League Report - Matches shot on the 8th November 2007

Binton Club hosted a battle for the top of the League when MEB fielded a full eight shooters against the Binton A team, which also fielded eight shooters. This was bound to be a tight match with high scores. Paul Clingan was up first for the visitors and with four bulls was looking good, but a four followed by a bull and another four and he had 33pts. Simon Dale shot first for the Binton A team. With only two bulls he shot 30 pts as did his wife Michelle. Ray Warnock for MEB started with two fours then two bulls a four and two more bulls. His score of 32 put MEB into a 5 pts lead at this early stage in the match. Jan Beattie for MEB shot a steady string of fours but her last shot let her down. Gary Hooper's four bulls and three fours score of 32 pulled valuable points back for Binton A putting them into the lead by 3 points. Kath Williams MEB, kept out of the threes but with only one bull shot 29. John Parrott, Binton A, had equal difficulty finding the bull and also shot 29. Sheila Clarke and Andy Smith were another two who mirrored each other's scores of 31pts. Ray Hodgkins started and ended on a bull with a steady run of fours between to shoot 30pts. Alan Dyer for Binton B just could not find the bull and shot a steady 28. The maths indicated Binton A were just one point in the lead but with the prospect of both teams having to drop their lowest score, indications were that MEB would win the match. Fred Williams MEB, shot bulls and fours for 31 pts and yet again this score was copied by Neil Bragg who kept the hopes of Binton alive. Gordon Spencer was the last shooter for MEB and nerves must have got to him as he had the dubious honour of being the only shooter on the night to hit the threes. With just one bull and three fours his total was a disappointing 26. Binton's Neil Beningfield came to the mark in the knowledge that the opposition had an adjusted total score of 212pts and he needed 30 for his team to win the match. The match was within Binton A's grasp but nerves could change the outcome. Neil found the bull with his first shot but followed it with two nervous fours. His next two shots were bulls, then a four and his final shot was a bull. With 32pts Binton A's adjusted team total was 215 and the victory kept them at the top of the league with 14 points from 8 matches and a team average of 217.5pts.

Wilmcote, the third contender for the top of the table were hosts to the Binton B team. Roy Clarke was as usual first to the mark for the visitors. He shot a steady run of fours save one for a score of 27. John Maycock for Wilmcote, got the home team off to a steady start with 30pts. Mike Perry for Binton B shot two bulls and five fours for 30pts. Andy Morris for Wilmcote, started well with two bulls but a couple of fours meant he scored 33 altogether. Bill Fleming started with a bull but a three with his fifth pellet dropped his score to 28. Gareth Morris started and ended with fours but a run of five bulls gave him a score of 33pts adding to his team's lead over Binton B. Gordon O'nions had an unbroken run of fours for his 28pts. Alan Brookes shot bulls and fours for 32pts. Binton B's veteran shooter Brian Portman shot very well with two bulls and only one three he settled for 29. Trevor Skinner shot more threes than he would have liked for Wilmcote. Ben Chamberlain, Binton B's final shooter, struggled and only found the bull once to score 29. Tom Morris found the bull three times for Wilmcote as did team mate Tim Stephens. Last man for Wilmcote, Paul Boazman shot two bulls for his 30pts. Binton B with the benefit of A N Other's 28 finished on 199 and Wilmcote who dropped their lowest score finished on 220. Winning the match kept them at the top of the league table with Binton A but with a marginally higher team average of 217.57 points.

Avenue-RBL had their first home match in three weeks against Home Guard. Captains, Jackie Mills and Dee Green were first to shoot for their teams. Both shot fours and bulls to score 31 and 30 respectively. Irene Parsons shooting for Home Guard did not have a good night and was
unable to match her previous week's score. Paul Nixon-Barron for Avenue-RBL also shot fours and bulls to score another 30pts for the home team which put them in the lead in the early stage of this match. Richard Mills shot two bulls, a four then two more bulls followed by two more fours for a good score of 32. Guy Ganderton shot a string of unbroken fours for 28. Several of his fours left very small marks on the target and on any other night they would have been bulls. Steve Hodges showed consistency as he shot bulls and fours for another 31 for the visiting team. Steve Everett for Avenue-RBL had a much better shot this week scoring 31 but after four shooters, Home Guard had taken back the lead by one point. Bill Gately was next to shoot and he was the second shooter of the night to score 28 with an unbroken run of fours. Jo Everett started with a bull but threw this good start away when her second pellet fell into the threes. However, another bull and four fours gave her 29 points and pulled the match level. Sam Goodman shot a steady 31 but was out shot by Avenue-RBL's anchor man, Steve Ray who only just missed out on a possible. Ben Goodman and Derek Powers were the final shooters for Home Guard scoring 29 and 31 each. Avenue-RBL had the benefit of A N Other's 28 and Home Guard dropped their lowest score. The final score was 210 to 214 points.

Matches for 15 November will be:- Binton B vs Binton A: Knights vs Wilmcote: MEB vs Avenue-RBL: Home Guard have a bye. The Whitbread Individual Competition will be shot to a conclusion on Tuesday 20 November at the Home Guard Club Tiddington.

Important notice - all delegates meetings from 4 December onwards will be held at Wilmcote Social Club, due to the closure of Stratford Football Club.

Report by Juana Everett (to be published 15th November 2007)