The 2011 Palma Match Australia
score of 600.82 ex 600, I felt we needed to evaluate everyone’s form across both short and long range, as many had been struggling individually with the conditions.
The fact that everyone on the team scored between 199 and 195 showed that all were on good form and highly motivated to make the final team. This made selection very difficult but it had to be done and I went with what I felt to be the right combination, as it was clear from the outset that this was going to be a close match. GB had failed to win the Australia Match in its last two visits to Australia and arguably this year’s match was the most competitive field since the match in South Africa in 1999.
The day of the match was warm and sunny, with a very tricky rear fishtail wind. We got off to a great start at 300 yards dropping only one point but notably, the teams from the USA, South Africa and Australia all got more V-bulls than us, despite being respectively one, two and two points behind us. It was truly ‘game on’! At 600 yards, we had a great start and had only dropped one point three-quarters of the way through the detail. Alas, we then dropped five more in our last three shooters to finish seven off, only two points up on the USA, who had a number of V-Bulls more than us.
After lunch, the wind continued to be tricky and the temperature was hotting up both literally (as in degrees Celsius) as well as figuratively. We struggled at this range while others prospered. We dropped 13 points as we battled with the wind on a difficult position on the range, whereas South Africa put in a great performance and dropped only six, Australia nine and the USA ten. This meant that, going into the final 1000 yard range, the USA led on V-Bulls from South Africa and we were now third, one point behind and only two ahead of Australia; a truly tight match with only three points covering the top four teams.
At the start of 1000 yards, we made a key tactical decision not to start for 20 minutes, reasoning that it was better to fire our shots in the last hour of the
6th New Zealand
4th Australia 5th Canada
2nd South Africa 3rd USA
1st
time allotted rather than during the first hour, given that the wind was likely to subside after 3.30pm in the afternoon. It also meant that our early firers would not run the risk of roasting on the firing-point if we had to call a stop because the wind was playing up.
The tension was palpable by this stage as the other teams appeared to be making a good start despite the four to eight minute wind bracket, while our targets remained inactive. The South Africans lost only two points in their first four shooters, while Australia and the USA lost only three and four points respectively. When we started, we matched the South Africans and then, as the wind subsided, we managed the transition successfully, such that we had a four point lead with our last two firers to go. All other teams had finished and our closers, Chris Watson and Jon Underwood, and the coaching team made the most of the easier conditions and nervelessly produced a pair of 50’s to win the match as all the other teams looked on. It had been an enthralling match. Brian Litz of the USA equalled the individual match record (held by Tom Rylands) of 200.26, coached by Steve Hardin and narrowly edging out David Luckman on 200.24 (coached by Matthew Ensor). Remarkably this was David’s third full score in an Australia Match!
2011 Australia Match Result Great Britain
499.58 494.46 487.51 489.48 1969.203 497.61 490.50 494.47 484.31 1965.189 498.62 493.56 490.41 481.36 1962.195 498.62 488.52 491.49 480.40 1957.203 494.48 491.49 486.43 481.39 1952.179 484.40 488.37 487.36 479.25 1938.138
The World Individual Long Range Championship
With such a full entry, the programme for the World Individual was changed to take place over four days by eliminating the practices on the first day. This gave some comfort to the organisers as they would have time ‘up their sleeve’ if the weather did not cooperate. As it was, there were only two short hold-ups for the rain, although conditions were not at all kind. After the cloudless, hot first day, the wind was generally a strong front fishtail, mainly from around 11 o’clock but with a tendency to square or fine in an instant. One’s
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