VERY few teams complete a season’s double over high-flyers Maudslay but, thanks to a narrow win, Team BG did just that in week 18 of the Swan Studley Skittles League.
After taking an eight-pin lead in leg one, Team BG were gradually pegged back by their opponents to lead by only three pins going into the final legs.
They then left Maudslay 67 pins to win but, after starting well and being on track for an eighth successive win, they fell away and could only manage to equal Team BG’s last leg total of 63.
There were two stacks of 11 and ten by Rob Baker in a total of 40 for the winners, with Mary Withers making 34 and Ray Cartwright 33.
Maudslay’s best scorers were Dave Ford with 35 and Dick Walters and Tim Greenaway with 34.
Swingers levelled their game against Well Developed with two legs completed and a close finish looked likely, only for Well Developed to notch a 75-pin third leg to take the game away from the bottom team.
The winners continued to pull further away over the last two legs to complete a comfortable victory as Janina Brennan scored 39, Terry Buck 37 (15-stack) and David Searle and Martin Brennan 35.
Swingers captain Brenda Morris made an excellent 39 (12-stack) but only Margaret Hendy with 32 and Darren Harman with 31 made other substantial scores.
A first leg hiccup by Engineers gave Alley Cats a single-pin lead after the first legs, but that was as good as it got for the Cats who slumped to a 26-pin deficit following the second legs and eventually recorded their lowest team total of the season.
Engineers continued to extend their advantage and ran out easy winners to look favourites for the league title with this sixth straight win.
Captain Andy Clewlow made 46 (15-stack) for Engineers and team-mates Ian Greenway 39 and George Bird and Mark Ganderton 35 each.
For Alley Cats, Moira Gazeley made 33, Tony O’Connor 32 and Graham Batchelor and Loz Gazeley 31.
Results: Maudslay 4 (311) Team BG 7 (314); Swingers 2 (284) Well Developed 9 (316); Engineers 9 (334) Alley Cats 2 (290).
