Nine Chch teams survive as fours champs near end

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34047, 10 January 1976, Page 3

Nine Chch teams survive as fours champs near end

I’rom

KEVIN McMENAMIN)

DUNEDIN'. , Christchurch. which, ihas nine teams through i jto the last 32. will have xij 'strong' hand to play as', ithe fours championship! at the natiomil bowls; tournament in Dunedin? 'inears its end at the ! week-end. The nine Christchurchj jskips still alive going intoi Ithe third round of post-] section play tomorrow morn-i ling are Bruce Sinclair fSti ’ Albans). Alan Stuart (Burn-! “ham Camp), Kevin Darling; l(Linwood), Arnold Memory* .((Wbolston W.M.C.). Kent Shivas (Burnside), Wally Wil-| ikinson (Beckenham), Stan, ; Lawson (Christchurch), Bill! jCraw (Lincoln), and Ernie; ■ McCahon (Elmwood).

j Sinclair, playing particularly’ well himself over the ‘tense final ends, carried his jteam of Harry van Dal(Sun. Joe Shultz and Jack Edimunds, to a narrow win in The first round today and 'then followed with a sizable (victory in the afternoon, Stuart, who is' close to I Sinclair in the draw, had an j attention-drawing win over the durable Cyril Nola i(Oratia) in the morning, and in the afternoon he easily (beat another Christchurch (Skip, Brian McGowan IPapanui). Smart’s team of Lyn I Hanger, Neil Banfield, who is la member at Mona Vale, and I Ray Hay, is playing well i enough to get very close to l Monday’s final. Darling. I Memory. Shivas, Law son, and IMcCahon all survived today’s i(two rounds without too much .difficulty, although unfortun:!atelv Shivas and McCahon (both eliminated other Christchurch teams in the process.

i In the first round. Shivasi ibeat Jim Rowe (Rangiora).; land in the second, McCahon! I eliminated Cliff Cox (Bar-! rington). McCahon, whose; ’team played very well in the; I morning to beat a former; ifotirs winner, Gordon Jolly* i(Leith)-—McCahon went clear! ion the last six ends—has hadi ito make a replacement in hisi 'team. . His second, Don Duff, took! (Sick on Wednesday and with! ;no other Christchurch play-; lets available a local player.] >Ces Talbot (Kaituna), was] ■ brought in. McCahon’s other] .r>lavers are Andy Gray and; Mick McDonald. Darling, 100. will have al inew player tomorrow. His; (second. Jim Kelly, badly in-* jiured a leg this morning, and ■ Sonny Calder, whose LiniW’ood team was eliminated (today, will replace Kelly. Ilaril bailie ! Lav son, whose team is Peter Jolly, Gary Barnes, and j Bernie Johns, has also come (Strongly into contention. It (had a particularly impressive iwin over the formidable Bill (Cousins (Taieri) this afterinoon, with Jolly and Lawson (.■both showing outstanding •form. Memory, who had to battle '■hard to qualify, will face a ‘big test tomorrow morning ■when he meets John Flett's •strong Onehunga combinafifion. Wilkinson, who has twice ''been placed in the fours, had :a comfortable first round victory today, but he only i' scraped home bv one point ;;in (he afternoon. * The surprise package lias I’been Craw, who is little ’'known outside his own club. • ;He and his- team of George JiO’Dell, Jack Lisle, and Karl sjJagusch beat two highly’lregarded skips, Bruce McKin--;nel (Roxburgh) and George ijWatt (Caversham) yesterday, -land to reach the last 32 is .’a notable achievement for a

i team from a club that has, ! never before had a Dominion (four , entry. Jagusch singled himself out (in another respect yesterday! •when he drove the kitty in- I ;io a black bowl and broke] !the kitty into three parts. The] (pieces were later presented > Ito him in the manner of ai i troph\ . Besides Craw, other Can-> Iterbury country teams have' i performed very creditably.; I'Bert Lawson, whose Methven.; (dub boasts only 16 members,; (fought valiantly before going] lout in the afternoon, and; (three other country skips; I were eliminated at this stage. ; They were Keith Jones,! whose, team was all members .(of his family and who lost to [(Darling, Bob Palmer (Rakaia), i land Harry Scrimgeour li(Rangiora). Twelve of the 27 Christjchurch teams that qualified! I went out in the first round; and no less than, four of them ; jiwere beaten by a single point. '■These were the teams skipped] ;!bv Ken Murray (Linwood),! "Jack Dale (Burwood), who .(could only watch while his '(opponent. Scrimgeour. drew] '] rhe winning shot with his last I Jibowl. and Pat Butts (St; '! Albans) and Harrv Ellwood i J(Hornby), in a tight game. Ellwood played third. J* Trevor Meikle doing the skip- ’■ ping. ’ The defeat of Jolly, and, to '•an even greater extent., that , of Boh McDonald (Onehunga) L were the two major upsets of “the day. McDonald, the win- ’. iii-i in 1973. looked safe when !'he led John Walsh (Winton ■Central) 17-10 after twenty ends, but Walsh scored 11 ’(points on the next four ends to take the game. 21-18. The new singles champion, 5 i Ernie Wilson (Balmacewen), I; also went out in a blaze of ■(unwelcomed glory. He was -Ithree points up on Dave BaldB !win (Paritutu) when he drove '.land removed his only two s', bowls from the head and a’dropped an eight.

Baldwin could hardly be-j lieve his eyes and he happily I went on to win, 26-22. The defending champion.! iNick Unkovich (Okahu BayJ.i [had a convincing win! I this afternoon after having ai i bye through rhe first round. Phil Skoglund (Northern) isi 'another possibility, although! ’his team dropped sixes in! ! both its games today andl ; would never have won them without some wonderful savesi Iby Skoglund. Han y Twemlowj !(Otatara), who easily beat! • Bob Ashcroft (Linwood) this; morning, is also being spoken) •of as a likely finalist.