strong home team and were all square 2- 2 at the fourth end. However, restricted to just 5 singles in the game until the last end, where a 3 gave Vivian’s team a total of 8 shots, with San Luis taking the game 8 –23.

It was a day when the 2- 10 score line perhaps didn’t really reflect what was a good overall team performance, away to San Luis. On another day, we could well have walked away with a share of the points. The overall shot difference of -24, again didn’t reflect the closeness of the games on the majority of the Rinks. If we can maintain this level of performance, then I’m confident we can win our remaining games and finish the season on a high! Finally my thanks to those members of the squad that came in at such short notice and made a positive contribution to our overall performance.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 25th February 2015

Benitachell v La Siesta

This week saw the Winter League squad entertain La Siesta, our first home game in over a month, following three difficult away fixtures. Our visitors arrived in good form having won their previous two games, including last week’s fine 10 - 2 away victory, over San Miguel. However, a home-win for BBC was essential, if we were to get our season back on track, following last week’s disappointing away result at Quesada!

On Rink 2, Harry Chick, Lynda Warnes, Brian Doggett & John Avey, got off to an absolute flyer, picking up a 7 on the first end followed by a 4 on the third, which enabled them to build a convincing 15 shot lead, 19 – 4 by the half way stage. In a game, which Harry and his team dominated from start to finish, they went on to take the match with an impressive 26 – 10 victory, securing 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Tony Lawley, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, got of to a great start, winning four of the first five ends, scoring 8 shots in the process, which enabled them to build a 9 shot lead,
14 – 5, by the half way stage. In an even more impressive second half performance, Jeff’s team won seven of the remaining ends, scoring a further 13 shots in the process, for an emphatic 18 shot, 27 – 9 victory adding another 2 valuable points to BBC’s tally.

On Rink 4, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, also came flying ‘out of the blocks’ and were 11 shots up at the third end, dropping just 1 shot in the first half of the game, where they led by 17 shots, 18 – 1 at the ninth. Some inspired play by the La Siesta skip, over the next five ends, enabled the opposition to chip away at Alex’s teams lead, managing to reduce the deficit to 11 shots, 18 – 7 at the fourteenth end. However a strong finish by Alex and his team saw them win the next three ends and take the match with a winning margin of 16 shots, 25 – 9, securing a further 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, started strongly and took an early 6 shot advantage, leading 7 – 1 at the fourth end. Despite a 4 on the next end reducing Dudley’s teams lead to just 2 shots, they won three of the next four ends to lead by 4 shots, 11 – 7 at the half way stage. The deficit remained unchanged until the twelfth end when Dudley’s team picked up a 3 followed on the fourteenth end with a good 4, which gave them a commanding 10 shot advantage, 19 – 9. Although La Siesta managed to score a 3 on the last end, Dudley’s team ran out comfortable winners with a well- deserved 9 shot victory, 23 – 14, securing another 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 6, Maggie Lawley, Trevor Neale, Mary Cockell & Clive Langan put in a solid first half performance and despite La Siesta picking up a 2 on the first end, Maggie and her team went on to dominate the first half, leading by 8 shots, 11 – 3 at the half way stage. La Siesta started the second half of the game in much the same way as the first half, picking up 3 shots on the tenth end. However, in a repeat performance, which more or less mirrored the fist half, Maggie and her team went on to dominate proceedings and despite a 5 on the very last end, Maggie’s team ran out comfortable 21 – 13 winners, collecting 2 valuable points in the process for BBC.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas & Carol Davies, took just a couple of ends to settle into their game and then went on to totally dominate a fairly one sided encounter. Dropping only 5 singles in the entire match, Richard and his team went on to record an emphatic 26 shot, 31 – 5 victory, for what was a memorable, season best performance!

At the end of the day, it was an excellent overall team performance, winning on all five rinks and taking the overall shot difference by a massive 67 shots, 122 to 55. It was a thoroughly deserved maximum 12 points to 0 victory. The Berleen result also keeps their title hopes alive for another week, so well done everyone, I couldn’t have asked for more and I thought everyone played their part in a superb victory

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 11th February 2015

Montemar v Benitachell

This week saw the Winter League squad travel south to play Montemar, following last week’s break in our League fixtures. It was a good opportunity to build on our last excellent away performance against Bonalba and to keep our winning run going. However, Montemar, fresh from an impressive 10-2 away win at San Miguel the previous week and playing at home, would present a significant challenge.

On Rink 1, Jeff Richards, Tony Lawley, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, started well to lead
4 –1 at the third end and despite adding a further 3 shots on both the fifth and ninth ends, some high scoring from Montemar saw them lead 10 – 15 at the half way stage. An impressive second half performance by the home team saw them win the next eight ends to take an unassailable 18 shot lead going into the last end. However, Jeff and his team showed some fighting spirit by taking a 5 on the last to end the game on a more positive note, with the score line of 15 – 28.

On Rink 2, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Mary Cockell & Sheila Lucas, started strongly and built up a 6 shot lead, 7 – 1 at the fifth end. Maggie and her team looked to be in control until around the twelfth end, leading 11 – 6. However, a great fight back from Montemar saw them win the remaining six ends, scoring 18 shots in the process to take the match 11 – 24.

