Veteran Tokoroa bowler out of championship

Press, 28 December 1988, Page 31

Veteran Tokoroa bowler out of championship

By

special correspondent

The Epsom green in Auckland has been the scene for some of Robbie Robson’s greatest bowling successes. But yesterday it turned out to be a courtyard of disaster. After three matches the Tokoroa 70-year-old and one of the country’s greatest players was out of the New Zealand singles championship.

The winner in Christchurch in 1974, Robson lost his first qualifying game to the leading North Shore player, Max Dick, 21-15, won his second against Les Wood (Onehunga), 21-5, but then dropped his third to the strong Hillsboro bowler, John Harding, 21-17. And suddenly a surprisingly chirpy Robson could only muse about one of his shortest-lived outings in the national singles in a long, outstanding career that glistens with a Commonwealth Games gold medal and silver. “That’s bowls,” he said. “I didn’t get the luck today and when it’s blowing as hard as it was today you need it. I didn’t make any shots — but I can’t blame the wind. It was the same for everyone.” It was more the draw he

could blame. Robson, who had previously won two Invitation Singles titles at Epsom and was a semi-finalist this season, struck the hardest on the first day of qualifying.

Robson fell behind immediately against Dick, trailing 84, 10-4 but then Robson clawed back to lead 13-10 only to lose the initiative. Dick won eight of the next 11 ends and finished with two twos to win 21-15. . Robson started better against Harding in a crunch game and the scores were level 7-ail. That was the last time Robson saw Harding who went ahead 13-7, 16-7, 19-11.

Robson picked up a four to draw closer at 19-17 but the competitive Harding retaliated straight away with a two to take the match — and send Robson’s hopes tumbling. Robson, who reached the last 32 of the singles in Dunedin last season before losing to the eventual winner, Kevin Darling, did not need to play the fourth and last qualifying match. In that section Harding, a previous runner-up in the national fours, won through to the post-section play on

Saturday with three consecutive victories.

But Dick also failed to qualify after losing his fourth game, 21-18, to the handy Gisborne bowler Bob Hills.

Maybe it was because of Robson’s demise, but there was a Tokoroa connection at work yesterday. Robson’s best bowling mate, Bob McDonald (Onehunga) — together they won the gold medal in Perth in 1962 — went the same way, out, after winning his first two games but then dropping his last two. And the players McDonald lost to were from Tokoroa — Ted Morris won 21-15 and Brian Jones won 21-20, and thus cutting out McDonald by one frustrating shot in the crucial fourth game.

Day one of the singles was confined to a northern party, with the • southern North Island and the South Island contestants playing their four qualifying games today. Of interest, the famous New Zealand cricketer Bert Sutcliffe, now trying his hand at a sport without a bat, lost two of his first three matches and failed to qualify. Lionel Franks, who won the national singles before Robson in 1969, was another nonqualifier after losing to two

stronger bowlers, Rod Frelan (Hamilton) 21-17 and Neil Campbell (Northland) 21-13. The rest of the proceedings went according to favouritism, with Pat Robertson (Helensville), a former national pairs winner, collecting victories of 21-4, 21-3, 2116 and 21-14, and Trevor Smith (Manurewa), who recently completed an internal tour with the New Zealand Emerging Players team, winning 21-8, 21-5, 21-3. Other well-performed players though were Doug Richards-Jolley (Okau Bay), a four-times national fours winner; Wayne Narin (Papakura), a former New Zealand international; George Fabling and Tony Marinkovich (Takapuna) who together finished runner-up in the pairs in Wellington 1987; Auckland representatives Ivan Marsic (Carlton) and Nick Grgicevich (Hillsboro); Syd Giddy (Rotorua), a former international, and of course the legendary Nick Unkovich. Bidding for his tenth New Zealand title, Unkovich won 21-15, 21-13, 21-9 and then had great pleasure and a big smirk on his face in beating Graham McCall (Morrinsville) 21-1 in 10 ends when McCall needed the win to qualify.