PAKENHAM BOWLS
It was a perfect day for bowls when Pakenham 1 lined up against Mulgrave Country Club 1 at Mulgrave for the midweek pennant grand final.
The sun was shining, it was warm without being hot, there was little wind and the greens were beautifully prepared.
The only thing wrong about the occasion was that in a departure from customary practice, the grand final was not staged at a neutral venue.
It is said that at Div 1 level players should have the ability to adjust; nevertheless, your opponent always has an advantage playing on their home deck.
Pakenham fielded a side unchanged from the one which had comprehensively beaten Dandenong in the preliminary final…if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
With “Nifty’s” rink leading the way with a lead of nine shots to two, Pakenham was in front by four shots after the first fifteen ends and looking strong, despite being marginally behind on the other two rinks.
As the game progressed, there were many great shots played by bowlers from both sides but the Lions were able to hold onto a narrow overall lead.
However, the game began to turn by the thirtieth end when completely against the pattern of play, one Pakenham rink dropped a six, allowing Mulgrave to snatch a two-shot lead.
From that point, the home side slowly drew away but the Lions fought back and after 42 ends were only one shot behind with one up, one down and one level.
Whoever wrote the script for this game would have been delighted with the situation at the start of the business ends; with 15 left to play, both sides had one up, one down and one level and the scores were even at 45 all!
As late as the 54th of 63 ends, there were only two shots in it but then, over the dying stages of the game, Mulgrave found another gear and charged home to win by a game-high margin of 14 shots.
The Lions may not have won the grand final but they have had a great season and one that has given them and Pakenham reason to be proud.
The best rink with 23 to 16 was “Nifty” Nev Brown (S), Ned Courtin (3), Claire Smyth (2) and David Leitch (L). The other members of the team were: Chris “Foxy” Fox (S), David Saint (3), Max Mannik (2) and David Laird (L) and John “JP” Parker (S), “Rockit” Rod Lewis (3), John Hagen (2) and Mark Ryan (L).
-Des Leigh-