On Rink 3, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, fought out a fairly evenly contested game and despite dropping a costly 5 on the third end, lead by 10 – 8 at the half way stage. Alex’s team edged to a 3 shot lead at the eleventh 12 – 9. However a determined home side managed to win six of the remaining seven ends to win the game by 5 shots, 13 –18.

On Rink 4, Harry Chick, Lynda Warnes, Brian Doggett & John Avey, got off to a flying start taking two 5’s on the first two ends and going on to dominate the first half of the game, leading 17 – 6 at the ninth. Harry’s team continued to dominate the game until the thirteenth end, where they led 21 – 6. However, despite looking to be out of the game, the Montemar rink managed to win the last six ends to finish the game at 21 – 14, with the 2 points going to BBC

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, started well, leading 6 –2 at the fifth end and by 8 – 5 at the half way stage. However Montemar fought back to lead by 1 shot at the eleventh before Dudley and his team regained their lead 10 –9 at the thirteenth. However, it wasn’t to be for Dudley’s rink this week, with Montemar taking four of the last five ends to squeeze out BBC with a score of 12 – 15.

On Rink 6, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas & Carol Davies, contested a fairly evenly balanced game, where two 3’s on the last two ends of the first half gave Montemar a 5 shot advantage at 8 –13. However, Richard and his team showed great fighting spirit to win seven of the remaining nine ends and take the game by the narrowest of margins 16 –15, to secure the 2 points.

At the end of the day, it was a disappointing end to our good run of form. In a match where we collectively started well and led on most rinks until around the twelfth end, it’s difficult to understand what happened in the last third of the game, where the side hardly won an end! I guess it was just one of those days where it wasn’t meant to be and where Montemar took full advantage of the situation. Let’s just put it down to experience and look forward to next week’s challenge away again for the third match in a row, to the current League Champions Quesada, who will no doubt be looking to reverse the score of our 8-4 home win, earlier in the season.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 28th January 2015

Bonalba v Benitachell

This week saw the Winter League squad travel south to play Bonalba. It was a good opportunity to build on last week’s excellent performance against Javea and to keep our winning run going. However, Bonalba are capable of causing an upset, particularly on their own green. Only another excellent team performance would be good enough to secure the majority of points on offer and keep our League title aspirations alive.

On Rink 4, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, started well and led 4 – 2 at the third end. However, a 6 on the next end gave Bonalba a lift and the momentum to go on and win 6 of the next seven ends, to lead by 8 shots, 6 –14 at the tenth. Jeff & his team had to dig deep and a great winning run on five of the next six ends saw them take a 2 shot lead, 17 - 15 into the last couple of ends. Bonalba pulled 3 shots back on the seventeenth to lead by 1 shot going into the last. However, Jeff’s team held their nerve to take a single and square the game 18 -18, securing a hard earned point for BBC.

On Rink 5, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Brian Doggett & John Avey, struggled to get a foothold in the early part of the game and found themselves 10 shots adrift, 1 – 11 at the fifth end. Despite winning three of the next four ends Lynda’s team reached the half way stage 8 shots behind at 5 –13. A 6 for Bonalba on the tenth end left Lynda’s team with a bit of a mountain to climb. However to their credit, Lynda’s team showed some real character by winning six of the remaining eight ends; but in a game where they won the majority of ends, Lynda’s team were unable to get on level terms and finished the game 6 shots adrift with a score of 17 –23.

On Rink 6, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Jacquie Roberts & Mary Cockell, started well and went on to dominate the first half of the game, reaching the half way stage leading by 10 shots, 12 –2. In a more evenly contested second half, where Maggie’s team were always in control, they held off a late challenge to take the match by 7 shots, 20 –13, securing another 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 7, Dave Roberts, Iris Gardiner, Vivian Erridge & Bert McLean, started strongly and led by 10 – 3 at the sixth end. Although Bonalba managed to reduce the deficit to just 3 shots, 11 – 8 at the tenth, Dave’s team won the next five ends, scoring 18 shots in the process, including a 7 on the thirteenth, to lead 29 – 8. Despite a late challenge, Dave’s team ran out comfortable winners by 17 shots, 30 – 13, adding another 2 valuable points to BBC’s total.

On Rink 8, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, had a solid start winning six of the first seven ends to lead 9 – 2, a lead which they maintained throughout the match. In a game where Dudley’s team always looked in control, they went on to record a very good 7 shot victory, 18 – 11, to secure another 2 well-earned points for BBC.

On Rink 3, our Berleen team of Richard Gardiner, Carole Nicholas, Rebecca Langan & Tim Woodcock, played out a friendly match, with the home team getting off to a flyer, which enabled them to lead by 11 shots, 5 – 16, at the half way stage. In a more evenly contested second half, Richard’s team won the majority of ends and pulled a few shots back in the process, but they were unable to get back on level terms. The final score ended up 14 – 21. Tim Woodcock making his debut in the Winter League set up, played solidly throughout the game and showed that he will be an asset to the Club in the years to come.

