McLeod, Lindsay etch names in PNB history
JUBILATION filled the air at Amanzimtoti Bowling Club on Sunday, April 14, as the echoes of victory reverberated across the green.
For over a decade, since Denis Roelofse and Lyn Morgan-Davies clinched the title in 2011, the sponsors of the PNB Mixed Pairs Oppenheimer Cup finally saw the coveted trophy returning home.
Greg McLeod and Hilary Lindsay emerged as the 2024 champions after powering their way through challenging games to etch their names in the annals of PNB history.
Originally entered to play alongside her husband Kevin, who sustained an injury, Lindsay teamed up with McLeod, a PNB veteran master, for the tournament.
The pair put in many hours of practice and after a sectional win on home turf, they went through to the first round of play-offs against Jean Blumeris and Robert de Kock from Umhlali CC.
A win in this game saw them facing the formidable Hillcrest BC’s BSA Masters twosome, Wayne Roberts and Natalie Botha. The Toti pair won convincingly to secure a place in the last 16 against Kevin and Lynn Carolan from Collegians BC.
A resounding win had them facing yet another Durban Collegians pair, Robert McAravy and Lorna Drake in the quarter-final, and a 10-shot advantage placed them in the semi-final against the powerhouse duo of John Connellan and Glenda Matthews from Stella Park BC.
Greg recalled how the second-last end presented the most nerve-racking moments in their tournament: “Needing only one shot to go seven ahead and avoid contesting the last end against these two brilliant bowlers, both Hilary and I failed dismally and allowed John and Glenda to pick up six shots to level the scoreboard at 18-all. The gasps of dismay from our Toti supporters were audible.”
Hilary recounted the last end of the game with vivid clarity: “My bowls were just short of a metre through the head behind the jack, but Glenda had drawn the shot short of the jack.
“John drew inside my bowls and they were lying two shots. Greg made no impact with his first two bowls and was left with his last bowl to save the day.
“As his bowl approached the head I leaned over it as it rolled towards the jack, loudly encouraging it to come in a little more. It stopped and was shot bowl by 5cm. Our supporters went wild as Greg’s relieved grin indicated our success.”
Maintaining their momentum in the final game, McLeod and Lindsay managed to secure a victory against Parkhill BC’s Brad Lezar and Minette Hatton-Jones to claim champion status and the honour of representing PNB in the BSA Mixed Pairs Championship in July.
Their journey to triumph serves as a testament to the power of teamwork, resilience and sheer determination.
Yvonne Bausek from Margate BC has issued an announcement that, despite the devastation this week’s floods caused to their greens, Margate Week will go ahead as scheduled. Games will be played at Riverside and Southbroom Bowling Clubs.