Age no barrier as 71-year-old Bence pushes world No.1 Brett all the way
CLUB bowler Charlie Bence, a 71-yearold retired coach trimmer from Blantyre, may not have been the winner in his second-round match of the Just World Indoor Singles campaign, but he was certainly the headline act as he took defending champion and world No.1 Nicky Brett right to the wire in a tie-break before bowing out 5-7, 10-4, 2-1 with a sensational display at Potters Resort yesterday.
Bence was a huge underdog and he was philosophical in his approach. The veteran said: “There’s more pressure on Nicky than there is on me. I’m living my dream and it doesn’t get better than this.”
Prophetic words indeed, as Bence gave the best display of his life over the one-and-a-half-hour match. He counted singles with his last bowl on the opening three ends then held a double before Brett smacked the head and he in turn scored a treble to level at 3-3.
Successive singles followed for the Peterborough player to lead 5-3, but Bence turned up the heat with a 2, 1 and 1 finish to nab first blood 7-5.
He continued his rich vein of form much to the delight of the packed arena and once again went 3-0 ahead after three ends, but the experienced Brett dug deep to take the set 10-4 and force a tie-break.
The score once again stood all square at one end each in the tie break, but when the final bowl had been played, victory went to Brett 2-1 with the players receiving a thundering standing ovation.
A relieved Brett later said: “Charlie was immense. Over the opening ends I was just totally gobsmacked by the shots that he played. He continually put me under all sorts of pressure. He truly had a dream game. I have total respect for him.”
Bence said: “Nicky was just great to play against. I’ve watched him progress up the rankings for years so to have this opportunity was unbelievable. I was nervous to start but that soon abated once we got some banter going.”
Brett now meets Bence’s Blantyre clubmate Stewart Anderson, the No.9 seed, who beat Irish singles champion Graham McKee 11-4, 12-2.