At the end of the day, it was another excellent away performance by the squad, winning on three rinks, drawing on one and taking the overall shot difference by 25 shots, for a well-deserved 9 – 3 points victory. This was enough to regain fourth place in the League and close the gap on third placed Javea. So it’s still all to play for when we play Montemar away in two weeks time.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 21st January 2015

Benitachell v Javea Green

This week saw the Winter League squad entertain the current League leaders and our closest neighbours Javea Green in what promised to be a very competitive encounter. Javea arrived in good form looking for the points, which could extend their lead at the top of the table. However, a home win for BBC would maintain our recent excellent form and close the gap on the teams above us in the table!
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On Rink 2, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Brian Doggett & John Avey, fought out a fairly evenly balanced first half in their game where the scores were tied 5 shots each after eight ends. Javea managed to pull away to lead by 5 shots at the tenth end before Lynda and her team hit back to take a 3 shot lead 13 – 10, at the twelfth. In a closely contested final third of the game Javea managed to pull ahead again going into the last end with a 3 shot advantage and despite a great effort, Lynda’s team could only manage a single on the eighteenth and were squeezed out by just 2 shots, 15 –17.

On Rink 3, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Sheila Lucas & Mary Cockell, were also engaged in an evenly matched game, where the lead changed hand four times in the first half. Despite trailing by 3 shots, 4 – 7 at the sixth end, Maggie’s team put together a great run, winning 5 ends on the trot to lead by 14 – 7 at the eleventh. A costly 5 shots on the thirteenth end, saw Javea close the deficit to just 1 shot, with BBC leading 14 – 13. However, Maggie and her team were not to be denied and another great run saw them take the next four ends to lead 20 – 13 going into the last. Despite dropping a 2, Maggie & her team ran out worthy winners, having won eleven ends of the game, to take the match with a score of 20 –15, and secure 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 4, Dave Roberts, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, fought out another evenly balanced match, which saw the lead change hands four times during the first nine ends, with Dave’s team leading by the narrowest of margins 6 – 5 at the half way stage. The turning point in the game arrived early in the second half, when Dave’s team, trailing by 1 shot at the eleventh, went on a winning run, taking five of the next six ends, picking up 10 shots in the process, to lead 16 – 9 at the sixteenth. Despite a late fight-back, Dave’s team closed out the match to earn a well-deserved victory with a score of 16 – 13, securing another hard earned 2 points for BBC.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, started the game well and led 6 – 3 after six ends. But in an evenly contested first half, Javea fought back to lead by 4 shots 6 – 10, at the halfway stage. However, Jeff’s team seemed to find another gear and in an impressive second half performance, won seven of the remaining nine ends, picking up 12 shots in the process, to record a convincing 18 – 14 victory for BBC and another 2 well deserved points.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, found the going tough and had to really dig in to stay in touch during the first half, where a great 5 on the fifth end got them back into the match. A couple of shots on the ninth end saw Dudley’s team reduce the deficit to just 2 shots at the half way stage, with the score at 10 – 12. However, a couple of big scoring ends saw Dudley’s team trail 11 – 22 at the thirteenth and despite winning as many ends in the game as their opponents, Dudley and his team reached the last end 10 shots adrift with the score at 15 – 25. With all the other games completed, the overall shot difference for the match was tied. At this point Dudley’s team were at least four shots down in the head with the jack displaced and close to the ditch. With everyone looking on, Dudley with the last bowl of the match calmly drew the shot, which secured the overall shot difference by 1 shot and gave BBC another 2 invaluable points.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Richard Gardiner, Carole Nicholas & Carol Davies, fought out a fairly evenly balanced first eight ends, but a 6 on the ninth, gave Javea a 6 shot advantage 6 –12, at the half way stage. However, this seemed to lift Vivian and her team who went on to dominate the game and in an impressive second half performance, in which they won all but one end, they took the match by 5 shots with a score of 18 –13, to keep in touch with the top of the League table.

At the end of the day, it was an excellent team performance, winning on three rinks and taking the overall shot difference by 1 shot, 85 to 84, for a well-deserved 8 – 4 points victory. With a game in hand over the teams immediately above us in the League, who we have still to play again, the challenge for League honours is still very much in our hands. Well done everyone, I couldn’t have asked for more and I thought everyone played their part in a superb victory.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 7th January 2015

San Miguel v Benitachell

This week saw the squad travel to San Miguel to complete the first half of the season. The home victory over Vistabella in the last game before the festive break secured fourth spot in the League table and with two of the teams above BBC having a 'free week', this game in hand provided a great opportunity to close the gap on our rivals, whilst also putting some distance between us and the chasing pack!
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On Rink 2, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Sheila Lucas & Mary Cockell, started very strongly winning five of the first six ends and scoring 14 shots in the process, which enable Maggie & her team to take a commanding 17 – 6 lead at the half way stage. A fight back by San Miguel saw them win five ends on the trot to reduce the deficit to just 3 shots, 17 – 14 at the thirteenth. However a 4 on the next end, followed by a couple of singles allowed Maggie and her team to take control of the match & despite a late rally by the opposition, BBC took the match 23 – 19.

