Don't count your chickens

Quarter-final of the Drawn Pairs Club competition. Having landed a good partner, got hopes of making the final. Got to get past this evening's opposition first, a County-standard player and a good lady member. I'm against the latter as lead. Played over eighteen ends, four bowls each.

The match is tight throughout. Up to the fourteenth end there's mostly no more than two between us. Frustrating that on several occasions, with us sitting three, four, even five up, their lead manages to slide his last bowl in, usually for shot. Surely he's going to slip up some time.

Then it happens. We win two consecutive ends on fifteen and sixteen, three apiece. At 16-11, we only need to win the penultimate end to effectively win. They'll never score seven on the last end. Looks good, as I get two bowls within a foot or so of the jack to lie first and second.

It all turns upside down with their skip's first shot. Pushes the jack through, his live bowl ending in the ditch. We might be five down! Our skip manages to take one out, but we still lose by four. We're only one ahead as we go into the last end.

In trouble again. On a maximum length jack my opposite lead has put two bowls close. I'm nowhere near. Both skips get close, but don't change the head significantly. We lose the last end by two and the match 16-17!

In an even more remarkable recovery, this evening my brother Andrew was defending his Senior Pairs title against the Scone Bowling Club Champion in this year's semifinal. Down 9-20, he came back to win 21-20, including a four and three in the last two ends. His opponent was a national competition winner. What a comeback! Sounds like we'll be having a real battle when I defend my title in the biannual Harry Roscow Trophy competition in a couple of week's time.

Here's this evening's scorecard.