With 12 matches taking place in the Spalding and District League (sponsored by Vital Recruitment) it was a case of five steps forward, one step back last week.
On the plus side, two cup matches were completed, while two league matches and one cup progressed, although they were not finished. On the minus side, another match was added to the list.
Bladerunners, with their two stand-ins available, played four different matches in two competitions. Pete Budd helped Dave Gibson by winning a singles and the doubles to take a winning lead 3-1 against Defenders in the Moulton Shield semi-final. They now meet South Holland in the final.
They also met them in two unfinished matches in the league. Budd and Gibson took a singles and a doubles to square the first match at 2-2, while Colin Vertigan helped win the doubles in the other match.
However, John Gilbert winning two singles in that gave Holland a 3-1 lead.
Earlier, Gibson had started a new match with JDM who were also a player short so only one game was played which Phil Chandler won. With Jokers going down 3-2 to Defenders, this meant Holland increased their lead at the top.
With the first two singles shared, Jokers briefly held the lead after the doubles but Alan Fear and Jean White took the match with wins in the final two singles.
Nets and Edges moved a point closer to Jokers with a 3-2 win of their own against Outsiders. This was largely down to James Gibson, who produced some amazing recovery shots in his two singles and the doubles wins. Keith Davey and Dave Coley both won their other singles for Outsiders’ points.
In Division Two, Mine’s a Pint’s title challenge took a turn up with a 4-1 win over Bourne Nightmayors. They had to fight for it, with one singles and the doubles going to the fifth.
Skidlids remain in front by six points after being held to 3-2 by Can’t Move Won’t Move. Richard Matthews and Clive Shardlow won a singles each and the doubles but both lost out to Garry Wilkinson.
Castle Sports lost ground thanks to George and Sam Wallis taking a singles each and the doubles.
Neither could hold Colin Vertigan, though George went to a fifth end. They leapfrog MatDuf, who had the night off.
At the foot of the table Casey’s Pingers scored a first win in defeating Team Equinox 3-2 in a well fought match where every game took four ends.
James Coote scored a double and helped in the doubles, while Tony Dorey and Henry Sharman won one each for the losers.
In the Marylands Cup, Can’t Move progressed at the expense of Jokers, winning a third game and taking the match beyond dispute. They now play Nets and Edges in round two.
Meanwhile, Skidlids are 2-1 down in the same event to Team Equinox.
