BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 104, 26 January 1933, Page 3

BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

Two Championship Events Go to Wellington N.Z. TOURNAMENT

(By

“Armada.”)

Tso of three honours in Die New Zealand bowling championships have come to Wellington, W. M. I’arkhouse, ot Wellington club, winning the singles, au<l Naylor's rink, Lyall Lay, the rinks eieuy. I’arkhouse and O’Douuell lost the semifinal of the pairs eveut, but put up a hue performance. A pen sketch of Parkbouse has been published in “The Doiuiuiou, but 1 should like to add my congratulations to him and to the rink champions. Now Zealand Itink Champions. Naylor (Lyall Bay) has been in finals galore, but bad never wou a final until last week, when his rink brought., off the blue ribaud of New Zealand bowling, the champion rinks. He hits been a member of Thorndon club, and also played lor Upper Hutt a few years back. For the past three or four years he bus been one bf the leading skips for Lyall Bay. Jimmy Brackenridge, who played three for Naylor, is one of three bowling sons ot Jim Brakenridge, sen., who has played bowls for more years than any bowler in New Zealand. It is well known to most that the father and three sons composed the famous Brakenridge rink of Newtown club. IL McKenzie, No. 2 for Naylor, is the president of Lyall Bay club, and is mainly responsible for Die fine state of that green this season. He nursed it through the winter months like a father. Nothing could have given him greater pleasure than that, a Lyall Bay rink should win the New Zealand rinks championship during his presidency and iu the year of the club reaching its majority. The Lyall Bay team played most consistent bowls throughout in the rinks, and thoroughly earned the honour they now hold. They had to win every game on their merits, and in the post-section play met souie formidable opponents, none more so than the Carlton team they met in the final game. A word of praise is due to the magntficient leading of Hastings in the champion rink, and it is not too much to say that he showed himself to be one of the two or three outstanding leads in the tournament. His consistency was remarkable, and on no occasion did he let his leader down. Many prominent bowlers remarked upon the value of bis leading to the skip. He invariably made. the head. He had a bit of a breakdown just ns the last bowl went down, and won the game for Lyall Bay, and his first words on coming round were: “Did we win?’’ Visitors’ Stay Broken. W. Beisley, of East Fremantle, returned to Australia on Friday, having had a cable that his father had died. He had intended staying in New Zealand for a few weeks. Although r. McWhannell created a sensation by his remarkable win against Benefield (Wanganui), in which he scored 17 points in the last 11 successive heads, this is not the record of the tournament so far as the succession of heads is concerned. The record for this goes to Priddle, Island Bay, who, in one of his section games, scored on 14 heads in succession. I saw one head on Victoria green iu which till the bowls were draws, no driving. The nearest bowl was 10ft. away, and a line had to be obtained to measure for shot.

A Dead Kitty. Huie 42 says. “If it (the jack) be prevented from falling into the ditch by an opening or any inequality in the bank or any steps in the bank, it shall be dead.” This rule decided the fate of the. jack which was driven into the bank by O'Donnel (Wellington) and stuck there. The head was decJared dead by the umpire. Club and Personal. Mr. G. L. Stewart, who not long ago retired from the office of secretary to the Wellington Education Board, was secretary to the New Zealand Bowling Association at Dunedin before he came to Wellington some years ago. He has not played bowls for some years, but has now joined Thorndon club. A few days ago a bowler on Kelburn green was called to the telephone, and found it. was a business call from Sydney, New South Wales, Walker, Barrington club, Christchurch, who is a left-handed bowler, has the curious trick of putting his right band in liis pocket when delivering his bowl. His only win in the rinks tournament was against J. Porteous, Wellington club. Hughan’s rink from Carterton were one of the bright spots on the greens wherever they were. Hughan was the humorist of the party. Someone suggested that Hughan’s bowls are a mixture of concrete, porridge and rubber. They were a weird-looking pair for colour, but are good bowls. In eight games in the New Zealand tournament 11. A. Shepherd, Hataitai, found his team on end rinks in five of them. No wonder they did not do too well. No bowlers are keen on gettiug on to end rinks, where there is always a degree of unevenness or bumpiness. J. B. Reid’s rink from Lyall Bay_ was the first to inflict a defeat ou J. Kerr’s redoubtable team from Onebunga. A feather in their cap. L. J. Keys, of Auckland, who led for Maxwell Walker in the' rinks event, comes of an old pioneering New Zealand family. His great-grandfather, Chas. Hunt, arrived in Wellington in 1840, but his grandfather, Charles William Keys, arrived the preceding year. December, 1839. The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Charles William Keys was the first white wedding in Wellington province. There is a great number of descendants of the two families in New Zealand. The excellent bowling of the ladies in the tournament on Victoria green last week quite impressed some of the V ellington bowlers. Mrs. Rigby, the winner, and Mrs. Gardner, both had a fine delivery, and played the game most correctly and skilfully. Hataitai Slipping Back. The performances of Hataitai club in th.e pennants, Ute centre tournament, the Hutt tournament, and last, but not least, the Dominion tournament, have caused surprise to many. Not one Hataitai rink reached post-section play iu the centre tournament, and did little better in the Hutt. Seeing the number of teams entered. the record in the Dominion tournament was nothing to write home about. Fielding’s rink did the best, and it was not a perfect rink. The wrong men got into the wrong rinks, and one or two who should have been skips were in lower positions. A good skip makes all the difference to the team work. In my opinion the Hataitai rinks have been badly sorted up. Is it that the club is slipping back, or is there a great improvement in play in other clubs. I think it is a bit of both. Although no notes appeared under this heading last week, iu view of the fact that the New Zealand championships were on, time and space limits accounted for this. The championship games were reviewed from day to day.