It came down to the calculator.
Going into the final round, three teams were in with a chance of winning the Phase, having identical 3-0-1 WDL records.
Team E (Honjo, Tom [Sub for Motoko] and Lucky Jim) were top of the table at the start of play with a much higher total woods score than contenders Team C (Alex, Yoko and Toshi) and Team F (Saito, Saori, Yukari).
The thinking was therefore that if Team E could just beat Team A (Yuko, Terry and Richard), they would win the Phase. The match finished in remarkably quick time, with Team E winning again, 13 woods to 8.
On the neighboring rink, the news of Team E’s victory was greeted with a collective inner groan by Teams C and F, who still had three ends left to play. But wait! Team C was racking up a big score here, eventually winning by a League Best 20 woods to 12.
Would it be enough?
Nnnnnot quite. (See final table below.)
Congratulations to Team F—Honjo-san, Motoko-san and James H., and supersubs James K. and Tom T.
Onwards to Phase II, the Saturday Afternoon League.
Lawn Bowls 