REVIEWING THE POSITION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 9, 11 January 1934, Page 16

REVIEWING THE POSITION.

PROSPECTS OF AUCKLANDERS. THREE PAIRS HAVE A CHANCE.. (By TRUNDLER.) The prospects for the Auckland competitors do not look as bright as one would like. Keys and Walker (Auckland) eeeni to have the best chance to qualify for further play, and if they beat De Largey and Munn (Canterbury) this morning their position is assured, if they lose, however, and Elliott and Summerell (Caledonian) defeat Sinclair and Collett (Waimate), the result will be a tie. The Auckland pair met the Caledonians in the third game yesterday, and won, so they seem fairly safe to continue this afternoon to find the green winner by playing the winning pair in section _Fl. The latter is almost sure to end in a tie, and it will take all the rest of the morning to settle it. The argument that favours Walker's prospecte counts against the prospects of Higgett and Duncan (Carlton) in section G, for the best they can do is to get a tie with Buist and Dowland (St. Kilda), and the latter won when they met yesterday morning. However, anything may happen in bowls. This morning the Carlton pair meet Smith and Bentley (Dunedin), who were level with them yesterday with three wine, so one of them must go out. The difficulty with Carlton is that even if they win, and Dowland loses,' the latter is the same Dowland who did so well in the singles, surviving until the seventh round on Tuesday afternoon, so he is sure to be in good form. Where the Dunedin telegram says that in some cases the section winners are already beyond doubt, it means that even if the leading pair lose their last game they will still win the section; that is to say, no other pair in the section have more than two wins. Unfortunately, this applies to most of the other Auckland viz., Gribble and Turner (Mount Eden), who won their first game by defeating Gibson and Beecroft (Dunedin) in section Al; Stormont and Parsons (Ponsonby), in section Ci, which is won outright by Parry and Healey (Waimate), who beat the Ponsonby pair by 10 points; tire and McConnell (the other members of the Ponsonby rink) in section Dl, whose prospects were shattered by the section winners Reid and Smith (Invercargill) when the latter won by 22 to 12. There is still a bare chance that the other members of Walker's rink (Waters and Smith) will qualify, but the irony of fate puts them against Shannon and McLaren (Greymouth) this morning, McLaren being Walker s lead in the last tournament, in which he played in Auckland before leaving for the South. Smith has to beat McLaren, and Macnab has to beat Hinchcliflf, for the Auckland pair to get in, and Hinchcliff is no novice at the game. The remaining round, the fifth, in the section play, was timed for this morning, although the official programme gives two rounds for to-day, and only three for yesterday, instead of the four that were played, in accordance with the decision at the annual meeting of the council last July. Seven sections were won outright by one pair, and several resulted in ties between so many that it will take the rest of the morning to get settled. They will play one game of 21 heads where there are only; two pairs involved, or two games of 12 heads if three or more pairs tie. This afternoon the two section winners on each green will meet, in order to find what is called the green winner, but this may be done this morning if both sections on a green are won outright. There will be fourteen green winners, and

they will play their first round of postsection play during the rest of the afternoon. If a good many sections are won outright, however, without requiring any ties to be settled, it is probable that the committee „will push on with part of the post-section play immediately after lunch, thereby getting in altogether one round and part, of another. The object is to eliminate as many as possible to-day, in order to avoid duplications held up by the rinks next Wednesday, as the rinks are always given preference where players are in more than one competition. Rinks To-morrow. The big event of the tournament, the rink championship, commences to-morrow morning at 9.30, the late hour of starting being significant of the decision to make it a more leisurely function than the singles and pairs, and also more leisurely than undei* the former system of playing' nine rounds in three days. Two rounds each day for four days will not tire anyone, and the whole scheme is designed to afford a really pleasant holiday for all the competitors, whether old or young. Four days are to be given up to these qualifying rounds, but the scene will change next Wednesday morning, when all the rinks who qualify will enter upon the far more strenuous post-section play, three games each day, most likely taking eight rounds, but possibly, nine, to find the champion rink. While the rink play is going on, further play is suspended in Uie singles and pairs, and it is unlikely that much more progress will take place in the singles until a few rounds in the post-eection play have been 'completed, ■ for four of the five who are still "alive" are skips in the rink competition, viz., Veitch, Carswell, Harraway and Martin, while Nicolson is playing No. 2 in George Deare's, taking the place of Best, who was in the rink when they won in Auckland three years ago. Some of these are bound to qualify, and even if only one continues in the postsection play of the rinks till to-morrow week (which is quite possible, and has happened before), the singles championship may not be settled till Saturday of next week.