Fours play draws lots of entries

A change in timing appears to have had no negative impact on entries in the fours at the New Zealand bowls championships which start in Wellington today.

The fours, which has traditionally been labelled the blue riband event, has until this season been held at the same time as the singles and pairs which went ahead early in the new year in Auckland.

The change seems to have reached agreement with players. The men’s field has 82 teams, an increase of four on last year and

12 more than two years ago. There are 46 teams in the women’s contest, the same as 2017, and 10 more than 2018. Perhaps the most notable feature is that the majority of Australian-based Black Jacks, such as Jo Edwards and Ali Forsyth, who have dominated the nationals in the past, are absent this time. The exception is Blake Signal, who returns home from New South Wales in an effort to resurrect his international career. Signal was left out of the Black Jacks 10-man squad in January.

The most imposing side in the men’s event is the composite team headed by Gary Lawson and containing Shannon McIlroy, Jamie Hill and Tony Grantham. Lawson and McIlroy were part of the winning side in Dunedin last year, with Forsyth and Justin Goodwin, and both have plenty to prove. But there are a number of other useful sides spread throughout the field.

In the women’s event, Mandy Boyd returns with a similar team to the one that triumphed last year. It includes her sister, Angela, and Leigh Griffin, with Kirsten Edwards coming in for Sheryl McLean this time.

Six games of 21 ends will be held today and tomorrow, with teams needing four wins to reach post-section play on Sunday.