Burnett and Doig reach last four of mixed pairs

Arbroath’s Darren Burnett skipped Bex Field through to the semi-finals of the Just World Indoor Mixed Pairs Matchplay event at Potters Resort in East Anglia yesterday.

He chalked up a welldeserved 2-9 7-3 2-1 win over defending champions Claire Johnston and Nick Brett.

On a day when Anglo-Scottish pairings were the rule rather than the exception, East Fife star Lesley Doig – making her first appearance on the portable rink – helped Devon’s Jamie Chestney put Janice Gower and Bowls Scotland head coach David Gourlay to the sword in straight sets, 11-3 5-5.

Burnett, of course, was substituting for singles champion Paul Foster, who had to return to Ayrshire when his father died last week – but, happily, the world No 3 is now back in Potters, where he is preparing to defend his world singles title.

Field and Burnett got their game together in the second set as Field got on top of Johnston, and Burnett turned the screw – but the game was most memorable for the high drama that occurred in the tense bestof-three-sets tie-break.

On the first end, when the marker Dan Bluett, in good faith, had indicated that Burnett’s green bowl held shot, and all four players all seemed to agree, the Arbroath man claimed the shot, and declined to play his last bowl.

But when umpire Mike Davies got down to measure, he found that it was a red shot and that Johnston and Brett had won the end.

On the next two ends, it took a couple of superb pressure bowls from Burnett to convert an adverse lie, and the game was won by a draw to the ditch on the second end, and a barnstorming drive that took the jack into the ditch on the sudden death third end.

World No 8 eight Chestney was full of praise for Doig, who felt extremely nervous before and during the game.

“Lesley was brilliant – but that was just as well because I need something to carry me through,” said Chestney.

Darren Burnett played his role in an exciting last eight clash.