Season openers

The bowling season started with two away fixtures.

On Tuesday 19th April, we made the short trip to Exmouth to play against Phear Park. Fortunately, Ottery had some reserve players as due to a last minute withdrawal, the club had to supply Phear Park with two players.
However the result was never in doubt as Ottery won by two rinks to one with one rink drawn, the scores being 69 shots to 54. Unusually both winning teams had the same points difference, so it is impossible to identify the top team on this occasion.

The second away match needed a longer trip, this time to Tiverton West End Bowling Club. Not only did they give us a warm welcome when we arrived but the day itself proved to be exceptionally warm as well, to the extent that for the most part, the players discarded their fleeces. There is a saying in bowling circles that says “Everything changes after tea”. This proved to be the case in this match as Ottery went into tea with the scores fairly even, but after tea, Tiverton moved into a substantial lead, winning the match by three rinks to one with one rink drawn. The total of shots scored amounted to 78 for Tiverton against 66 for Ottery. The top team and our only winning team was ably led by Chris Hawke, assisted by Eileen Burston and Richard Bland.