On Rink 3, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes, also started very strongly winning five of the first six ends to lead 12 – 2 at the sixth and 13 – 7 at the half way stage. A good fight back by San Miguel saw them draw level at the thirteenth. However a 5 on the fourteenth end put Alex’s team back in control and a strong finish, winning three of the last four ends saw BBC win the match comfortably with a score line of 24 – 15.

On Rink 4, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, fought out a close encounter in what was a fairly well balanced game. San Miguel had the better of the early stages leading 2 – 5 at the fifth, until a great run by Dudley’s team saw them win six ends on the bounce to lead 13 – 5 at the eleventh. However, San Miguel were not to be denied and in a fitting climax to the game secured the 2 shots they required on the last end to square the match at 15 – 15 and a share of the points.

On Rink 5, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, were involved in another tight match, just managing to keep their noses in front during the first half of the game, where a 3 on the ninth gave Jeff’s team a 7 – 4 lead at the half way stage. However, San Miguel fought back, winning four of the next six ends to lead 9 – 12 at the fifteenth. But Jeff & his team were not to be denied and a great finish saw them take the last three ends, including a great 4 on the seventeenth, to deservedly take the match and points with a score of 15 – 12.

On Rink 6, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Richard Gardiner & John Avey, just couldn’t get a foothold in the match against a very strong home team and had to wait until the eighth end to get on the scoreboard, reaching the half way point 11 shots adrift at 2 – 13. The second half followed a similar pattern with San Miguel picking up a series of singles to take a commanding lead going into the last couple of ends. However, to their credit, Lynda and her team battled on and never gave up, eventually gaining their reward by taking the last two ends of the game, which ended with a score of 6 – 24.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies, were involved in a classic game of two halves, where they trailed 2 – 16 at the half way stage. However, showing some great fighting qualities Vivian and her team rallied to win six of the remaining nine ends, scoring a super 10 shots in the last three ends, only to lose out in the end by 2 shots, with a credible score of 19 – 21.

Overall it was a great team performance away from home against a side that won this League the season before last and that normally challenges for League honours. A 7 – 5 away win to this class of opposition is a very good outcome and but for a couple of shots on the last end of the game, the score would have been 10 – 2 in our favour, that’s how close we came to an outstanding victory! Having said that it’s a great winning start to the new - year, which secures fourth spot in the League at the half way stage in the season and keeps our ambitions right on track – so well done everyone.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 10th December 2014

Benitachell v Vistabella

This week's visitors to BBC were Vistabella in our last game before the Xmas break. A return to form and a home win would see us overtake them in the League and get our season back on track.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson, who were looking to keep this season’s unbeaten record intact, found the going tough in the early stages and despite picking up a brace of 3’s, were trailing 6 – 16 at the half way stage. A fabulous 7 on the fourteenth end pulled Jeff’s team to within 3 shots of Vistabella, but it was not to be this week and a solid finish by the visitors saw Jeff’s team squeezed out 16 – 24

On Rink 3, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Sheila Lucas & Mary Cockell, got off to a great start, scoring 7 shots without reply to lead 7 – 0 at the fifth end. A 4 on the seventh end followed by 3 shots on the ninth, enable Maggie’s team to take a 10 shot lead 14 –4 at the half way stage. In a match that Maggie’s team dominated, a winning run of four ends on the trot mid-way through the second half, put the game out of Vistabella’s reach. Despite a late fight-back, Maggie and her team went on to win the match fairly comfortably by 11 shots, 21 – 10, to secure 2 valuable points for BBC

On Rink 4, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Richard Gardiner & John Avey, started strongly and a 5 on the third end gave them the momentum to take a 4 shot lead, 10 – 6 at the half way stage. A good start to the second half saw Lynda’s team win four of the next five ends to lead 15 –6 at the twelfth. Despite a determined effort by Vistabella to get back into the game, Lynda and her team closed out the match, winning by 4 shots, 17 –13 and securing another 2 valuable points.

On Rink 5, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards took a couple of ends to settle into the game before putting together a run of four ends on the trot, which enabled Dudley’s team to lead 8 – 6 at the half way stage. There was nothing between the two teams until the thirteenth end, with only 1 shot separating the teams at 10 –9, when Dudley and his team put together a match winning run of four ends on the trot, including a super 6 shots on the sixteenth, to take the game by 13 shots, 23 – 10, securing a welcome victory and another 2 shots for BBC

On Rink 6, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes started very strongly and were 13 shots up before their opponents got on the scoreboard at the eighth end, with Alex’s team leading 13 – 4 at the half way stage. Alex and his team went on to dominate the second half, winning six of the remaining ends, whilst adding a further 14 shots to their tally, to record an impressive 19 shot victory, 27 – 8 and adding a further 2 points to BBC’s total

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies started well leading 10 – 1 at the sixth end before Vistabella fought back to reduce the deficit to 4 shots, 10 – 6 at the half way stage. In a tight second half, Vivian and her team held off a late strong challenge to take the match by the narrowest of margins 15 –14, to maintain BBC’s challenge at the top of the table.

