Former champs miss cut
The failure of Ashleigh Jeffcoat and Dale Rayner to qualify in the women's pairs was the major surprise at the New Zealand bowls championships in Auckland on Thursday.
The pair were champions in 2017 and beaten finalists last year, but failed this time to accumulate the necessary four wins from six games to qualify.
After just one victory on Wednesday, Jeffcoat and Rayner won in rounds four and five on Thursday, but an 18-14 loss in round six to Bowls3five winner Jenny Stockford and Jo McKenna spelt the end for the pair.
With the win, Stockford and McKenna became one of the 29 pairs to advance to Saturday's post section rounds.
There were other casualties. Ann Muir, the 2014 champion, who was teamed with Sue Wightman, the 2009 singles winner, lost their last two games to miss out, while Bev Crowe and Karen de Jongh, and Rebecca Jelley and Jan Shirley, both also exited.
There was a scare for past Black Jacks Selina Goddard and Amy McIlroy when they suffered their second loss, 19-11 to the Linda Ralph and Reen Stratford combination. But the 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallists responded emphatically in the last round to qualify.
Only four pairs survived section play without a loss. They were Ralph and Stratford, Henderson's Lenice Baker and Josie Mitchell, Anne Dorreen and Wendy Jensen, and Lisa Prideaux and Val Smith.
Just like on Wednesday in the singles, both Shannon McIlroy and Gary Lawson started Thursday with losses in the men's pairs.
McIlroy, who is skipping Justin Goodwin, fell 15-13 to Hinuera's Graeme Heward and Gerrard Slattery. But they won twice after that to remain in a comfortable position. They need two further wins from the three games on Friday to qualify.
Lawson won the title last year with Ali Forsyth but is teamed with Jamie Hill this time. They were edged out 15-13 by Neil Fisher and Steve Cox in the first round but also had two wins after that. Australian-based Chris Le Lievre and Richard Girvan posted three wins, as did Hawke's Bay's Tony Terry and Dean Drummond.
Three players who missed out in the singles – Dean Elgar, Raymond Martin and Maurice Symes – all rebounded by skipping their pairs to three-straight wins.
A number of strong duos won twice, including those pairs skipped by Rob Ashton, Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and John Walker.
Two of the younger brigade will have nervous times. Finbar McGuigan and Bradley Down, along with Alex Reed and Aiden Takarua, managed only one win each needing the rest to qualify. The women start singles today.