Rain disrupts bowls schedule

Press, 28 November 1988, Page 44

Rain disrupts bowls schedule

PA Auckland Organisers of the sixth world women’s bowls championship at Henderson hope there will be no further disruptions to the schedule after the washout yesterday. Three rounds in the singles and fours lost yesterday will be played today. Originally only two rounds were scheduled. It is planned the championships will be back on schedule on Wednesday, which had been set down as a rest day. Today the early interest will centre on the two games between the four unbeaten players in section A of the singles. The defending champion, Merle Richardson (Australia) meets Pula Faraimo (Western Samoa), Janet Ackland, of Wales,

plays Novi Browning (Norfolk Island). Richardson, who has quickly shown out as a popular player and a real prospect to again take the title, began her defence with a 25-3 romp against Jean Haggerty (Kenya). She followed that with a more circumspect, but nevertheless decisive, win over Lorna Gordon, 25-21. Browning pulled off the major upset of the first round with her all-the-way 25-18 win over a New Zealand hope, Millie Khan. The Norfolk Islander then beat Joyce Schindler (U.S.) 25-15. Khan’s hopes slumped further when she was taken to 25 ends in going down 25-24 to Ackland after Khan had led 24-21 after 22 ends.

Khan would need to win all three games to have any chance of making the top two in the section. In the fours the New Zealanders provided their share of heart-stopping moments. Jean Ryan, Pearl Dymond, Judy Howat and Margaret Cole swept to an 18-5 lead after 10 ends against Cook Islands and led 22-9 after 16. The Cook Islanders replied with 2,1, 4, 5 to trail 21-22 with the twenty-first and final end to Play. Both teams held shot but eventually New Zealand got the one it wanted to win 23-21. d Spectators could perhaps have been excused for not knowing who won the triples title.

There was little joy in the Australian camp, even though they had beaten England easily. Deep in more gloom were the English, who had been beaten as much by the system as by their opponents. While not making an issue of -it, the English were left shaking their heads at the outcome. They had marched through 10 games of round robin play unbeaten to take their section by a clear seven points but came unstuck in the final against an Australian team which had lost two games, drawn one and made the final only on a countback. At the last championships, in Melbourne in 1985, medals were decided on a round robin basis with each of the 19 countries playing each other.