Bryant, N.Z. four on target for bowls gold

Press, 10 February 1988, Page 72

Bryant, N.Z. four on target for bowls gold

By

T. P. MCLEAN

for NZPA

Auckland Bowling’s most famous player, David Bryant, described by one victim as “a hell of a nice guy to play,” remained unbeaten after the fifth and sixth rounds of the singles in the world championships at Henderson yesterday. Play was completed in searing heat after rain over the week-end and on Monday. Ireland’s bulky, cheery card, Stan Espie, whispering commiserations to the title-holder, Peter Beiliss, at his suffering yet another loss, said, "I was damned lucky to get by that fellow, myself.” It was an understatement. “That fellow,” the lefthanded Zimbabwean, Garin Beare, lay 24 to 18 against Espie in their 25 — shot game and then suffered the mortification of moving a bowl which presented Espie with a four. It was not the first instance in the tournament of the luck of the Irish favouring the Irish; but Espie, a stalwart character, charged to victory. Poor Beiliss suffered rubs of the green against Beare and twice the turning of a bowl on the last shot led to a count of three and once to a four. But, in truth, as Beiliss sadly remarked, his touch was gone and he didn’t know where, or how, to find it. His next big show? The world indoor champion in London in March. And after that? “Nothing,” said Beiliss.

He added, wistfully, “I might retire.” But the much older Bryant, now a gold favourite, was gallantly held yesterday to 13-13 on the sixteenth end by Zambia’s Andy Taylor and,, staggeringly, within the space of two ends, cleanly missed with four drives at the head. Then the seasoned campaigner poured on the heat with counts of two, one, two, three, and two on successive ends and at 23 to 13 sat back for a couple of ends before applying the count. “It was a delight to play the man,” said Taylor. “Because I am most unlikely ever to do so again, I count it as the great experience of my bowling career.” If most of the other singles matches proceeded according to expectations, to Willie Wood, still a strong contender and delighting in a green running at no more than 14 seconds, one victory was an achievement. Joe Riveros, the Argentinian who had beaten Wood by a point, this time was more decisive against the Welshman, Robert Weale, and was always in command in a 25-20 win. Australia’s Ken Williams meanwhile had two excellent wins and, unlike Beiliss, has not yet been disposed of. Competition in the fours was especially notable for the shattering defeat of Australia by Hong Kong in the morning round. The score of 15 to 25 emphasised the abiding mystery of the tournament; the inability of the Australians to click as a team.

By a smart move, the Hong Kong men shifted their lead, Mark McMahon, aged 19, to skip, both morning and afternoon; he played with remarkable coolness. Yet to be discovered is whether England’s victory over Japan by 57 to nil in the afternoon constitutes any kind of scoring record. The small gallery was firmly with the Japanese, who put the bowl down well but, in 90 per cent of deliveries, without the faintest grasp of weight. A marker when England in a merry match defeated Botswana by 30 to 10 was delighted with the geniality of the brilliant skip, Tony Allcock. In moments of stress, he called to his team, “We are in the mire,” and, generally, he led his men from this unfortunate place. The New Zealanders looked strong and confident in their one match of the day, beating Zimbabwe, 24-14. The loose cogs of the previous day were effectively tightened, and the skip, Phil Skoglund, was in fine touch. The lowly Kenya, which possesses fewer than 100 players, got a lift by beating the United States, which has 10,000. Only three of the 23 teams in the fours remain unbeaten; Scotland and Ireland keep going in section A but in section B the Kiwi victory over Zimbabwe cut the latter from the lead. SINGLES Round five: — Section A: Peter Beiliss

(New Zealand) 25, Malcolm Stewart (Papua New Guinea) 15; David Bryant (England) 25, Tolovaa Tuitolovaa (Western Samoa); David le Marquand (Jersey) 25, Andy Taylor (Zambia) 15; Stan Espie (Ireland) 25, Garin Beare (Zimbabwe) 24; George Souza (Hong Kong) 25, Jimmy Ueyama (Japan) 6; Peter Jeens (Malawi) 25, Neil Mclnnes (United States) 24. Section B: Willie Wood (Scotland) 25, Bob Elliott (Swaziland) 4; Ken Williams (Australia) 25, Robert Weale (Wales) 16; Cecil Brands (Israel) 25, Brian Jennings (Kenya) 16; Alf Wallace (Canada) 25, Mel David (Botswana) 19; Peter Fong (Fiji) 25, Joe Riveros (Argentina) 22. Guernsey a bye. Round six: Section A: Beare 25, Beiliss 15; Bryant 25, Taylor 15; Espie 25, Jeens 15; Souza 25, le Marquand 16; Tuitolovaa 25, Ueyama 14; Mclnnes 25, Stewart 21. Section B: Williams 25, Fong 14; Bransky 25, David 14; Wallace 25, Elliott 15; Nicolle 25, Jennings 10; Riveros 25, Weale 20. Wood a bye. FOURS Round five — Section A: England 30, Botswana 10; Scotland 32, Argentina 11; Ireland 29, Israel 7; Canada 28, Jersey 13; Zambia 20, Japan 14; Guernsey 25, Western Samoa 12. Section B: New Zealand 24, Zimbabwe 14; Hong Kong 25, Australia 15; Wales 29, Malawi 12; Fiji 22, Swaziland 19; Kenya 24, United States 10. Papua New Guinea a bye. Round six:— Section A; England 57, Japan 0; Scotland 27, Israel 16; Ireland 25, Guernsey 13; Jersey • 19, Argentina 16; Botswana 29, Canada 15; Zambia 23, Western Samoa 17. Section B: Hong Kong 18, Fiji 15; Australia 40, Malawi 13; Zimbabwe 22, Papua New Guinea 22; Wales 33, Kenya 10; United States 26, Swaziland 13. New Zealand a bye.