Bustards v Panthers

 > Yet another beautiful day for playing bowls, warm (24C) dry, sunny, blue sky & a nice breeze. The grass hadn’t been cut since Tuesday & the sprinklers came on at 6am, so the green was pretty wet & played really slowly. Today we welcomed the Richmond Park Panthers to the nest, who arrived very early, as they expected to be delayed by the closed A31, which thankfully reopened at 1:30am. > > Rink 2 – Steve, John & Neil – lost 17-18. This was a tough one for the boys to take, as it was 17-17 off 17 ends & on the last end, the jack moved three times, before our guests finally took it by a single measured shot. We were 3 down after the first end, then we went 6,1,3,0,4,1,0,1 to lead 16-7 after 9 ends. We then only won 1 more end & a 4 against on end 17, was the turning point of the match. A great effort by the boys & well done to the Panthers trio, on winning what was an excellent contest. > > Rink 5 – Janet, Paul & Ivan – won 19-6. We won 4 singles on the first 4 ends & never looked back. We scored 4×2, 1×4 & 7×1, winning the last 6 ends, whilst the Panthers only managed to win 6 ends in total, all with single shots. Apart from a wobbly patch between ends 8 to 12 inc, we played really well & thoroughly deserved our victory. Well done team. > > Overall match score Bustards 36 v 24 Panthers. Match points Bustards 4 v 2 Panthers. Shot difference now +147. The Dragons (now 3rd) had a good win today 6-0, so we have swapped places with them. Both our teams now have a +147 shot difference. Lyndhurst are 10 points clear of us on 70 points, so with 2 games left (12 points available), it’s very unlikely we will be able to catch them. Knyveton are 2nd on 63, with a SD of only +107, the Dragons are 3rd on 62 points & we are 4th on 60 points. > > Next week we travel to Poole Park to face the Mallards, whilst the Dragons are at home to Knyveton, so it’s all to play for. On the final day of the season (5/9), we are at home to West Moor Bees, Knyveton are at home to Ringwood B & the Dragons travel to face bottom of the table Pelham Sea Horses, so an exciting finish to the season is in store. Touch wood, it’s the Bustards who claim the runners up spot & promotion to division 3. > > Ivan Buss > 22nd August 2026. > > > > > Sent from my iPad