Favourites on track at national champs
When post section play gets under way in the fours at the New Zealand bowls championships in Dunedin on Friday, expect to see plenty of quality matches after nearly all of the leading lights in the women’s event advanced through qualifying.
They did it relatively easily as well, with Jo Edwards’ defending champion side of Tayla Bruce, Kristen Edwards and Val Smith emerging with four-straight victories.
Although their fourth win, yesterday morning, was not all plain sailing against June Pickles’ winless St Clair quartet, Edwards prevailing 17-13.
Sandra Keith’s strong side, after a loss on Monday, eased home in its first two games to qualify, as did Catherine Bien.
Mandy Boyd and Kelly McKerihen continued on their merry ways. Neither has been really tested in section play.
Reen Stratford also made the cut, despite an 18-16 loss to Sarah Scott’s well-drilled team. Stratford secured her fourth win in the fifth round over the most notable non-qualifier, Dale Rayner, by a convincing 25-8 scoreline.
The dream team in the men’s competition – Justin Goodwin, Shannon McIlroy, Gary Lawson and Ali Forsyth – also posted the necessary two wins to qualify with a game to spare. But again, they didn’t have things their own way.
They beat past New Zealand rep Jamie Hill, who skips a Wellington team, by an inflated 17-9 margin, and then squeaked past Beckenham’s Martin Abel 19-18.
Not surprisingly, many other quality sides also made it into post section, including Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Michael Kernaghan, Sean O’Neill, Rob Ashton, Raymond Martin, Alvin Gardiner, Lance Pascoe and national gold star holder Bruce McNish, after he had missed out in the earlier two disciplines.
And the genial Peter Belliss, playing with Lance Tasker, Michael Beesley and Richard Girvan, also made it through. With their backs to the wall, after only one win on Monday, Belliss’ crew won the lot to qualify, including victories over Craig Merrilees, 14-12 in a hard-fought affair, and also McNish.
Andrew Kelly and Hill also qualified in the final round, but the fours campaign is over for Dean Elgar and Shaun Scott.
The first of the post section rounds commence this morning, with the women playing pairs and the men involved in singles.
The men’s field is evenly spread with Tony Grantham meeting Lance Pascoe in one opening clash and Michael Kernaghan drawn against Australian visitor Michael Beesley. Providing they get through their first round, Gary Lawson and Shaun Scott are on course to meet each other.
Ann Muir, the champion of the pairs the last time the championships were held in Dunedin, meets national squad member Kirsten Edwards in the feature opening game in the women’s pairs.