Season 5 – Daniel Bonfield’s Dunstable Divisional Drop in Singles

Week 10 – The final week of season 5

Championship – with the title contenders bowling on the same lanes  together, it made for an interesting night and some great bowling – Garry Waghorn with a 784 set and long time league leader Gerry Wrathall with a 771 set saw them get decent points. But having the set of his life was Richard Parker. Richard opened up with a 246, then a 264, which won him the high game pot. But Richard weren’t finished a 3rd game of 237 and 4th game of 201 gave Richie a 948 set and the perfect night with the full 60pts, which saw him take the Championships title. Gerry finished in 2nd and Gary in 3rd – 6pts separating the top 3.

Premiership – Matt Trotter had wrapped the title in week 9 as Alan Keddie who was in 2nd was away for week 10 and was the only person who could’ve challenged. That’s back to back titles for Matt. High game pot was won by Paul Loberman with a 258 game and the high series was won by just 1 pin with a well judged 9/1 count in the 10th by Basher Bonfield – a 856 set beating Lobber’s 855 set.

So with Trotter winning the league and Alan Keddie taking 2nd it was all about the battle for 3rd. With 8 points separating 3rd from 6th… 6th was Basher, 1 point ahead in 5th was Lee Bradley, with Lobbers a point head of him in 4th, but taking 3rd was Jordan the Hit Man Hart.

A total of £1269 paid out this season, through league placings the pot winnings. 42 different bowlers coming along and having a bowl.

Next Monday we head straight into season 6  ! so come down and have a bowl and give this league a try for one season – each season only lasts 10 weeks and you’re not committed to bowl every week.

But what’s the league all about …. He is a refresh…

Dunstable Divisional Drop in Singles…
4 games – cost £20 / Week or £17.50 / week – depending on what division you’re in.
This is going to be a brand new way of looking at league bowling.. and I will explain it best I can.. .
So there are two divisions – a Premiership for the 185+ bowlers and a Championship <184 bowlers.

Leagues are 10 weeks long – BUT you don’t have to bowl 10 weeks. You can if you want, but your best 6 weeks will count to your final league position. The plan is to have promotions and relegations based on your average at the end of each league cycle.

And you have to bowl a minimum of 6 weeks to be eligible to win an end of season cash prize. But don’t worry there are weekly pots to win so you can drop in every now and then and play for the weekly pots.
Another unique aspect to this league is you don’t play an opponent… how can you if people are dropping in and dropping out. Instead you will get points on your individual games scores…
So here is an example of how it works:

Game 1
Highest game Score – 15pts
2nd highest game – 13pts
3rd highest game – 12pts
4th highest game – 11pts
5th highest game – 10pts
6th highest game – 9pts
and so on till ya get to zero points.
Tied games will get the same points.
There will be weekly individual high game and high series pots.
And a prize fund for the end of season payout based on league position.
But a bowler must have completed at least 6 out of the 10 weeks.
You will be allocated a lane when you pay… and championship and premiership bowlers will be put together on the same lanes.
This is a new idea.. and I’m feeling my way as I go along. But hopefully it will grow and evolve and will have a third division and more challenging patterns for the higher divisions.
Breakdown of costs:
They are different based on which division you’re in
Premiership 185+ average = £20
Championship 184- average = £17.50

Having your 6 best out of 10 means bowlers don’t have to bowl every week, and having weekly pots means bowlers can drop in every now and then and still win something. There’s something for everyone, you can bowl as often or as little as you like and still get something out of this league. If you get home from work and fancy a bowl, which sometimes happens… then you can drop in and have a chuck.

The Football league system of promotions and relegations is something we are all familiar with, especially for me as I support Watford. It’s something I really like from bowling in the midland scratch league. It makes you strive to be better in the hope of getting to the top division, and keeps the season alive as you try and avoid relegation if you happen to be down the bottom.

So we got two divisions and they will all share the lanes, so you have bowlers of all abilities on the lanes together. Because I want bowlers in the lower division to see how the higher average bowlers play and how they play the lanes. Perhaps it will break down the opinion that it can sometime be elitist and that the better average players aren’t approachable, and you can ask them about your own bowling and pick up some tips. Just don’t approach me, especially if I have just had an open !

I’ve also reduced the cost for the lower division, because I think these bowlers are perhaps a more social bowler and perhaps prize fund and winning money isn’t such a priority for these guys.

Long term it would be great to have 3 average weighted divisions, where the bottom leagues plays on recreational patterns, then you step up through the divisions who play on challenger patterns and then the top divisions play on true sports patterns. Also, a league where you can play brackets and win some extra cash.