At the end of the day, it was the performance and result we needed to get our season back on track and a nice way to finish the year. The 10 –2 victory, achieved with a positive shot difference of 39, was enough to see BBC climb to 4th spot in the League table. With a game in hand over two of the teams above us in the League, we have an opportunity to close the gap on the early pace setters on our return to League action, early in January.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 3rd December 2014

Greenlands v Benitachell

This week the squad travelled south to Greenlands, hoping to bounce back after last week’s home defeat to San Luis. However, Greenlands has not been a happy hunting ground for our Winter League team in recent times and coming off the back of a good win last week against San Miguel, Greenlands would be looking to keep their run going!

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Clive Langan, Mary Cockell & Sheila Lucas fought out a fairly evenly balanced encounter, with the lead changing hands several times in the first half of the game and the teams all square 11 –11, at the tenth end. Although Greenlands managed to pull away to lead 13 –18 at the fifteenth, Maggie’s team fought back to close the deficit to just 1 shot going into the last. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and Maggie’s team were squeezed out 17 – 19.

On Rink 5, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Richard Gardiner & John Avey managed to win the majority of ends in the first half of the game but a few costly ends saw them trail by 10 shots, 6 – 16 at the ninth. Despite a determined second half performance where Lynda and her team once again managed to win the majority of ends, they just couldn’t quite close the gap and eventually went down 15 –22.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson started off very strongly, winning eight of the first nine ends to take a commanding 11 shot lead,
12 – 1 at the half way stage. Despite a very determined challenge by Greenlands, towards the end of the game, Jeff and his team held on to secure the 2 points with a good 16 – 13 victory.

On Rink 7, Dudley Davies, Bob Cockell. Derek Mawson & Linda Richards, started well and took an early lead, but despite winning the majority of ends in the first half of the game trailed by 2 shots, 8 – 10 at the half way stage. However, a strong second half performance by Greenlands saw them lead 9 – 20 going into the last couple of ends. Despite winning the last two ends Dudley’s team were unable to significantly impact on the deficit and finished the game trailing by 9 shots, 11- 20

On Rink 8, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes fought out a fairly evenly balanced first half. With Alex’s team holding 2 on the ninth to take the lead at the half way stage, the Greenlands’ skip fired with the last bowl, taking both holding shots clean out of the rink, to secure 5 shots and a seven shot turnaround to lead by 6 shots 7 – 13. Despite Alex’s team pulling 7 shots back during the middle stages of the second half they never quite recovered and a strong finish by the home team saw them close out the match with a comfortable 14 –27 victory.

On Rink 3 our Berleen team, Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies, started well, winning five of the first seven ends to lead by 5 shots 10-5. However, a remarkable come back saw the home side win ten of the remaining eleven ends, to win the match 11 –21.

So not the result we were hoping for to get back on track this week. Although we managed to take only 2 points out of the 12 points available, it was a game where we won as many ends as the opposition. However, a few costly ends in most of our Rinks, is probably the main reason for our lack of success this week. If we keep showing the same fighting spirit, which was more evident this week, then I’m sure we can turn things around. Over the course of a season, all teams go through this kind of experience, where results don’t quite go to plan. We just have to play through this period, keep focussed on doing our best and believe in our ability as a squad. I’m confident we can turn things around and already looking forward to next week’s home game against Vistabella.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 26th November 2014

BBC v San Luis

This week’s visitors, San Luis arrived in good form, determined to avoid a defeat, which would see BBC leap frog them in the League table. It was an opportunity for us to close the gap and put pressure on the teams above us in the table.

On Rink 2 Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Clive Langan & Sheila Lucas started well taking an early lead in the game, only to see San Luis fight, winning four ends on the trot to lead by 6 shots at the half way stage 4 –10. A 3 on the tenth end followed by a couple of singles saw Maggie’s team close the deficit to just 1 shot 9 –10 by the thirteenth end. However, San Luis responded strongly by taking the remaining six ends to record a 9 –22 win.

On Rink 3, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes fought out a fairly evenly balanced game where a 3 on the ninth end allowed San Luis to take a 3 shot lead at the half way stage 5 – 8. However, Alex’s team fought back by winning three of the next four ends, including a 5 on the thirteenth end to lead 13 – 9. But a fight-back by San Luis saw them win four of the remaining five ends to take the match by 4 shots, 14 – 18.

On Rink 4, Bob Cockell, Dudley Davies, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards struggled to get a foothold in the game, picking up a couple of singles in the first half, where they trailed 2-14 at the ninth. In a more evenly balanced second half, Bob and his team were unable to make in roads into the deficit and eventually went down 10 – 22.

On Rink 5, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Brian Doggett & John Avey took a few ends to get on the scoreboard then picked up a 3 on the fourth end to square the game at 3 –3. Lynda and her team went on to win three of the next four ends to lead by 4 shots 9 – 5 at the half way stage. However, a strong second half performance by San Luis saw them lose only one end, to take the match with a score of 10 –19.

