ELIMINATING GAMES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 19, 23 January 1924, Page 3

ELIMINATING GAMES

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAY.

(BY TELISRAPH PRIJB AIIOCUTIOH.)

CHRISTCHURCH, 22nd Jan. Following-is a description of. the eliminating games in the rinks contest played on Monday :— Stephens v. Marks.—Marks scored on eleven of twenty-one heads played, but Stephens got well into the lead by making two 4 s and a 5 early in the game. The scores at the end of the tenth bead read : Stephens 18, Marks 6. In the next two head 3 Marks got three shots, followed by a couple of singles, but the score against him was too big to be caught up. He was four down after the fourteenth head. In the- remaining heads Marks scored three singles, Stephens making three singles and a 2. Marks had the advantage in the last two heads of making singles. Gray v. M'Cullough.—M'Cullough went down to Gray in a particularly hard game. His defeat meant the elimination of all local rinks, leaving the final to be fought out 'between visiting skips. After Gray had gathered in a single in the first head, M'Cullough opened his account with a great dash, making three singles, a 3, and a single in the next five heads. Gray replied by winning the next five heads with a single, 4, single, and a couple of 2's. This gave him. a lead of. four points, and M'CuDough did not get into the t6p place again..

Bremner v. Smart.—This was one of the finest games, played in the tournament, the drawing of Bremner'-s rink h«iii R remarkably good. Both ttama b«d mxvived Saturday's grilling tut

with "two lives" left, and it was expected that the game this morning would be a particularly hard fight. Higgs skipped the New Plymouth rink, Smart retiring ;into third place. The green played wonderfully well, the rain overnight making little difference. Smart opened by winning the first two heads with a single and a 2, but Bremner rephed in the next two with a 3 anda 4. At the tenth head the scores were 13 to 9 in Bremner's favour, arid he retained the advantage to the end of the game, bringing his final score to 25 Wylie v. BenefiekL-^Only nineteen heads were played in this game, the Newtown rink, which had put Carswell out of the championship on Saturday proving too solid a proposition for Benefield Alter scoring a couple in the first head, Wyhe never looked back, and repeated his performance of Saturday by piline up a big score. In the early heads £' 5 in the sixth head, followed by a 2 made his total 10 to Benefield's 2 (a couple of singles). Of the remaining thirteen heads Benetteld won five with three 2 s and a couple of singles. Wylie scored a 4, a 4, a 2, and five singles. The last two heads played went to Wylie, who scored singles. Fielding v. Smith.—The Fitzroy skip, who distinguished himself on Saturday by winning all his games, went down to the Hatattai skip, who .had a similar performance to his credit.' Smith was playing up to championship form 'but'/ieldS g f£- jD v OUf counters against .him in the third head. That four proved too *ng H ahh ? P ufor Smith to overcome, and although he won eleven of the W6ntyl>neAeads P^yed he never had the lead. After the thirteenth head the scores were: Fielding 16, Smith 7. The latter then got the advantage of the game, and won six of the remaining heads with five singles and a 2 Fielding got singles only, one in the seventeenth head and the other in the last head.

Brenner y. Fielding.-This w M a hardtought game between players of conspicuous merifc, Bremner having won all his games in the post-sessional play, had two lives, and Melding, who was beaten on Friday had one life. The scorine opened evenly, each skip having scored four angles up to the eighth head Bremner made 4 on the ninth head and Fielding got a.2 and a single in the next two heads. Another 4 was made by Bremner in the twelfth head, Fielding replying with a 3, a single, and a 2 The ] sixteenth head gave Bremner a single, making the scores 13 all Fieldmg scored again in the 17th head only, when he made a 2. Bremner increased his total to 23 with a single, a 3, a couple of 2's, and another 3 Gray v. Smart.—Smart scored in five of-the twenty heads played, making a 2 in the second head, singles in the fourth eleventh, and seventeenth, and a 2 in the nineteenth. Gray's score was made up of nine singles, five 2's, and a 3. He got into the lead after the fifth head, and maintained it throughout Wyhe v. Stephens—After each skip had scored a couple of singles,/-Wylie came to light with a's on the fifth head, and a 4 on the jrixth, bringing his total to 11, against 2 for Stephens. The latter never recovered from the shock, and though he played well, he had no chance i£ ■- gup on his opponent, , Wylie y Gray.-ThU was a hard fight between the two teams left with one life each, Bremner's rink having been given ,<l£?\ T he scores were even on the 16th head and of the remaining five heads Wyhe won four with singles and Gray made a single in the 18th. When the last head was commenced Gray required two to tie and'three to win. Wylies nnk got into the best position and were, lying two, when the ■ skips went down. Gray drove and took one out with his first, bowl, but failed/in an attempt to turn the head with his second, Wyhe scoring a single. • .