This league if every Monday at Dunstable – we bowl at 8.00, but I need bowlers to be there from 7.30 for registration


Week 9 of the drop in singles league… a low turnout this week.

Championship – Gary Waghorn started the season slowly, which is just as well otherwise he would be looking at promotion, but in recent weeks Gazza’s been on fire. Gary put together his most consistent set of the league with games 213,217,223,206 for a 860 to win both high game and high series pots. He was only denied the perfect 60points as Jason Gowland pipped him in the first game with a 215.

Overall – Gerry Wrathall had the week off, but still leads by 2 points from the rampaging Garry, then there’s a tie for 3rd place with Richard Parker and Rob Yandell both 7points off the lead. Going to be a really interesting last week.

Premiership – Matt Trotter put together a fantastic block with games of 243,248,236,248 for a 975 giving him the high series pot and 52 points which saw him leap frog Alan Keddie into the lead in the league standings. High game went to the amazing young talent of Dan Basher Bonfield who opened up his block with a 269 game.

Overall – Trotter now leads Keddie by 3pts. These two are way in front of Jordan Hart who moved into 3rd but is 40pts of top spot.

You can catch up on the action via my twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/basherback2back

Come along to the final week of the league next week and get a feel for how it works in preparation for the new season which will start the week after next… we finish one season and we go straight into the next one.


Week 8 of Season 4 – a great turn out tonight with 24 bowlers and we welcomed a new bowler Corrine (coz) Couch, and also dropping in were BigMac Macpherson, and Duchess of Bucks Bowling Karen Parslow.

Tonight we played on the Kegel Mercury Pattern – quite a bit tougher then the usual “House shot”

Championship – High game pot was won by Gerry Wrathall, who is having a great season. Gerry shot a final game of 232 to win himself £12. High Series was won by Gary Waghorn who is bowling well at the moment. Gary had a 755 set and won himself £12. There were only 2 bowlers in the championship who managed to break 700, Gary obviously and the other was Rob Yandell who shot a 720.

Overall… Evergreen Gerry still leads the league with a 10pt lead over Anna Yang in 2nd and Richard Parker in 3rd.

Premiership – The scoring pace was well down in the prem as well. High game went to Lee Bradley who finished his great block with a 246. Bradders with a 917, clean swept the pots got 56 points and was 114pins ahead of his nearest rival, which was Alan Keddie who shot a 803. These were the only 2 bowlers who shot over. Not even MATT TROTTER managed to shot a 800 set – Matt with a 794 ! – the lowest set he has ever shot in his life.

Overall. Alan Keddie leads by 5 points from Matt Trotter and even though he had a week off Paul Loberman holds on to 3rd.

You can catch up on the bowling action via my Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/basherback2back

Week 9 next week – everyone is welcome to come and try and the league out. You bowl as little or as often as you like. We bowl every Monday with registration at 7.30 and we bowl at 8pm.


Week 7 of season 5

Championship – Garry Waghorn boom straight out with  245 game won him the pot. And he completed the clean sweep of the pots with a 785 set. But because the way the league works, even though Gary had both the high game and high series he finished 5th on points, as his good games were followed up by low point scoring games. Gerry Wrathall was top scorer and that put him back at the top of the league, with Anna Yang 10 pts off Gerry in 2nd and James Bignall getting his 6th week in leaped up to 3rd.

Premiership – some real good scoring tonight. Richie Beck top point scorer on 968,but taking high series pot was Alan Keddie with a 976, and Matt Trotter won another pot with a 269 for a 933 set – I think that’s 6 weeks in a row that Matt’s won a pot now.

Overall – Alan Keddie now leads the league by 2pts from Matt Trotter then a long way back is Paul Loberman in 3rd.

We’re now in the last 3 weeks of the league and the occasional bowler who drops in for a bowl really makes a difference to the league standings as they steal points from the top bowlers – so if you fancy a bit of league bowling then come along next Monday and have a chuck.

The stream is BACK – I’ve created a new twitch account and you can watch all the “high end” or should that be “rear end” action from this weeks round here https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1496477371

June King of the Hill on 19th – we currently have 1 space remaining in this tournament if you want to grab it then enter here. https://form.jotform.com/221293859148364


Week 6 of season 5 – newbie bowler this week as Matt Nash came and had a bowl and Richie Beck also dropped in to have a chuck.

Championship – Gary Waghorn escaped from his scoring hut for the evening and shot a 214 game, and that was tied for the high game pot with James Bignall. Peter Fyles put together a consistent set of 204,194,201,193 for a 792 to win the high series pot.

