Strong bowls partnership

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34107, 20 March 1976, Page 52

Strong bowls partnership

As a pairs skip, 29-year-old Kevin Darling has built a record second to none at recent national bowling championships, Next season he should be even more formidable, for his lead will be the former Scottish international, Morgan Moffat.

Darling and Moffat, both of whom are in. their first season at Linwood, plan to play together as a pair in club and centre championmships, as well as at the nationals. At their best they should prove a cut above any other pair in the country, although it. does not always follow that out-

standing individuals make a champion team. Moffat, who emigrated to New Zealand after winning a bronze medal in the Scottish four at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, won the singles at Linwood this season with two lives and although he has contested few major tournaments there is no doubting his ability. His best effort on the local scene was finishing third equal in the champion-of-champion singles. He narrowly lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner, Wally Wilkinson (Beckenham), and this was truly one of Wilkinson’s great games.

Last week in an exhibition game at South Brighton Moffat, who is 33, treated the gallery to as good as

exhibition of singles play asi one could imagine. He beat a former New Zealand fours champion and singles runner-up, Harry Todd (Blenheim), 21-5, and in the entire game he placed only one bowl much more than a yard from the kitty. On a number of heads he had four bowls within inches of the target. Darling’s national pairs record in the last four years is two wins and a second, the second being this season when Phil Skoglund (Northern) denied him a third vic[tory by beating him twice, (each time by a single point.

Moffat will be Darling’s fifth pairs lead in the last five years. When he first won the national title, at Auckland in 1973, he was partnered by Bob Dunne. The following year he retained the title at Christchurch in the company of the late Ernie Wilson. At Wellington in 1975 he had another prominent Dunedin bowler, Neville Hill, as his partner and this season he teamed up with Jim Kelly. Such changes, accompanied by such success, are rare in top bowls, but Darling is undoubtedly a pairs skip of extraordinary talent. With a lead as skilful as Moffat, he will have to be accorded even greater respect. Moffat will also play tn Darling’s four next summer — both at Auckland and in local tournaments — and the other members of the team will be Kelly and Brian Smith, who has enjoyed some success in recent years playing for Ken Murray.