Kennet League Report - 26/05/26 vs Thatcham (Home)

Kennet League vs Thatcham (Home) - 26/05/26

With all the momentum behind them after a near-perfect start to the Kennet League campaign, it was time for Shrivenham's biggest test to date. On Tuesday night, at home, they took on Thatcham, who sat just behind them in the table as the only other undefeated team in the league. Could Shrivenham extend their lead at the top of the Kennet League's West Division?

It was a tight start to the contest, but it was actually the visitors who held a marginal early advantage, 21-16. Steve Warren and Mark Hancock both trailed, 1-7 and 1-6 respectively. The rinks skipped by Mikey Titcombe and Tom Clough both got off to a solid start, leading 6-3 and 8-5.

It didn't take long for the home team to regain control of the match. At 10 ends, they held a 45-36 lead. Steve's quartet had closed the gap to 7-11, whilst Mark's rink were doing their best to hold off the barrage from their opponents, trailing 7-13. Mikey's rink were still locked in a fairly close battle, leading 12-7. A remarkable run of 11 shots without reply from ends 6-10 meant Tom Clough's rink had now moved into a 19-5 lead.

After 15 ends, Shrivenham had added another 5 shots to their overall lead, moving 65-51 in front across the green. Steve had now pegged his opposition all the way back, drawing level at 15-15. Mark's rink were up against it, but were doing their best to stay in the game, and trailed 11-18. Bit by bit, Mikey's rink were creeping away from their opponents and now led 17-9. Tom maintained his sizeable advantage, 22-9 in front.

As the game drew to a close it looked as though the overall win was once again sealed for Shrivenham. Mark's rink continued to battle but eventually went down 15-23. Mikey's rink kept it sensible, just dropping 3 singles on the final 3 ends to win 17-12. Tom & co kept hold of a large margin, and secured a 23-12 victory. It was all to play for on the final end on Steve's rink, with the sides locked at 17-17 heading into the last end. A count of 2 meant another 2 points going Shrivenham's way, meaning a 12-2, 74-64 overall victory for the sky blues.

Another great victory for Shrivenham. This makes it 5 wins from 5, and just 6 points dropped from a possible 70! It's another home game next week, with our squad hosting Abingdon. The biggest question now is, how long can this winning run continue?