Lions maintain unbeaten run in the league but lose points contest

UNUSUALLY, the week’s air rifle shooting action began on Tuesday night when representatives from the Bedworth and Hinckley air rifle leagues met at the Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club to contest the first leg of the annual inter-league competition.

The evidence of the first half suggested that the two teams were evenly matched. The first two shooters – Bedworth’s Jon Storer and Hinckley’s Glen Dainter – tied the first match-up with 29 apiece to give each team one point but Bedworth moved into an early lead with Andrew Cryer’s 30-29 defeat of Karl Bunting. Alison Smith gained another point for Hinckley as she and Linda Metcalfe both scored 29, but Bedworth extended their lead when Andrew Cryer beat John Bray by 29 to 27.

At this point the pairings were repeated, on reversed targets, but this didn’t change the outcomes of the first two matchups. Jon Storer and Glen Dainter again scored 29s to share the points; whilst Andrew Cryer beat Karl Bunting by 30 to 28. However, Alison Smith beat Linda Metcalfe by 29-28, and John Bray won by 30-29 against James Bend, to bring Hinckley to within two points of their hosts at the halfway stage.

The first meeting of the second half saw Hinckley drawing level thanks to Pete Finney’s 28-25 defeat of Jackie Bend but Bedworth regained the lead when Bill Bend beat Nigel Hill by 29 to 28. Leigh Hall’s 29-26 win over Mick Cryer again brought Hinckley level, after which Chris Sills beat Rikki Hammersley by 30-26 to move Hinckley in front for the first time. Jackie Bend brought the teams level again with a 28-26 win over Pete Finney, and Bill Bend took the home side to the brink of overall victory as he beat Nigel Hill by 29 to 27.

Mick Cryer had the honour of taking Bedworth to an unbeatable 17 points with his 28-27 win over Leigh Hall, and whilst Chris Sill again managed to beat Rikki Hammersley, this time by 27 to 25, the match closed with Bedworth taking the first leg with a 17-15 win.

Thursday night saw the focus switch back to the Hinckley League where, the league’s half-way point having passed, there was an expansion in the match format with the Bernard Yates Trophy shot alongside the regular match.

This gives each shooter the opportunity to win points for their team by beating a target score based upon their individual average. With two points for beating the target and only the top seven scores counting towards the team’s total, this gives each team a maximum of 14 points.

The visit of the New Plough Inn to Ashby Road Sports Club resulted in close results in both competitions with both results being in doubt to the last shooter.

The visitors’ first half started slowly but picked up a little with Glen Foxon’s 27 and Daniel Lakin’s 26, whilst the Ashby Road reply started as it continued, Alison Finney’s 27 preceding the 26s of Gabrielle Finney and David White, and Lorraine White’s 27. The Plough improved substantially in the second half as Steve Reynolds’ 27, John Bray’s 30, and the 26s of Tom Bray and Nigel Hill let them set challenging targets of 187 and 11 points. Innes Droomer’s 29 gave the home side a boost, but the three following scores were a little disappointing, leaving their final two shooters needing reasonable scores if they were to win. Fortunately, Seamus Moore and Pete Finney were up to the job, scoring 28 and 27 respectively, and taking them to 190 and12 points.

Honours were even in the encounter between the Sporting Lions and the visiting Hinckley Phoenix, both teams taking something from the match.

Unsurprisingly, the unbeaten Lions easily won the regular match against the winless Phoenix, outscoring their guests by eighteen. Karen Bown’s 28 was top score in the Phoenix 181 total, one ahead of Craig Bown’s 27, whilst the Lions managed a 199 total made up of Karl Bunting’s 30; the 29s of Todd Astill and Bill Bend; the 28s of Glen Dainter, Melanie Jenkins, and Jackie Bend; and Taryn Cockeril’s 27. However, Phoenix managed to outscore their hosts in the points competition, beating them by 13-11.

The Hounds shot first in their match at the home of the Trojans, but sadly they couldn’t take advantage of this, finishing well behind in both competitions. As is so often the case, Paul Huddlestone had best individual score with his 29, the next best being the 26s of Claire Barnes and Lee Foskett.

These helped them to disappointing totals of 178 and 5 points, neither of which proved challenging to their hosts. The Trojan’s top scorers were Phil Hood and Chris Sills with 30 each; Leigh Hall added a 29; Nigel Jackson scored 28; and there were 27s from Dave Brown and Rob Forman, all of which helped them to 197 and 11 points.

None of the participants in the match between Smallshaws and the visiting Ashby Road ‘B’ shot particularly well but even so the result was never in doubt with Ashby Road only able to field five shooters.

The top scorers for the home side were Olivia Wainwright and Jackie West with both scoring 27s, ahead of the 26s of Tom Williams and Bob West.

The resulting 180 was out of reach of the visitors who finished on just 128 even though Jon Storer, Kim Baker, and Martyn Wood all scored 26s. The Yates Trophy competition was closer, but Smallshaws also won that, by 6 points to 4.