On Rink 6, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson started well and went on to dominate the first eleven ends of the game, building up an 11 shot lead with a score of 13 – 2. However an incredible fight-back by San Luis saw them win six of the remaining seven ends, including 7 shots in the last two, to snatch an unlikely share of the points with a 14 – 14 score line.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies took a couple of ends to settle into the game before putting together an incredible run which saw them win ten of the next twelve ends to lead 17 –7 at the fourteenth. In keeping with the pattern of today’s game, San Luis finished strongly, winning three of the last four ends, but Vivian’s team ran our comfortable winners with a good 18 –13 win to keep up their League challenge.

So it was a disappointing result this week for our Winter League team taking only 1 point against a strong San Luis squad, who will themselves undoubtedly be challenging for League Honours this season. In a game where only 5 shots separated the two sides until the fourteenth end, we let it slip and their strong finish resulted in our first home defeat in over a year. It is perhaps worth remembering that in the corresponding fixture last season, we inflicted a similar defeat over San Luis, by the same score-line, so these things can happen in this League against quality opposition. This week’s result is obviously a setback but that’s all it is and perhaps it is the ‘wake-up’ call we all needed at this stage in the season! It’s only one game, and what’s more important, is how we respond as a squad. We are still well placed in the League and with games in hand have opportunities to get our challenge back on track, starting next week in our away game at Greenlands.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 19th November

La Siesta v Benitachell

This week saw the squad travel south to face bottom of the table La Siesta, with a chance to record our first away victory of the season and close the gap on the early pacesetters in the League.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson found themselves 5 shots adrift after four ends but won three ends on the trot to close the gap to just1 shot, 5 – 6 at the seventh. However, La Siesta finished the first half of the game strongly, taking 5 shots to lead 5 – 11. This seemed to spur Jeff’s team into action and three great ends on the trot saw his team score 13 shots, to lead by 7 shots, 18-11. A fight back by La Siesta saw the deficit reduced to just 1 shot going in to the last four ends. However Jeff’s team were not to be denied finishing strongly to take the match 28 – 18 and secure 2 great points for BBC

On Rink 4, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Clive Langan & Sheila Lucas fought out a very keenly contested game. A dropped 5 on the fourth end saw Maggie’s team go 4 behind and despite pulling back the 4 shots on the sixth end, BBC still trailed by 2 shots, 8 – 10 at the half way point. In a nip and tuck second half Maggie’s team levelled twice, before taking a 1 shot lead at the fifteenth. A further 2 shots on the next end gave BBC a 3 shot cushion going into the last two ends and despite La Siesta picking singles on both ends, Maggie and her team closed out the match to win 15 – 14 and secure 2 very hard earned points for BBC

On Rink 5, Lynda Warnes, Brian Doggett, Richard Gardiner & John Avey, started well to lead 9 – 3 after four ends but a good spell by La Siesta saw them turn this around to lead by 4 shots, 9 – 13 at the half way stage. Lynda’s team then closed the deficit to just 1 shot at the eleventh but once again saw La Siesta pull away over the next couple of ends to lead by 8 shots 12 – 20 at the thirteenth. However, a great fight-back by Lynda and her team, winning four ends on the trot, saw them level the match 20 – 20 going into the last. In a tense finish Lynda’s team were just squeezed out by the narrowest of margins 20 –21

On Rink 6, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes had a solid start to the game winning the first six ends to lead 9 –0, before La Siesta won three of the next four ends to reduce the deficit by 4 shots with the score at 10 –5. However, Alex’s team went on to win five of the next six ends to take a commanding 20 –7 lead going into the last two ends. Despite a late strong finish by La Siesta, Alex’s team won the match by 7 shots, 20 – 13 to secure another valuable 2 points for BBC

On Rink 7, Bob Cockell, Dudley Davies, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards struggled to get a foothold in the early part of the game and trailed 4 – 12 at the half way stage. A good spell saw Bob’s team reduce the deficit to just 3 shots at the twelfth. However, despite winning the majority of ends in the second half of the game, Bob’s team were unable to get back on level terms and eventually lost by 4 shots, 12 – 16.

On Rink 2, our Berleen team took a few ends to settle into the game and despite trailing by 4 shots after two ends, won the next five ends to lead 11 –4 at the seventh. A good fight-back by La Siesta saw them take five of the next six ends to lead 13 – 15 at the thirteenth, However Vivian and her team were not to be denied and fought back to take four of the remaining five ends to win 18 – 16 and secure a very good win for BBC.

So it was another very good win for BBC, achieved away from home, where any win in this League is a good win. With an 8 – 4 score line and a positive 11 shots to add to our tally, it was a very successful outcome. This week’s result enabled us climb to 4th spot in the League table and with games in hand over two of the teams above us, in an excellent position to climb even further up the table in the coming weeks.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 12th November 2014

Benitachell v Quesada

This week BBC entertained last year’s Champions and current League Leaders Quesada, in what is always a very competitive fixture. It was an opportunity for us to maintain our 100% home record and close the gap on Quesada, who were the only team to win at BBC, in the Winter League last season.

