Dismal day for Scottish bowlers in New Zealand

BOWLS: Darren Burnett suffers all kinds of misfortune at hands of rival Ryan Bester

On a dismal day for Scottish bowlers in Christchurch, all hopes of a gold medal in the World Outdoor Bowls Championships disappeared when the women’s trio, skipped by Claire Johnston, were cruelly denied a medal of any kind on an extra end, and their seven team-mates all settled for bronze.

Arbroath’s Commonwealth Games champion Darren Burnett had the worst tale to tell, after suffering all kinds of misfortunes on his way to a 21-20 semi-final defeat at the hands of Canada’s Australian-based Ryan Bester, who gained revenge for his loss to Burnett in the final in Glasgow in 2014.

Burnett actually lost to Bester 21-8 in the opening game in his round-robin group, but he looked certain to reverse that result, leading all the way to the finish, when, on the 25th end, Bester took the lead for the first time.

“The conditions changed, and the lines to the jack became more difficult to find,” said Burnett.

“Ryan brought the mat up the rink, played some attacking bowls and had some incredibly good results.”

The Arbroath community police officer tried some audacious drives of his own, but his on-target firing shots often went wrong – as happened on the very last end, when, with Burnett leading, 20-19, a brilliant strike with his third bowl somehow dislodged the jack and gave his opponent two shots instead of one.

Then, facing a match lie, Burnett’s very last bowl, which looked like a perfect match-winner, was wrecked on a Bester bowl, and got an unfortunate contact, leaving the Canadian with the two shots he needed for a 21-20 victory.

“You need a bit of luck at this level, and it just wasn’t my day,” observed Burnett, who had done well to beat the methodical Malaysian Fairus Jabal, 21-13, in the quarter-final, thus guaranteeing himself a bronze medal.

Strathmiglo’s young dental nurse, Lesley Doig, who won a silver medal in the women’s singles on Sunday, gave Lauren Baillie, from Cockenzie and Port Seton, good support, and the Scottish duo bagged a bronze in the women’s pairs when they trounced Malaysia 20-5 in the quarter-finals.

But they were outplayed by Welsh duo, Laura Daniels and Jess Sims, who beat them 21-12 in the semi-finals – though Doig will have enhanced her fast-growing reputation by returning home next week with a silver and a bronze.

The Scottish men’s four of Ronnie Duncan, Ian McLean, Paul Foster and the legendary Alex Marshall, who were hotly tipped to strike gold, did not reach their best in the group games, but looked as if they were running into form when they trounced England, 20-10, in yesterday’s quarterfinals.

But they came up against a quartet from the host country that showed they are the masters of ultra-fast greens, and knew how to cope with a gusting wind, and, to the delight of the home crowd, New Zealand, skipped by Ali Forsyth, annihilated the Scots, 20-3, and will play in today’s final.

Julie Forrest, Stacey McDougall and Claire Johnston were involved in a close quarter final encounter with South Africa in which the lead changed hands several times.

All square, 17-17, after 18 ends, an extra end was played, and it was the South Africans who took the vital single for an 18-17 victory.

Picture: David Rhys Jones. Darren Burnett unleashes a drive in his match against Ryan Bester in Christchurch.