GAME OF BOWLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23284, 1 March 1939, Page 18

GAME OF BOWLS

SPLENDID CONDITIONS PENNANT FINAL DECIDED MEDIOCRE STANDARD REVEALED SUCCESSFUL ROTORUA EVENT BY SKIP Bowlers have been very fortunate as regards weather snd green conditions lately and Saturday's play was again conducted on very fast greens. With the exception of a few inter-club games, play was confined to home matches on most greens. The pennant final, between Buckland's Beach and Howick, on the Auckland green, was the feature of the day's programme. The play in both games was keen throughout, but the standard of howling was not good. Drawing was the order of the day, but even in this department the players were seldom successful in producing good heads. P. Cate, who secured a win, as well as a big margin of points which eventually influenced the decision, was the outstanding player of the eight.

The question will soon be asked whether the present system of conducting the pennant matches is to continue or whether the proposed group ] system will find! enough favour among the clubs to supplant the old method. From the point of view of weather and • green conditions, the Rotorua pairs event was even more successful thftn the rink. contest a fortnight ago. Features of the tournament were the unbeaten section performances of Higginbothani, Por.sonby, and Livingstone, Onehunga. The former's record of wins in the tournament was outstanding, ns, besides 10 section victories, he won two more games in the post-section play. Higginbotham has shown remarkable form in the four big events this season. He was runner-up in the Christmas tournament, showed up well in the New Zealand event, while he played a prominent part in the two Rotorua events. The Ponsonby player's total of wins and losses at Rotorua was: —Ilinks, 8 wins, 3 losses; pairs, 12 wins, 1 loss. The Onehunga pair, Robertson and Livingstone, who were associated in the earlier tournament, when the former player was in charge and Avon the event, again went close to victory. The record of the Onehunga combination is a good one, but it does not quite compar€i with that of Higginbotham, as the latter skipped in both events, whereas Livingstone was at the end in the pairs. Onehunga's rink record with Robertson skipping was 12 wins and 1 loss, while Livingstone's return in the pairs was 11 wins and 1 loss.

It is pleasing to record the success of the lqical player, Pakes, in the final game. He has been a familiar figure in Rotorua bowling for many years, but has had only one previous success, that being, in 1920 when he skipped a rink to victory in the second tournament, which \yas later superseded by the present pairs event. Pakes did not compete in the rinks this time, but reserved his effort for the pairs. His opponent in the final, A. Budd, who conquered Higginbothaai in the semifinal round, was also runner-up last season.

The winners of Inst season's event, J. Hard.ie Xeil and M. Walker, Auckland, qualified again, but did not get past the second round of post-section play, Budd defeating them by a single point. The two St. Heliers teams, skipped by Dawson and Tyndall respectively, gave good accounts of themselves, c:s both qualified, but went out in the second round of post-section play. CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS DEYONPORT TITLE TO LAYZELL One of the first club champions to appear is F. Lavzell, who defeated J. Gray, a former champion, in the final at Devonport. Layzoll is also a former champion, having won that honour in 1921.. The Auckland Club's championship is now narrowed down to three players, C. E. Barnes, G. B. Osmond and L. Pitkethley. Barnes is in the final with two lives and he thus plays the winner between the other two, both of whom are one-lifers. Barnes is in his sixth year at the game, while Pitkethley has been playing for four years. A significant feature of the Te Papapa Club's championship, which was won by the holder of the title, A. Moon, was the fact that his final opponent was a niember of Parliament, Mr. A. G. Osborne, of Onehunga. The latter gave Moon his only loss in the first meeting,, but Moon later had his revenge.

In the Epsom Club's event E. T. Richmond defeated T. R. George and F. W. Wilson, the last-named being then a two-lifer. Richmond will now meet Wilson on equal terms in the final game. H. Cliffe, who defeated R. Hoan earlier, has now to meet Roan again in the Rocky Nook event. A. Farley has the bye and he will meet the winner in the final. All are one-lifers. Keatley, many times winner of the Bockv Nook championship, lost his first life in the opening round and was unfortunate to lose his remaining life through being absent owing to illness. J. C. Duncan is now the only twolifer remaining at Remuera. There is still a number of one-lifers left and it will be some time before the champion is found.