BOWLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 95, 23 April 1928, Page 15

BOWLING.

TOURNAMENT INCIDENTS.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES.

(By TRUNDLER.)

While the finals in the Bendigo competition were being played at Carlton last Thursday, a full rink tournament was in progress on the Mangere green. One section was won by Parker Hill (Papatoetoe) and the other by H. A. Robertson (Onehunga), and they will play off to-morrow in the final. After the publicity that has been gained by the Mangere green lately, through having a section in the pairs played there, and also in the Easter tournament, the club will probably have no difficulty in filling up a list for future tournaments, and another is to be staged on Thursday, May 10.

The Hillsboro' green has also come into its own lately, exciting very favourable comment during both of the big tournaments. The club will hold a full rink tournament on Wednesday of next week, May 2, and on the following Monday afternoon the green will be given up to the centre executive, to entertain the delegates to the centre. Dark Horses Spring a Surprise.

One of the most striking features in the Bendigo Gold Bowls competition was the surprise over the earlier results, and it is quite plain that it is not safe to forecast anything in a knock-out contest, especially when the teams are not all announced. Interest in the meeting of West End and Grey Lynn was weakened by the inability of three members of the latter team to attend, but very few could have expected West End to be defeated in the second round by Howick. Everything went against them, however, in a somewhat similar fashion to the defeat of Auckland by Avondale in the morning, Bremner just switching the jack with his last bowl, when he wanted a perfect trail for five for a win. In each case, as in all the matches during the tournament, it was very fine to see the good-hearted way in which the losing skips took their defeat, although they probably had a shrewd suspicion that public sentiment is usually very much in favour of the smaller clubs. Modest in victory, and with no excuses in defeat, Walker and Bremner are model sports, the first to congratulate their victorious opponents, evidently knowing that they can well afford a few losses, and that these will not be the last. Some Very Close Hatches. Among the many fine games played special reference should be made to Ellerslie, for they had two of the closest in the whole contest. Crosher, Godfrey, Dickson and Osborne were against Brownette, Vincent, James and Addison (Edendale) in the first round, and they had a good taste of the resourcefulness of the Edendale skip. Of course, the latter was well supported, having as his third the champion or the club, who was in the last three in the champion of champions, but at the end he had to do it himself. Three times he burned the jack in the last head, before lie let Ellerslie win. Ellerslie played just as well in the second round, when they met Morgan, Cox, Elvy and Warren (Devon port), all except the lead being in the club's rink, which put up such a fine record at Easter. Both teams played almost like clockwork, rather an interesting contrast in style being shown by the opposing seconds. Cox is deliberate in the extreme, hardly moving a muscle, but Godfrey adopts the free and open style that affords plenty of 'action. However, they both get there. Two close calls also came to Phillip, Koefoed, Knight and Wright (St. Helier's), for they had a wonderful game against White, Johnson, McMaster and Jones (Stanley), the second and skip being the runners-up in the recent pairs tournament. It wa« anyone's game till the last bowl was played, •Tones just missing the shot which would have secured a win. In the second round they went down by only two points to Dominion Road (Chappell, Kelly, Denison, Ramsey). A Correspondent's Views.

"Enthusiast" writes: "As I approached the Carlton green this morning 1 could not refrain from saying to myself, 'What a lovely sight!' Three beautiful greens decorated with bowlers properly attired in their own club colours and uniform, each member of each team playing in dead earnest for their respective clubs in an entirely new and interesting competition for supremacy in bowling honours. Bright sunshine made condition* almost perfect for the ever-fascinating game, yet I could not help saying to myself, 'What a pity (and this is the reason for this letter) the teams have only one chance.' As I watched some of the heroes of former contests get into their motor cars, at the end of the first round, and start for home, defeated, perhaps, by a team of much less average ability, I thought it wa* hard that the rules governing the Bendigo Gold Bowls do not permit of two lives."

This aspect of the tournament was dealt with rather fully in the eight o'clock edition on Saturday, and many players will agree with "Enthusiast" that the rtiles require revision. It is against all bowling sentiment in Auckland to compel players to come such long distances as from Wainku, Henderson, New Lynn, Mangere and Papatoetoe, just for one game, while Pukekohe end Takapuna had only two. Even the two-life system hardly seems good enough, and next time it would be worth while trying to Tun it off in sections.