Marshall, Grant Pairs Bowling Champions

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31323, 20 March 1967, Page 14

Marshall, Grant Pairs Bowling Champions

After having to play two finals, L. Marshall and K. Grant (skip), of the Christchurch Working Men’s Club, won the Canterbury open pairs bowling championship at Burnside yesterday.

They beat the St. Albans team of H. Hartley and W. Wilkinson (skip), 24-8 and 21-14.

When Wilkinson lost the first match he and Grant still had one life intact, necessitating a second final. It was the fifth time Wilkinson has been runner-up in this event.

In the first final, Grant

built up a handy lead of seven shots by the end of the sixth end and he steadily increased it to win comfortable at the seventeenth. Marshall’s almost perfect drawing on the fast green was largely responsible for this win. Grant was again away to an early lead in the second final, and after three ends was leading, 5-0. However, by the end of the seventh end Wilkinson had caught up to 6-8.

At the end of the fifteenth end Grant led 16-10, but desperate bowls by Wilkinson enabled

him to be close to two points of Grant by the eighteenth end. Struggling to keep in the game, Wilkinson attempted to break up the head at the nineteenth with a strong drive, but he missed everything and virtually lost the match.

Trailing by seven points with two ends to play, Wilknson twice burnt the kitty, but he could not repeat his successful driving a third time, on the twentieth end, and lost the match, 14-21.

Marshall. lead for Grant, drew outstandingly throughout the day particularly In the two final matches. He handled the blusery north-westerly very well in the latter stages. Grant was very consistent and nearly always strengthened the head after Marshall had played. For the St. Albans pair. Hartley played some good shots, but he could not match the accuracy of Marshall. Wilkinson played below his best and often found himself in the position of having to drive to break the head after Marshall's fine shots. Other results were:—

Quarter-final!. Christchurch' W.M.C. 18, Fendalton 8; St. Albans 14 (Cogswell), Elmwood 13; Rakala 19, Riccarton Racecourse 18.

Semi-finals—St. Alban* (WIN kinson) 16, Rakaia 10; Christ* church W.M.C. 21, St. Alban* (Cogswell) 14. Wilkinson had a bye in the quarter-finals.