Sidmouth B League team set off early last Monday for their first league match away to Cornwall at Porthpean, St. Austell, writes Mike Taylor.

Initially, the team had difficulty adjusting to the speed of the lawns and battling the strong wind, making hoop running difficult. The three morning games were closely-fought affairs, with Pam Bowra and Philip Harris winning their doubles 10-9, Peter Nelson losing 9-11 and Paul Griew’s game ending 8-8. Paul, playing in his first Association match, did not realise that he should have played on for a “golden hoop”. Having cleared all the balls off the lawn, the game was settled by a shoot out at the peg, which Paul won. After warming up over lunch, four singles were played in the afternoon. Philip lost 9-14 to the Cornwall team captain, Pam roqueted steadily and pegged out winning 14-9, Paul won 10-9 and Peter, after being behind, capitalised on his opponent’s mistake at penult, peeled rover and pegged one ball out to win 13-11.

Overall, Sidmouth won the match 5-2 and after a very enjoyable and friendly tea, the two-hour journey each way seemed very worthwhile.

?Last weekend eight players competed for the Dorothy Toye Cup, which is the first Sidmouth internal tournament of the season. Winners of the two blocks of four played in the final and this year it was Keith Thorley versus Philip Harris, with Keith emerging victorious for the second year running. Not for the first time, the 14-point handicap games proved quite demanding for some of the lower handicap players.