On Rink 2, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Brian Doggett & John Avey, traded early blows with a very strong Quesada rink, winning alternate ends during the first half of the game, but still found themselves trailing 7-12 at the halfway stage. However 5 shots on the next two ends saw Lynda’s team draw level, before Quesada scored 3 singles to lead 12-15 at the fourteenth end. But Lynda’s team were not to be denied, picking up 5 shots over the next three ends to set up a tense finish going into the last end all-square. A fabulous 5 shots on the final end saw Lynda’s team record a great 22-17 win securing 2 superb points for BBC.

On Rink 3, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson shared the first few ends with their opponents before picking up 6 shots during the fifth & sixth ends to lead 9-3. Quesada then fought back over the next couple of ends to close the gap to just 1 shot, before Jeff’s team found another gear, winning five ends on the trot to take a commanding 10 shot lead, 18-8 by the thirteenth end. Although Quesada staged another fight-back closing the gap to just 4 shots going into the last couple of ends, Jeff’s team rounded off a good days work by winning the last two ends to take the match 21-14 and secured another valuable 2 points for BBC

On Rink 4, Alex Fisher, Iris Gardiner, Bert McLean & Rod Warnes started well winning four of the first five ends to take a lead 5-1 lead. However, a couple of singles and a double helped Quesada to close the deficit to just 1 shot, 6-5 at the half way stage. Alex’s team then edged ahead taking the next couple of ends to lead by 5 shots, only to see a determined Quesada team fight back to level the match at 10-10 on the thirteenth. Some steady scoring saw Alex’s team go on to win all of the remaining five ends, with Alex’s final bowl of the match coming in for shot to secure a 17-10 win and another 2 hard earned points for BBC.

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Clive Langan & Sheila Lucas found themselves 4 shots down after the first end but staged a fantastic recovery winning seven of the next eight ends to lead 11-5 at the half way stage. Maggie and her team continued to dominate the game, restricting their opponents to a handful of singles. Two 3’s mid-way through the second half, put the game beyond the reach of their opponents and in the end Maggie and her team ran out convincing winners by 20-9, securing another well deserved 2 points for BBC

On Rink 6, Bob Cockell, Dudley Davies, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards got off to a flying start against a very experienced Quesada rink, picking up a couple of great 5’s to lead 10-2 after only four ends. However, a tremendous fight-back by Quesada saw them take a 2 shot lead by the seventh end, before Bob’s team battled back to square the match 12-12 at the half way stage. Quesada then took the initiative, picking up 9 shots over the next three ends before Bob’s team secured 3 shots on the thirteenth end to reduce the deficit to 6 shots at 15-21. Although Quesada increased their lead by another 4 shots, Bob and his team dug in to take a couple of singles in the final two ends to once again reduce the deficit. In a very tough match Quesada recorded their only win of the day 17-25.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies found themselves 3 down after the first end but battled back to lead 5-3 at the third. However 8 shots in the next couple of ends gave Quesada a 6 shot cushion. A spirited fight-back by Vivian and her team saw them win five of the six ends, between the eleventh & sixteenth, but in a game where the ends were shared nine a piece, Quesada managed to close out the match and secure a 13-26 victory, maintaining their 100% record.

In the end, it was a tremendous team performance and something of a landmark victory for BBC against the reigning champions, winning on four of the five rinks, with an overall positive shot difference of 22, to take the match with an impressive score-line of 10-2.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 5th November 2014

Benitachell v Montemar

This week’s visitors to BBC were Montemar, who after a good start to the season, have lost their last two games and sit just 2 points above us in the League, having played two games more.

On Rink 2, Bob Cockell, Dudley Davies, Derek Mawson & Linda Richards found themselves 4 shots adrift after the first two ends. However, they won the next five ends to take a 7-4 lead at the seventh, only to see Montemar fight-back and regain the lead by 2 shots at the eleventh 7-9. Bob’s team responded by winning the next three ends to lead 14-9 going into the fifteenth. But a costly 4 followed by a 6 on the sixteenth saw Montemar take a 5 shot lead going into the last two ends. Despite picking up 2 shots on each of the last two ends, Bob’s team were just squeezed out by the narrowest of margins 18-19, in a very close game.

On Rink 3, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, Brian Doggett & John Avey took a few ends to get on the scoreboard, but a 4 on the fourth gave Lynda and her team a 1 shot lead and a platform from which they built a 3 shot advantage, 9-6 by the half-way stage. A great second half performance saw Lynda’s team pick up a 4 and five doubles, to record a convincing 23 –12 victory, securing 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 4, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins & Christine Mawson got off to a good start and never looked back in a match they dominated from start to finish. Winning on 12 of the 18 ends, Jeff’s team picked up a 5, a couple of 4’s and a 3 to record an impressive 27-10 victory, securing another 2 points for BBC

On Rink 5, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Clive Langan & Sheila Lucas fought out a really tough match against a very determined Montemar team. The first half of the match saw the lead change no less than six times, before a 5 on the eleventh gave Maggie’s team a 6 shot lead at 11-5. However, a fight-back by a resolute Montemar team, skipped by Bill Young saw them take six singles in the following seven ends to close the gap to just one shot at 12 –11, with three ends to play. But Maggie’s team were not to be denied and a 3 on the sixteenth followed by a single on the penultimate end was enough to secure a 16-13 win for Maggie’s team and another 2 valuable points for BBC.

