BOWLING NEWS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25th (Terry Norwood reporting)
Beginning with some details to keep everyone up to date with events:
- The Lewis and Wilson Greens are still not ready for play, although the Wilson is officially available for use. It is, however, still very bumpy with the grass cover not complete enough for a smooth surface. We need plenty of consistent sunshine to get the couch grass knitted together. With the Lewis top-dressed recently, it’s about a month away from being ready for bowls.
- The Chris Benton event will be staged on Saturday February 4th and we are still a bit light on for teams. Hopefully those bowlers waiting in the wings will get themselves organised into teams and get them listed on the schedule in the next week or ten days.
- Nomination for the Men’s Major Triples Championship closes on Friday January 27th. Anyone contemplating entering a team has only until 5pm to get themselves into the competition, so come on fellows get yourselves into this prize-moneyed event.
- The Men’s Minor Singles Competition continues on Saturday 28th with the semi-final clash between Chris Forrester and Terry Norwood starting at 12.30. By arrangement, the second semi-final between Bob Crowley and Steven Goddard will be staged on Wednesday February 1st.
- For Wednesday bowlers, a reminder of the after bowls gathering as a farewell to our English friends Lawrence and Carol Vipond who are returning to the UK. This event will be held on Wednesday 8th March and hopefully we will see a big roll up for bowls and the send off for the Viponds.
WEDNESDAY ON THE GREEN
Weather-wise, a very pleasant day greeted the bowlers as they tumbled out onto the Waratah Green at 12.30. The temperature was in the high twenties and, with some heavy cloud around, the humidity was a bit too high for complete comfort. Added to this was a fluctuating breeze which swung between 180 degrees from time to time. The conditions were excellent really, and those wayward bowls could be blamed on nothing but the hands they came out of! With 32 bowlers in action, there were four triples games staged and one fours.
In the customary 18-ender on rink 7, Don Chapman subbed-in for John Cummins to skipper John Fleming and Lawrence Vipond against Graham Denman, Bill Pope and skipper Paul Rubie. Although both teams won an end at the start, after four ends Paul and his men led 5 – 1. Not to be denied, the Chapman inspired team had levelled the card at 7 – 7 at the halfway ninth end. It was then that Paul’s team got the bit between the teeth and forged a 16 – 8 lead with four ends remaining. Team Chapman hit back with a couple of four shot hauls, but Paul’s team hung on to claim bragging rights with an 18 – 16 victory. And the skippers rounded off a great day by winning two of the three raffle prizes!
Paul Rubie had an excellent day!
On the adjacent rink, the Rick Reynolds, Harold Wall, Joe O’Donnell and the Peter Morales skippered four took on Barry Werfel, Phillip Payne, Viv Gear and skipper Jim Starkey. And what a stunning game this turned out to be! Peter and his men roared out of the blocks and went to an astonishing lead after eleven ends of 26 – 6! This first half dominance included hauls of 5, 6 and 7, leaving their opposition reeling. The second half of the game was a completely different story with Jim’s team winning nine of the last ten ends. In fact, overall team Starkey won eleven ends to the opposition’s ten, but unfortunately for them the heavy scoring against them early on was too much to overcome. In the end, the lead was cut from twenty to ten, but the Morales led team still ran out comfortable winners at 27 – 17.
Peter Morales, the Miracle Man!
In a triples game on rink 9, Keith Scriven, Glenn Giese and skipper Clive Neutze battled it out against Joel Hunt, Terry Norwood and skipper Gordon Lewis. And what a cracker of a game this turned out to be! A three shot haul on the first end by Gordon’s team was then matched over the next two ends by team Neutze. Although Joel was leading especially well for his team, the opposition led by the inform Clive pushed out to a five shot lead at 11 – 6 after nine ends. With Glenn also putting down some excellent bowls, team Neutze maintained their lead until a run of three ends to Gordon’s team put them square at 12 – 12 after fourteen ends. Clive’s team steadied, won the next four ends, and with a five shot lead were in a strong position. Not to be denied, Gordon rallied his men to good effect and moved to within a shot with one end remaining. Rising to the occasion, Joel put down two brilliant bowls to within inches of the jack on the last end and these proved to be the difference. Team Lewis clung to those shots and came out victors 18 – 17.
Gordon bowled very well in his team’s win!
In another triples game on rink 10, Wal Markow, Paul McInerney and skipper Ian Crow went head to head against Graham Hartnup, Denis Lees and Owen Williams. With plenty of chat and encouragement, both teams got themselves onto the scorecard early and the score was 6 – 4 in favour of team Crow after seven ends. With the ends tight and scoring low, both teams edged their way through the game. By the fourteenth end, Ian’s team was still in front at 11 – 8, and the game was there to be won by either side. It was then that team Crow won the next four ends and, at this point, they held a commanding lead of 15 – 8. And, despite conceding three shots on the nineteenth end, they closed the game down on the last two ends to win by 17 -11.
The Ian Crow inspired team ran out victors!
In the final triples game on rink 11, Graham Hunt, Neville Tanner and skipper Bob Edwards took on Richard Denman, Chris Forrester and Don Coleman. Putting this match together, the committee expected this to be quite a close encounter but in the end it was anything but close. Team Edwards finished up winning fifteen of the twenty-one ends to five by the opposition. This included a seven shot haul on the seventh end as Bob’s men raced to a lead of 20 – 8 after eleven ends. Things didn’t change much in the second half of the game as team Edwards continued to dominate their opposition. Taking seven shots on the last three ends, Bob’s team ran out very comfortable winners at 36 – 15.
The wily leftie Bob Edwards in action!