Overall – with the previous league leaders having a week off, it mean that the ladies took over… Anna Yang jumps up to lead the league with Sal Spence in 2nd.

Premiership – a high scoring night with 4 bowlers all shooting a 900 series. High game pot… a 279 from Matt Trotter won him the pot… I think that’s the 5th consecutive week that Trotter’s won a pot ! Jo green looked to have won the high series pot with her highest ever 4 game block of 911 – a brilliant performance. I was about to give her the cash, but Alan Keddie was deadly and silent and stealthily stole the money with a 920 set. Others over 900+ sets Richie Beck with a 907 and Basher with a 900.

Overall – Trotter with a league average of 220 leads by 6 points from Keddie, with Paul Loberman in 3rd.

No streaming this week ! – I’ve been blooming banned from TWITCH ! fuming… turbo livid. I blame Taylor and her stupid video she made rating her bloody “fidget” toys.

June 19th is the 2nd King of the Hill – challenger Series at Dunstable. Entry is open and at time of writing we have 8 spaces left.  https://form.jotform.com/221293859148364


Week 5 of season 5 of the drop in Singles league – We had a new bowler, and when I say new … I mean totally new, as in a proper league virgin – welcome Luke Fowler. This is the what we like to see, introducing people to league bowling. Also Tom Langley came and bowled for the first time. And James Winter was in town and came and had a bowl.

Championship – James Bignall started strongly with a 218 as did Pete Fyles with a 213, but it was James Winter who took the high game pot with a 241 game… he said afterwards that freefall pins are the future !. High series pot went to Jason Gowland who put together his best 4 game block for a 786 set, and that’s after missing the last couple of weeks with a back injury.

Overall the leader is still the spring chicken Gerry Wrathall on 225pts with Richard Parker in 2nd on 222pts.

Premiership – Big man Russ Snipper banged in a 259 in game 2 and that won Snips the high game pot. But the Trotter Machine just keeps going, he is some sort of very boring bowling Terminator, he just keeps relentlessly hitting the pocket… it doesn’t matter what pattern you put down… he is just there every time… with either a strike or a 9 count.  Trotter won the high series pot was 894 set

Overall – Matt Trotter marches on leading on 222pts from Alan Keddie in 2nd on 211pts – these two are well clear of the pack with Paul Loberman in 3rd on 177pts. But from week 7 onwards bowlers start catching up on their missed weeks and others start dropping their lowest scoring weeks.

This is the perfect league if your just coming back to league bowling or want to start up  – as you can play as little or as often as you like. There’s no commitment to turning up every week.

As usual we stream the action on Monday Nights – and you can view last nights bowling here https://www.twitch.tv/henryscat666


Week 4 of Season 5 of the drop in singles league at Dunstable – We saw the return of the Creamers, Kev and the boy Harry. Kev had been away for nearly 5 months… he put his back out when he tried to pick up his wallet and then he got a very serious dose of the ‘rona. I know we now think of the ‘rona as a minor inconvenience, but it’s still dangerous and can really make some people quite ill, and unluckily for Kev he was one them. I considered putting Kev into the championship and then I watched his first ball, which he lashed down there smashing the pocket for 10 … and quickly re-rated him back the Prem.

 Also coming to have a bowl this week was Pete Fyles and Karen Parslow and Jon Langridge

Into the championship.

Karen Parslow started off really well with a 210 then a 217 in game 2, which won her the high game pot. But the doubles pace over 4 games is knackering and Kazza felt it and her scores fell away. Anna Yang a regular bowler in the league and the tournament scene is more used to the pace we bowl at and she put together a consistent 751 set and that won her the high series pot. Top point scorer on the night was the ever green Gerry Wrathall with 50 points. Gerry now leads the league by 1 point from Richard Parker in 2nd and Sal Spence in 3rd.

Premiership

High game went to Matt Trotter with a 268 in game 3 and he shoot a 914 series, but the star performer was Mark Secker Bag who shot a 942 set – he threw a LOT of strikes, and he had to, because he couldn’t get close to a spare all evening. Secker shot games 212,246,246,238 which is some good shooting as he’s not long back after a serious eye operation and he a hand covered in new skin.

In the overall league standings – Matt trotter leads with Alan Keddie in 2nd and Paul Loberman 3rd – but the race for the title in the prem this season is going to be really interesting there’s a lot of good bowlers playing more regularly in the top division this time round.

If you want to catch up on all the action from last night, you can via my twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/henryscat666 – you don’t have to register to watch the stream. But you do register make sure you follow my channel.


Week 3 of the Drop in Singles league – and this week’s report will come with added “Rob Yandell” who was very upset that he didn’t get mentioned in last weeks report.

