DD Skittles Blog

Happy 18th Birthday Stephen Porter! Now you can actually drink on match nights at last!
First roll tonight started ok, continued satisfactory with a 2 ball 8 from our Mr. Maylin, and stumbled to a decent 56 finish. They could only reply with a poor 45.
Second roll we started well enough then fell apart mid-roll, made an effort towards the end but a poor last roll left us floundering on 45. They let us off with an insufficient 51 in reply.
Our third roll started much the same as the first two but hit a high point in the middle, then steadily through to the end and a tidy 58 to finish. Their retort was a consistently low 49.
Fourth roll didn’t start well at all; a couple of decent rolls mid roll and an average finish left us with a disappointing 50. They could only manage 47, is there something wrong with this alley tonight?
Fifth roll started well, kept up the pace through the middle and just tripped a bit at the end leaving us with a far more acceptable 60 and a grand total of 269. They came back with a remarkable 59 but it wasn’t enough and only gave them a total of 251 and giving us the game.

Playing tonight on a notoriously low scoring alley so expecting everyone’s averages to take a hit.
Their first roll trickled up a poor 46. We started fairly well, a few good balls mid-roll but then dropped off and picked up a little to finish with a mediocre 53.
Second roll they hit a miraculous (for this alley) 60. We started quite well again apart from a little splutter and continued much the same for the whole roll with a few big splashes but lots of boulters giving us a middling 55.
For the third roll they gave us a decent 58 to aim for. We had a disasterous start with a sunshine from Mr. Porter Snr. picked up mid-roll but a reasonable finish wasn’t enough to recover, leaving us with a poor 48.
Fourth roll they gave us a chance with another rotten 47. We started on target and with one stumble kept pace through the middle but collapsed in the last two rolls finishing with a disappointing 50.
Fifth and last roll they knocked up a terrible 44, totalling 255 and leaving us 50 to win. We started promising, kept pace through the middle and won the game on the penultimate roll, finishing with a 56 and a grand total of 262.

This full team every week takes some getting used to, even if a few turn up late
We started the first roll quite well, fell flat mid-roll but recovered towards the end to finish with a mediocre 52. They responded with a highly respectable 59.
Second roll began well with one exception, kept up the pace through the middle, then stumbled over a few loose paving stones to finish with a reasonable 57. They hit another 59 keeping us under lots of pressure.
Third roll started like a roller coaster with both highs and lows (and a jammy 7 off one ball from Mr. Duffield!), levelled off through the mid-point building to a very welcome 61 to finish. They came back with a 61, tying the roll and still keeping us on our toes.
Fourth roll began slow, really messed up through mid-roll then picked up a little but not enough, giving us a dissapointing 52. They kept up the pace with a 58 leaving us with a minor miracle required to recover this game.
Fifth and last roll started pretty badly again, didn’t improve through the middle but a late run of pure skill still wasn’t enough to make more than 53 and a grand total of 275, and a last roll target of 39, and a 58 was more than enough and with a grand total of 295 stuff us by 20 pins.

Sorry about the late report for this match played on Thursday 12th October but your roving reporter was ill (and still recovering) so this is another done by guesswork.
They hit a respectable 56 to start. We started the first roll quite average, stumbled through mid-roll and recovered at the tail end to tie the roll with 56.
Second roll they hit a poor 51. We started bad, really bad, but recovered somewhat through the middle and bouncing to the end leaving us with a poorer 47!
Third roll they did better with a 57. We started poorly, continued on a low ebb and somehow struck some gold at the end, finishing with a hard working 55.
Fourth roll they slipped up, equalling our lowest so far of 47. We started poorly yet again, painfully continuing through to the only decent score of the roll from our anchorman, giving us a really poor 45 and 8 down going into the last roll.
Fifth roll they continued their poor run, finishing with a lowly 48 and a grand total of 259. We started really well this time, struggled a little mid-roll but finishing really well to end with a cracking 64, a grand total of 267 and the match by 8 pins. Well done lads!

Tonight sees a welcome surprise appearance by Mike Duffield, let’s hope it’s not his last
First roll tonight started shakily, dipped mid-roll but picked up at the end, but still leaving us with a disasterous 47 to finish. They retaliated with a resounding 61 leaving us playing catch up from the start.
Second roll had another shaky start, wasn’t too bad through the middle then finished quite well leaving us with an improved 58. Their response was a scorching 62 putting us further behind.
Third roll started really well, kept momentum going through the mid-point and finished spectacularly to leave us with a resounding 71! They didn’t give us much slack though, running up a very competitive 69.
Fourth roll started bad but recovered somewhat through centre stage, then stumbled through to the finish and another poor score of 50. They chose this roll for their worst so far of 56, still better than us!
Fifth roll began fair, dropped off through the middle then juddered to an inadequate 54 and a total of 280. They came back with another corking 62 totalling 310 and another humiliating defeat.

Our second away match of the season and your roving reporter was working, meaning this report is cobbled together from the results book so a lot of imagination is involved
The opposition started with at impressive 69. Our first roll started quite well dropped off in the middle and finished rather average giving us 54.
Second roll they hit another respectable score of 62. Our second roll had a shaky start, but continued respectably the remainder of the roll to finish on 57, not enough but a little better.
Third roll they slipped up with a poor 50. Ours started really well then slipped mid-roll, picking up towards the end to give us a respectable 58.
Fourth roll they recovered to hit a decent 62. We had a roller coaster of a start, middling at mid-point and finishing well to leave us tying the roll with a 62.
Fifth roll they kept the momentum going, finishing with a 60 and an impressive grand total of 303! We couldn’t match that and lost morale with the whole roll showing a poor performance and a reflective 41, totalling just 272 and costing us the match.