Burly Skoglund seems certain of games selection

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32210, 31 January 1970, Page 9

Burly Skoglund seems certain of games selection

?By

K. J. McMENAMIN)

AT 32 years at age and A with three national singles titles to bis credit, P. C. Skoglund, of Palmerston North, can look back on a career of which any bowler would be proud. Yet, in the opinion of many competent judges who followed Skoglund’s progress closely throughout the recent Dominion tournament in Christchurch, he could now be on the verge of dominating the sport to an extent unmatched by any bowler before him. Such predictions assume an even greater significance when it is remembered that bowls is one of the sports on the programme for the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in less than six months’ time. There seems little doubt that Skoglund will be the specialist singles player in the bowls team for the games, and on his broad shoulders might rest New Zealand’s best chance of a medal in the sport On the home front, Skoglund can look forward with a certain degree of confidence to becoming the first man ever to win four national singles titles and even the record of five Dominion titles—a feat accomplished by only four men—might not be beyond his grasp. His unde, T. T. Skoglund, was the champion fours skip on four occasions, and with age well on his side there

seems little doubt that P. C. Skoglund will add many more chapters to the success story of a family which has made its name almost synonymous with bowls. Skoglund believes that he is playing better now than he has for some years, although he feels he has yet to regain the form which won him his first singles title in 1958 when he was a mere lad of 20. Interviewed a few moments before his nowhistoric first game against G. H. Jolly, Skoglund said the only change in his game in recent years was that he did not drive as much as he used to. This might partly explain why Skoglund confounded many spectators by bis reluctance to drive on the vital last end of the first game against Jolly, when the Dunedin man had two bowls resting against the kitty. Skoglund tried to spring the kitty with firm running shots on his second and third deliveries. When both failed to achieve the objective he had no alternative but to drive, and although on target the luck of the bounce gave Jolly the shot, and the game. In the second match, Skoglund left no doubt about his superiority and Jolly was subjected to the fate that befell the 13 bowlers who had the misfortune to be drawn against the Palmerston North man earlier.

In contrast to many top bowlers who play every day.

Skoglund avenges only two practice sessions a week on the green and he relies mainly on week-end competition to bring him to top form. Skoglund. who is a travelling salesman by occupation, coaches men’s indoor basketball in the winter and as a former Wellington and Manawatu representative at the sport, he is well qualified for the task. By his deeds, Skoglund has shattered the conception that bowls is purely an old man’s game, and he believes that if New Zealand is to figure prominently in world bowling more young men will have to be attracted to the sport. Skoglund joined a bowling club when he was 17, but in a family which discussed bowls “at breakfast, dinner and tea," membership of a club did not mark his entry into the game. Skoglund is at home on any type of green and with the likelihood of the Edinburgh surfaces being a little slower than most New Zealanders are accustomed to, his adaptability could be of major importance. The three selectors who will choose the New Zealand bowls team to go to Edinburgh must have had their task made a little easier by the fact that ail three titles at the Christchurch tournament were won by members of the 1958 team which toured South Africa.

Skoglund (singles), Jolly (fours) and W. R. Wilkinson (pairs) were the titie-

winners, and it must have also been cause for satisfaction to the selectors that the other four members of the team to South Africa— H. H. J. Robson, W. D. Scott, P. E. B. Jones and C. Simon —were also well to the fore. Besides these men the only other bowlers to come into consideration for selection at the tournament were R. L. McDonald, W. R. Fleming and N. Unkovich. McDonald, a gold medalist in the pairs with Robson at the Perth Commonwealth Games in 1962, might have confidently looked forward to visiting the land of his ancestors after the first week of the tournament, but as his form fell away in the second week his chances of selection must have also diminished. With the two players to contest the pairs being drawn from the four for the rinks, the selectors will have to give careful consideration to the composition of their side. Another noteworthy fact is that nearly all the leading contenders are skips, and it has been proved many times that four outstanding bowlers do not necessarily combine to make a strong rinks team. If this viewpoint is taken, Fleming might prove invaluable as a specialist lead. There seems little merit in the argument that at 66 he is too old to take part in a competition which will require very little day-to-day travelling and only one match a day.

Unkovich was virtually unknown on the national scene until before the tournament, and this coupled with the fact that he has not even been nominated for selection by his centre, could convince the selectors that further proof of his ability is required. It seems unlikely that the selectors will go beyond bowlers proven in international competition. If this is the case, Skoglund, Jolly, Wilkinson and Robson must be favoured to win four of the five berths open. It is the fifth man who will probably cause the most head scratching.