Friendship helps team win bowls title
Three former Cambridge bowlers rekindled their friendship to win the National Men’s Fours Bowling title recently.
Kevin Gainfort, Steve Jones and Simon Stephens were all friends in Cambridge where they played for the Cambridge Central Club.
Jones was the only member of the trio who remained living in Cambridge as Gainfort and Stephens moved to the Coromandel.
‘‘It was hard with all of my mates moving away,’’ Jones said.
Jones decided to join the Thames Coast Club where Gainfort and Stephens were playing.
But difficulties arose from dual club membership.
‘‘One had to go and I chose to retain my membership at Thames Coast where I could play with my mates,’’ Jones said.
This season the trio were joined by ex-pat Northland bowler Simon Foy to make up a fours team.
As a combination, they dominated other teams at Thames Coast, ending as club champions for the season.
This win set them on the road to contest the national finals.
First, they conquered teams in the Thames Valley Centre Final.
This followed competing in the inter-regional competition against top teams from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Counties Manukau.
They progressed as one of six teams to play for the national title at the Browns Bay Club.
‘‘We had been one of the first teams to get through the round robin of the nationals,’’ Jones said.
‘‘We had won four out of five games and needed Wellington to beat Southland in the last game for us to win the title outright.
‘‘The game went to the wire but Wellington prevailed and we are elated.’’
After a ‘‘shandy or two’’ the team returned to their club in Te Puru after a long drive where they were met like allconquering heroes.
The win was the fourth senior national title the Thames Coast Bowling Club had won since 1965.