Mursley Hawks 2-8 Milton Keynes Cavaliers

Monday 26 September 2016

Game Result Score Match score
1 Richard Hare lost to Chris Welch (0-3) 3-11, 11-13, 10-12 0-1
2 Andy King lost to John Bradley (2-3) 11-2, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11 0-2
3 Brian Burgess beat Chris Paddon (3-2) 7-11, 11-9, 14-16, 11-9, 11-7 1-2
4 Richard Hare and Brian Burgess lost to John Bradley and Chris Welch (0-3) 3-11, 6-11, 5-11 1-3
5 Andy King lost to Chris Welch (1-3) 12-10, 10-12, 5-11, 10-12 1-4
6 Richard Hare lost to Chris Paddon (1-3) 7-11, 11-6, 11-13, 9-11 1-5
7 Brian Burgess lost to John Bradley (1-3) 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11 1-6
8 Andy King lost to Chris Paddon (2-3) 8-11, 15-13, 9-11, 11-9, 11-13 1-7
9 Brian Burgess lost to Chris Welch (0-3) 1-11, 9-11, 7-11 1-8
10 Richard Hare beat John Bradley (3-1) 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 2-8
Team Legs won Legs average (%) Points won Points average (%)
Mursley Hawks 13 32.50 362 46.77
Milton Keynes Cavaliers 27 67.50 412 53.23
Team Player Games played Games won Legs played Legs won Legs average (%) Points played Points won Points average (%)
Mursley Hawks Richard Hare 3 1 11 4 36.36 215 104 48.37
Mursley Hawks Andy King 3 0 14 5 35.71 281 137 48.75
Mursley Hawks Brian Burgess 3 1 12 4 33.33 231 107 46.32
Milton Keynes Cavaliers Chris Welch 3 3 10 9 90.00 192 114 59.38
Milton Keynes Cavaliers John Bradley 3 2 13 7 53.85 239 115 48.12
Milton Keynes Cavaliers Chris Paddon 3 2 14 8 57.14 296 150 50.68
Match date Monday, 26 September 2016 at 19:30
Competition League
Division Division Four
Venue Mursley Village Hall
Season 2016-2017
Legs played 40
Points played 774
Published 29/03/2024 04:37 by Chris Welch.
This was the first match I've managed to play this season and after a disappointing Summer League generally, I was keen to make a good start to the winter, especially since my teammates had already made a decent start in their previous two matches.  However, we were coming up against a team who had been relegated from Division Three the previous season and all three of whom playing were on 100%.

I played the first match against Richard Hare, who had me well-beaten twice during the summer and who has improved a lot since his spell in Division Three.  Having got off to a good start in the first leg, I dropped to 10-4 down in the next one, but managed somehow to draw back to deuce and then win 11-13; the third leg was close from start to finish, ending in deuce also, but I managed to edge it.  Andy King of the Hawks then played John Bradley, who lost the first game convincingly, but managed to work out a better way of playing Andy and take a 2-1 lead.  Andy then won the fourth to force a decider, which John won closely.  Chris Paddon was next up for Cavaliers against Brian Burgess, a returning player who has not played since the days of playing to 21.  This was a close game in which games were traded until the final leg, which Brian edged.  The doubles was played between Richard and Brian for the Hawks and John and I.  We made a good start in the first leg against a doubles pair that perhaps haven't had a lot of practise and managed to capitalise on this in the other two games to make the score 3-1 to Cavaliers.

The second round of games kicked off with Andy King and I.  We have played a couple of times before, first when I played up last season, but I've not managed to beat him yet.  I took an early lead in the first, but Andy pegged me back and beat be 12-10.  I then took another early lead and he almost did the same again, but I just managed to swap the scoreline from the previous leg; the third one I managed to take the momentum and not give away a big lead again, but the fourth was another close affair, which I just managed to close out.  Richard and Chris Paddon then played and the legs that followed were again close, but Chris managed to overcome Richard, though he took the second leg.  Brian and John then played and like the first of John's games against Andy, Brian took a lead in the first leg and managed to keep most of it and win the leg.  John then managed to up his game, however, taking the next three to put Cavaliers 7-1 up.

It was Andy King and Chris Paddon's turn next and this was a thriller with five close games that could have gone either way - Andy took first blood and from there the legs were swapped until Chris ran out the winner.  I then played Brian, who I think may have struggled with my style in the first game, as I took it 11-1; however, he put up a strong defence in the next two and was unlucky not to take the second one.  The final game saw Richard and John go head-to-head, with Richard aiming to break his duck for the evening, which he managed to do in four legs to get Hawks' second point and end the match at 8-2.