Canterbury four wins

Press, 19 June 1976, Page 4

Canterbury four wins

PA Wanganui R. Watkin (Canterbury) was one of the notable skips who won through to postsection play today in the national indoor bowls fours competition yesterday. However, rinks champions of the past fared poorly yesterday in section play in the fours competition, the final segment of the week-long New Zealand indoor bowls championships. Notable players in the 26-year history of the tournament fell by the wayskie as the original field of 715 was reduced to just 244 after a full day’s competition in three city halls. The major upset yesterday was the failure of S. E. N. Smith’s strong Auckland four

to reach post-section play. Smith, bidding to become the first player in New Zealand indoor bowls history to win five national titles, dropped out of contention with only a win and a draw from four matches. He and the team of Mrs K. Smith. P. Bell and B. Pridham have won a total of 13 ' New Zealand titles between I them over the years since ’ 1962. but yesterday the com- 1 bination could not click in * its earlier precise fashion. The skip of last year’s win- 1 ning four, D. Stagg, of Wei- i lington, was another to fail 1 to go the distance in even 1 section play this year, as 1 were two of his Hawke’s Bay ! team of 1975, Mrs J. Tucker i and R. Tucker (Hawke’s Bay). ‘

Another Auckland player toi lose was Mrs M. Walker, but| a number of ex-New Zealand) fours champions stayed to fight again. Mrs S. Bishop, of Auckland, a winner in 1973, skipped her team to four wins, as did R. Cumberland, another Aucklander, who,) playing for Waikato in 1968, won the singles and played lead in the winning fours combination. Mrs M. Lehmann (Auckland), a member of the winning 1973 side, still stayed in the battle, as did the Waikato husband and wife combination of M. and Mrs O. Sullivan, who last featured in the 1968 four championship.