This week we played again on a similar pattern to the Senior Nationals, which Rob Yandell is bowling in.

Championship – a good first game by James Bignall 226 is usually good enough to win a pot, but Richard Parker shot a 235 in game 3 to take the high game pot. James did however win the high series pot – his first pot win ! James shot a 771 set over his 4 games. Rob Yandell didn’t win any pots !

Overall – Richard Parker leads the league at this early stage on 143pts, with James in 2nd on 137pts – but what about Rob Yandell ? – Rob is currently in 4th place.

Premiership – This week saw the return of BASHER ! who led the way in the high game pot with a 278, but bloody Matt Trotter went and had a 279 last game to “steal” the money and the food from my children’s mouths. And what made it worse was that last game also won Matt the high series pot with a 941 set. Elsewhere Alan Keddie shot a 909 and was top point scorer, and actually even though Matt shot the highest set he was only 3rd highest point scorer on the night, with Paul Loberman 2nd.

Overall – Matt Trotter leads the league, with Alan Keddie in 2nd and a tie for 3rd with Carl Buckley and Lobbers both on 111 points.  If you’re wondering why I’ve not mentioned Rob Yandell its because he’s not in the premiership !

Back to the house pattern next week… which most will be thankful for, coz as it stands there will be a mass exodus to the championship division next year.

Don’t forget I streamed last nights action – You don’t need to register to twitch to watch the video – but you if you could then follow me, that would be fantastic.

Here is the link to last nights action. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1479476148 – you can watch ROB YANDELL !


Week 2 of Season 5 – this week we didn’t play on the house pattern, instead we put down the Dunstable Version of the 42ft Crown Jewel pattern that’s being used in the upcoming Senior Nationals.

Championship – Richard Parker had his best ever night in the league shooting games of 181,194,216,215 for an 806 set, and that won him the high game and high series pots.

Overall – the evergreen, ever young Gerry Wrathall leads the league at this early stage, with Richard in 2nd and James Bignall in 3rd.

Premiership – Matt Trotter opened up with a 257 game, but Nick Kowalski went and shot a 266 in game 2 and that looked good for the pot… but then it happened… the world stopped spinning… and Lee Bradley went and threw 12 strikes in a row for his first 300 and the leagues 2nd – after being on 45 in the 5th frame in game 1 you would have never thought Bradders had a 300 in him, but up he went in the 12th frame shaking like a sh**ting dog with a bead of sweat running down his slap. He was a tiny bit inside of his target but it hit pocket for a strike. The high series pot went to Nick Kowalski with a 872 and the top point scorer on the night was Paul Loberman.

Overall – Roger Hurst is still top of the league, with last years Matt Trotter in 2nd and Carl Buckley in 3rd.

This week because I’m out with a sore back I set up the stream and recorded some you bowling… including Lee’s 300… you can watch the stream via Twitch, you don’t have to register to watch the stream. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1473260768  – – there is some TOP TOP commentary on here.

Next week we will be playing again on this Senior Nationals Pattern… then the week after we will revert to the house pattern for a few weeks.

** There is no ladies scores separated out for week 2 as we only had 4… next time we get 5 or more ladies bowling I will filter out the scores and that will be your week 2 results **

Anyone can come and bowl in the league, even if its just for a one off practice. Registration is from 7.30 and we start bowling at 8.00pm.


Week 1 of a new season – season !

It seemed to be a tough week with the scoring down across both divisions – I did feed back to the Tech on duty that perhaps the machine might need looking at, making sure everything is working as it should.

Championships – The bowlers in this divisions seemed to struggle the most, with no bowler breaking a 700 series. Winning the high pot was Gerry Wrathall, whose had a few rough weeks on the lanes, but this week his 672 was good enough to win a pot. High game pot was just a 189 and that was shot by Sal Spence

Premiership – Its going to be a competitive league this year if we keep the numbers the same, because with 14 bowlers playing the prem this week points were hard earned. Again like the Championship the scoring was down , but down on the lanes 3 & 4 the bowlers weren’t affected. Out of nowhere Roger Hurst put together his best ever 4 game block in the league with games of 246,235,198,244 for a 923 and 50points and the high series pot. High game pot went to newly promoted Jordan Hart who on the same pair as roger shot a 277 for a 890 set.

Hi this year, as long as get 5 or more ladies each week I’ll do a separate ladies league.

New week is bank holiday Monday – but of course WE STILL BOWL… no let up we go again !

Lane Patterns for the next couple of weeks…

2nd May – SENIOR NATIONALS

9th May – SENIOR NATIONALS