Chch bowlers well up

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34045, 8 January 1976, Page 3

Chch bowlers well up

< By

KEVIN McMENAMIN)

DUNEDIN. . Six teams that have: qualified. 15 on the verge and a further 17 possibles. This was the happy position of Christchurch teams after the third day of section play yesterday in the fours at. the national bowls' tournament in Dunedin. ■ The six skips who need have few worries for the final ■ two section rounds are Royi Spear i Edgeware). Brian McGowan (Papanui). Wally Wilkinson i Beckenham), ■ Bruce Sinclair <St Albans). Ken Murrav and Bob Ash- ' croft (both Linwood). They all reached the qualifying mark by maintaining their perfect records ' through the fifth and sixth rounds today, and almost everv win was clear-cut. Perhaps the surprise of the -extet is Spear, who along} with his third. Dave Gowans, has followed on from a good j performance in the pairs, in i

• which they lasted eight i ' rounds. The other two members of the team are the father-and-i son combination of Archie and Gordon Johnstone. Spear has won all his six} games with something to! spare. Sinclair has also good, reason to be pleased with his team's performance, for he had to reshuffle the playing! J order and bring in a new man shortly before coming south. The replacement was Harry van Dalsun, and the other two members are Jack 1 Edmonds and Joe Schultz. 1 Another team that had to be changed at a late stage and which is performing better than might have been 1 expected is Tom Dixon’s South Brighton entry. Dixon} brought in Alex Tyrie (Fendalton i just before he left Christchurch and then, just i before the fours began, his ' usual playing partner Peter}' Meier, had to return home.l. Meier’s father, Claude, filledii •the gap. j, I Yet even with theseL 'changes — his only original! member is his son-in-law, 1 Graham Stanley — Dixon hash

(five wins, and yesterday! 'morning had a morale-! boosting. 26-24. win over the} new single champion, Ernie 1 Wilson (Baimacewen). In the same position as Dixon is Walter Hadlee (Fendalton), who, if he achieves nothing else at the tournament. is likely to have one distinction. His sixth-round match against Phil Dickison (St Clair) lasted for five hours, which is believed to be the longest battle so far. It was notable on other counts, too, being a game of excellent heads and a thrilling finish. Hadlee after being 1-12 down after seven ends and 14-23 after nineteen, ■ scored a five on the final end, all drawn shots, to win by I two. Dickison’s younger brother,} lan (Kaikorai), however, was! more fortunate in another! very close finish, against! > Stan Lawson (Christchurch). I | Although picking up a seven! lon the twelfth end, Lawson! (trailed all the game, but .on I the last end, mainly through the efforts of his third, Ber- , nie Johns. Lawson had vic- ■

Itory in his grasp. However,; 'Dickison succeeded in mov-| ling the kitty slightly for! I three shots and a 33-30 win.; Lawson bounced back} with a comfortable win in the afternoon, and he should not have too much trouble getting his sixth win today. On the same green as Lawson, Ray Speer (Cashmere) also figured in an exciting finish. He was five up on the board and six down on the head when he came to play his last bowl against the 1951-52 All Black. Ray Bell, but managed to draw second shot. However. Speer was put out of the running when he lost for the third time in the afternoon. Kevin Darling (Linwood), whose pairs final against; Phil Skoglund (Northern) last Sunday is still the talk-, ling point of the tournament,! ■kept his hopes alive with hisj {third and fourth wins yes-1 ! terday, the fourth by a single ; point, and Cliff Cox (Barrington) did likewise. Among the Christchurch skips to drop out yesterday were Travis Coup (Kaiapoi), whose team faded badly and ■ was twice heavily beaten, Peter Remi (Hornby), who 'followed three straight wins I with three straight losses, land Hugh Berry (Spreydon). (whose team also lost its j earlier edge. Paradoxically, another} {Spreydon team, that skipped! by Bob Cullen, came to life' I with two good wins yester-i (day, although they came too) late to matter. Two useful I [Cashmere teams, skipped by! 'Fritz Fiecken and Alan Rob-' ■ erts, were among others toj ifall by the wayside. W. H. Rhodes (Halswell); ;brought off the biggest upset; lof the day by beating aj (former title-holder in Gor-i {don Jolly (Leith), 21-20.' Rhodes went into the game, with five losses, and Jolly with five wins. Christchurch skips on four wins are: Ellwood (Hornby), Scrimgeour (Rangiora), Saunders (Boon Hay W.M.C.), Memory (Woolston W.M.C.), Browning (Sydenham), Craw (Lincoln), Cox (Barrington), Westrupp (United), Rowe (Rangiora), Palmer (Rakaia), McCahon (Elmwood), Johnston (Woolston W.M.C.), Weaver (Rakaia), Darling (Linwood), Doig (Rakaia), Martin (Dallington), and Manson (Shirley). | __ j Tennis.—Fred Perry, Britain’s! [last winner of the Wimbledon; [men’s singles title in 1936, hasp [put some of his tennis trophiesG up for auction to help young • pc °P ,e *ake up sport. I'