Liberty team hit by late withdrawals (From Dorset Echo)

Liberty team hit by late withdrawals

8:57am Wednesday 25th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

DORSET 112 DEVON 125

FOLLOWING the euphoria of last season when Dorset reached the national final of the Liberty Trophy, team manager Steve Gait had high hopes that there was now a platform for continued success.

However, the response of some players to the early season trial proved disappointing, causing a delay in team selection and Gait’s problems were compounded on match day by late withdrawals and the non presence of the four named reserves, meaning Dorset fell to a 125-112 defeat.

The Dorset team that took to the green showed six changes from the one that played Norfolk in the 2008/09 final.

Carl Fountain, Pat Ravelin, Chris Lawrence, and Chris Weeks from the Dolphin Bowls Club, and Chris Cook of Moonfleet, were on show.

The sixth player drafted in at the last minute was the under-25 and Atherley team manger Frank Gwatkin, who had travelled to support the team.

Thanks to last minute borrowed bowls and shoes and the loan of the umpire’s white trousers, Gwatkin was able to complete the line-up in the Barry Patterson rink.

Despite all the pre-match problems it was Dorset who set the early pace against Devon, whose skip featured Ian Bond, Danny Denison, Kevin Phillips, Sam Tolchard, Simon Stevens and Griff Sanders – four of whom have played for England.

At the completion of five ends Dorset were 30-25 to the good, and seemed to be in the hunt, but a Devon surge took them 14 shots clear at 10 ends (68-54).

The Dorset rink of newcomers Chris Lawrence and Chris Weeks, Nick Voss, and player-manager Steve Gait stole a 20-19 result in an encounter that swung back and forth.

Ron Sparks of Dolphin and the three Bournemouth players of Terry Chivers, Michael Hutley and skip Chris Daniels was the only unchanged rink to survive intact from last season, but they lost 19-17 to a Devon rink with former internationals John Evans and Danny Dennison.

Barry Patterson had emergency sub Gwatkin in ahead of John Crabb and Pat Ravelin and opened well against the Devon rink of Broom, Davis, Farrant and Kevin Phillips, only to eventually succumb to a 23-12 defeat.

Peter Ward and John O’Donnell had fellow Bournemouth club-mate Kevin Downs join the rink with the most success.

They hammered international skip Sam Tolchard 32-14, which enabled the final match score to be far closer.

Moonfleet provided a third skip in Doug Rumble who was provided with a freshly constructed rink of Chris Cook, Colin Gifford and Derek Ames.

In a game where Devon skip Simon Stevens scraped an 11-10 advantage in ends, it was the winning counts of four, five, and six during the afternoon that accounted for Stevens’ 25-16 win.

Ben Paulley was drawn to play the ebullient Griff Sanders whose past exploits on the greens of Devon led to the making of the film Blackball.

Sanders was in a contained mood on this occasion as he led his rink to a convincing 25-15 result against father and son Gary and Carl Fountain, and Martin Puckett.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)