BOWLING TITLES Fours: Runanga Team Has Two Wins

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 February 1947, Page 4

BOWLING TITLES Fours: Runanga Team Has Two Wins

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. The fours championship of the Dominion bowling tournament in Wellington began to-day in ideal weather and provided some magnificent finishes. Two rounds were played.

The greatest surprise was the failure of the Canterbury four skipped by R. Haworth, who carried off the championship in 1936 and 1937, to win either of its games.

Seventy-nine of the 304 fours won their two games. Among them are the former champions, C. Spearman (Christchurch R.S.A.), W. Bremner (Epsom), M. J. Squire (Hawera), F White (Runanga), Wilson (Mount Eden), formerly of Linwood, and F. Livingstone (Onehunga). Jenkins (Carlton), the runner-up in 1933, also won two gapes, as‘did E. P. Exelby (Frankton Junction), who is the only competitor, still in the singles and pairs. S. J. Franks (Balmoral), skip of the champion four in 1939, was narrowly beaten in his second game. Both the Wellington Club’s greens were in use again. J. T. Pavilt (Fitzroy) had a comfortable win against E. J. Watkins (Whitiora), who was the runner-up skip in 1940. H. Wilson (Mount Eden) skip of the fours national title team in 1934, and 1938, was beaten by R. E. Craig (Island Bay) and J. A. Bridges (Frankton Junction). Taranaki Champion.

One of the best matches on this green in the morning was between A. Dickinson (Avon-Stratford) and J. F. Benson (Balmoral). Dickinson has won his club singles 14 times and has been Taranaki champion of champions twice. Benson was No. 3 in the winning four of 1939. Yesterday the teams were equal four times on the twentieth end. The score was 17-all. Benson then put on 2,2, 1, and 2. On the twenty-fourth end, Benson’s No. 2 drew the shot when the team was 2 down. Dickinson’s No 3 carried the jack to give his skip 2 on the twentyfifth. Benson’s No. 2 got the shot and Dickinson’s No. 3 carried the jack for two. The skip with his first bowl hit a bowl six feet from the jack and went off. Benson played a wide bowl. Dickinson finally trailed and lay two shots. A measure failed to give the third shot to ensure a draw, so Benson won 22-21.

Benson was engaged in another good match in the second round with H. D. Curline (Kilbirnie). On the ninth end, Benson was 22-13. The tenth head was killed by Curline’s No. 2 On the twenty-third end, Benson. was leading 25-20. The twentyfourth was a widely scattered head, and the Kilbirnie team got . a five, making it equal. On the replay, Benson won with his last bowl by 26-25. At Hataitai C. Spearman. (Christchurch R.S.A.), skip of the winning pair in 1944, had two big score wins. At Hutt Valley, G. T. Owen (Opawa) won. by 20-16 against W. Gilbert (Kelburn), who won the Wellington Christmas fours in 1945. Owen fell in the second round to W. Bremner (Epsom), the champion skip of 1934 and 1929, who demonstrated much of his old skill.

An interesting contest at Island Bay was that in which W. R. Fleming (Newtown), at the head of a strong four including A. R. Hastings, who was lead for L. N. Naylor’s champion four in 1933, disposed of P. W. Smith (Thorndon). Fleming held his second life.

On the same green M. J. Squire (Hawera), winner of the 1939 and 1941 pairs, met the Shirley four skipped by H. B. Kay, who has done well and remains in the pairs. Squire won by

26-18. Both he and Kay won their second round games. Franks Beaten. The singles and fours' champion of 1939 W. C. Franks (Balmoral.) was beaten by J. Lobb (West End, New Plymouth) on the Johnsonville green. Lobb, who is a member of the New Zealand Bowling Council, has won the Taranaki annual tournament six times. , . . Lobb, however, was not equal in skill to W. Spurdie (Inglewood) who won by 22-13. Spurdie had already proved his superiority over W. F. Hadwin (Hutt), who was third in the Christchurch tournament last year. R. Haworth (Canterbury) was beaten by T. Adams (Karon) and H. Hobson (Foxton) on the Kelburn green.- It was no easy task for the winning fours. _. , , At Thorndon, H. F. C. Dicksons Khandallah four, which reached the final 12 in the tournament last year, won both its games. The second was against Proudfoot (Paekakariki) ana proved one of the most gruelling matches on the Thorndon green. Proudfoot led by 20-17 on the twentythird end. On the twenty-fourth end, Maloney, Dickson’s lead, lay the shot. Peters, No. 3 for Paekakariki, drove and left the kitty two feet from the ditch. Lowry, No. 3 for Khandallah, who won the pairs championship in 1937 for Petone, drew two shots, Dickson adding two more, and Khandallah led by 21-20 for the first time in the game. On the final end Dickson went back two down, but turned one of his own bowls in for a shot to win by 22-20. Bennett (Hastings), the singles champion in 1938, lost his first game by 24-17, but had a win by 37-13 in his second. , W. D. Bennett (Hastings) was outbowled by J. R. McCullough (Cailton), but he returned a life in the second round. The Dominion skip of the fours in 1940, F. Livingstone (Onehunga) had two wins against moderate opposition at Victoria.

Wins for Runanga Four. At Kelburn F. White (Runanga), with the same four that won the championship last year, met Macey (Remuera), who was skip of the winning British Empire Games pairs at Sydney in 1938. Up to the thirteenth end, there was little difference in the scores. On the twenty-first end, Macey got a four, but was still two down. White’s team dominated the rest of the game and won. easily. • T T. Skoglund (Otahuhu), who won the 1939 and 1946 Wellington Christmas fours tournament, and the open tournament in Taranaki, and is one of the six left in the championship singles, was beaten at Lyall Bay by W. F. Sherwood (Seatoun). After T. A. Barrow (Seatoun) had beaten W. Goodwin (Upper Hutt), at Newtown, he was beaten by one point by O. Silbery (Petone). Two easy wins were scored by L. H. Rodgers (Feilding), whose four contains as No. 3 W. R. Wenham, who was third in the New Plymouth tournament last month. The runner-up in 1933, H. B. Jenkin (Carlton) disposed of G. P. Spence (Victoria), at Seatoun. Strong opposition from T. A. Fox (Christchurch) was overcome by one point. W. Freeth (Maitai) who is the only two-lifer left in the singles, had little difficulty in beating F. Redpath (Linwood), who played No. 3 in the 1934 and 1938 winning four. Freeth, however, lost a life to W. Spencer (Epsom) in the second round. The fours competition will be continued to-morrow.