Bowls NZ CEO heaps praise on Men’s Open Fours
Bowls New Zealand chief executive Mark Cameron is full of praise for the Taranaki Men’s Open Fours, having completed his first week playing in one of the country’s premier bowling events.
Cameron is a second year bowler with the Riverhead club in North Harbour and brought along four other newcomers to play for the first time.
It meant that the team had a spare player and he was called into action on Wednesday.
The side scored its first win on Wednesday afternoon when they defeated ‘‘the pride of Inglewood’’, beating the side skipped by Dave Susans 23-20 on the StratfordAvon green.
‘‘We actually popped into the Inglewood club after the game,’’ Cameron said. ‘‘They gave us a club pin to remember our first. They were very hospitable.’’
Cameron believed that the tournament holds a crucial place on the national calendar.
It is currently included in the Bowls New Zealand ‘‘Summer of Bowls’’ schedule, as is next week’s Women’s Open Fours.
‘‘If anything, we should elevating it even more. be
‘‘When you talk to people and ask if they are coming back, it is always a positive response and you can understand why.’’
While Cameron is a great advocate for the shorter format of the game, he concurred that the open fours is very much the test cricket of bowls.
‘‘This is filling niche.
‘‘While Taranaki don’t get all of the top 10 New Zealand bowlers here, there are heaps of very good players still competing.
‘‘The standard is high and you
adifferent have to earn those wins.’’
Cameron believed that the hospitality of the clubs and the players, along with the Taranaki systems, brought people together.
‘‘The boys are definitely coming back next year.’’
Elsewhere around the greens yesterday, Brian Little (Palmerston North) racked up win number six in the morning, beating Ray Williams (Sunshine Coast)
27-12.
Both Ross Thorn (Naenae) and Dan Dickison (Tauranga) also were untroubled in registering their sixth wins as well.
It was the same for Peter Belliss (Aramoho) who trounced Dick Winter (Waimea) 38-3.
Regular visitor Kevin Coombe (Aramoho), who won the pairs in
2012, overturned a 17-5 deficit to beat Jim Rowe (West End) 27-18 to ensure qualification for the Wanganui side.
Post-section play commences this morning at Paritutu and will continue through until the open is finalised on Sunday afternoon at the same location.