On Rink 6, Alex Fisher, Rod Warnes, Iris Gardiner & Bert McLean struggled to get a foothold in the game and found themselves 7 shots adrift after only three ends. However some steady play saw Alex’s team reduce the deficit to just one shot, 10-11 at the tenth. The last bowl of the next end saw the Montemar’s skip deny Alex’s team a 6, which would have given the BBC team the lead for the first time in the game and a 5 shot advantage. Despite winning four of the remaining seven ends, Alex’s team just couldn’t get back on level terms and were squeezed out of the game by just 2 shots 15-17.

On Rink 1, our Berleen team of Vivian Erridge, Carole Nicholas, Lynne Avey & Carol Davies started well, but despite winning six of the first nine ends they were all square 7-7 at the half way stage. Some good scoring saw Vivian’s team take a 4 shot lead, 16-12 with two ends remaining. In a tense finish to the game, a 4 by Montemar saw them draw level going into the last end but Vivian and her team were not to be denied and a single shot secured a very good 17-16 win.

So it was another important home win for our Winter League side, winning on three of the five rinks, running out 8-4 winners, achieved with a positive shot difference of 28. This sets us up nicely for next week’s home game against current League leaders Quesada. With two wins out of two, our Berleen team can also look forward to maintaining their 100% record.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 22nd October 2014

Benitachell v Bonalba

The first home game of the season, against an in-form Bonalba side, provided us with an excellent opportunity to get our first win of this year’s League campaign and to add to the 4 hard earned points gained last week away to Javea.

On Rink 2, Jeff Richards, Harry Chick, Peter Collins and Christine Mawson got off to a flying start, winning six of the first eight ends, including a 7 on the sixth, which enabled them to take a commanding 17 – 2 lead at the half way stage. Although Bonalba managed to win four of the remaining nine ends, a strong finish by Jeff’s team added a further 9 shots over the last four ends, to secure an impressive 28-11 victory and 2 points for BBC

On Rink 3, Maggie Lawley, Mary Cockell, Clive Langan and Sheila Lucas fought out a fairly evenly balanced match, picking up four singles and a 3 to lead 7 – 6 at the mid-way point. 3 shots on the eleventh end plus a further couple of singles gave Maggie’s team a 13 – 8 lead with three ends to play. However, a late rally saw Bonalba square the match going into the last end but Maggie and her team held their nerve, taking 2 shots to close out the match 15 – 13 and add a further 2 points to BBC’s tally.

On Rink 4, Bob Cockell, Dudley Davies, Derek Mawson and Linda Richards had a solid start and the team steadily built up a comfortable margin, dropping just three singles in the first half of the game to lead 9 – 3. A superb 6 on the eleventh end saw Bob’s team storm ahead and a 4 on the thirteenth followed by a 5 on the fifteenth put the game beyond Bonalba’s reach. The game finished with a score of 26 – 9 in BBC’s favour, securing another 2 valuable points.

On Rink 5, Alex Fisher, Rod Warnes, Iris Gardiner and Bert McLean got off to a good start to lead 6 – 0 after three ends and although Bonalba fought hard to get back into the game, Alex’s team rallied to lead 9 – 6 at the half way stage. In a strong second half performance Alex and his team dominated the game winning eight of the remaining nine ends, adding a further 16 shots in the process to run out comfortable winners by 25 – 8 and secure a further 2 points for BBC

On Rink 6, Lynda Warnes, Tony Lawley, John Avey and Yvonne Browne took just a few ends to settle into a game that they went on to totally dominate, winning seven of the first nine ends, to lead 15 – 2 at the half way stage. A superb 7 on the tenth end followed by another 7 shots over the next three ends put Lynda and her team into a commanding position, which they never looked like losing. Despite Bonalba picking up a 6 on the last end, Lynda’s team ran out worthy winners with a score of 33 – 14 and 2 further points for BBC.

In the end it was excellent performance by the whole side, with a winning score of 12 - 0, achieved in some style with a positive shot difference of +72. Unfortunately, there is no Winter League or Berleen fixture next Wednesday. However, we can take great confidence from today’s performance into our next home game against Montemar on 5th November.

R McLean, Captain


Wednesday 15th October

Benitachell v Javea Green (Away)

In our first match of the season, BBC travelled the short distance to our closest rivals, Javea Green, always aware that we faced very strong opposition
Despite an early lead Lynda Warnes' team lost out 12-19. Bob Cockell and team came out 10-24 behind, and Maggie Lawley's team lost 10-23. With two rinks to finish things did not look good for BBC. However a four on the seventeenth end brought Alex Fisher's team of Iris Gardiner, Dave Roberts and Rod Warnes back in contention, coming out 20-19 winners. And Jeff Richards with Harry Chick, Peter Collins and Christine Mawson took a two on the last end to win by the same narrow margin, 15-14, in a tight game of nine ends apiece.
In the Berleen Carol Davies, Carole Nicholas Viv Erridge and skip Jacquie Roberts came out 17-13 on top.
So a very creditable 4 points to BBC after a hard fought but enjoyable morning.

Maggie Lawley
Winter League Vice Capt.

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