BOWLING TOURNAMENT

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12643, 31 December 1926, Page 9

BOWLING TOURNAMENT

. SEMI-FINAL PLAY ;■ ; HATAITAI TEAMS IN FINAL FIELDING, v. HALLIDAY Tp-DAY ' The post-section play of the Wellingtdn Centre’s Christmas tournament j commenced on 1 the Wellingitqn Club’s gfedn 4 yesterday morning, there being nine rinks.Jeffe-in; seven (wins in section play having qualified, j In the morning Naylor (Thprhdon) met Brif-hting (Hataitai), and >a very hal'd fight ensued,,both skips giving of their best. Finally Brighting secured the victory, the scores reading!— Grant!, 'Snow*;,'Martin,Brightjng. 'Hyarrijs, (Gordon, White, Nayior ' The 1 second vgame was between Shepherd (Ha;taitai) and Crawford (Karon), ’who pist got into the seven Wins hr the skin ot lus teeth on the previous (evening. Crawford i: gradually ; forged aheadi to win. by II points, the scores being) ■ -■]■■■' ' ■ ; '■ / Roberts. Platts, Cattanach, Craw- . fqfrd'-.CK.) 26 McGrae, - -Burgess, •• • Shep- • The ‘ third --morning “ game ""was between .Bringans (Khandallah), who has brought the hill club into the limelight in- the r tournament, and should encourage other distant clubs to enter, arid Donoghtie (Petone). Bringans again showed skilful leadership, • and in the-qlosing stages'gained a lead and held it, to finish 7 points up, the final' score being: Warren, Bevan, Wright, Bringans (Kh.) 26 Urwin, Blake, A. N. Other,-Dono-r 'gbue (-P.) jg ( SECOND ROUND

After lunch thu second round opened with Brighting v. Crawford and Hallway v. Bringans. Brighting began to forge away from the start; ' and ' at' the end of eight heads was leading by 12—3. Craw-ford-improved his position in the next two heads by fsur, and play was very close for a few heads’; Wlipn the fourteenth head was gone, Brighting with 15 had a- lead of .5. Then .Brighting improved liis position, until ait the end of the twentieth. - head be Had scored 22 to 12, the last head not being played: Grant, Show, Bright- „• , i n S (H-) ’ ■22 Roberts, Hiatts, Cattanach, Crawford (Ka.) ....: 12 , Halliday work hard for points against Bringans, and in the eighth head some fine play was seen. Halliday was resting two, but Bringans’ No. 3 drew; a .beauty. - Halliday was narrow with his Amt-in trying to trail the kitty for three, but with his second he scored a toucher, his bowl and the opposing bowl . being about 2in on either side' of kitty. Bringans’ last bowl did not alter the position. When it came to a-measure off it took about five minutes to do- it, so fine was the measurement, a special pair of calipers having to be requisitioned, and after another, 'qoreful measure-up ■' by the 'sfcipi'it, was found that ’Hataitai was rqstihg' the sliot by a, sixteenth of' an inch." On the eleventh head Hataitai had hwd<qf‘ two,, and were resting three on the next, when Bringans; with a deadly running shot, killed the head. ' Halliday made usi going in the next few heads, - and on the nineteenth head Bringans was.faced with the position of' having to score heavily in the remaining ‘three heads. This he failed to do, Halliday winning by seven points.: ■'

Emerson, Ardell, Cometti, Halliday (H.) 19 Warren, Bevan; Wright, Bringans . (Kh.) ......*,.....7..... 12 It was a .case .of Warren and Bringans. against the. Hataitai .four, for Bavin was frequently narrow, and Wrigbt had had a relapse -in form, and could rarely draw Ms howl as desired. Cometti drew a number *of excellent shots, and both skips played well, although Halliday found the green very keen in the afternoon, The sun was scorching hot, and the green was very fast and keen, and some of the bowlers found .it very difficult to get the strength. Nevertheless some grand heads were playdd, and the large crowd of spectators thoroughly ’enjoyed the play. SEMI-FINALS - This brought Halliday and Brighting together in one semi-final, while the other ,was fought out between Fielding . (3.) • and Tucker (V.), both of whom had . been playing a great game ■ throughout the tournament. Thus Fielding, by; virtu® of his nine wins in., section play, passed straight into semi-final.

TUCKER v. FIELDING Tucker and Fielding made a start at 3 o’clock, and the green was in splendid order, was just about as keen as it oould well be, certainly as much so as any green has been this season. The sun shone with such intensity that Spectators were glad to avail themselves of all the shade they could get. ••' The Hataitai rink made a ! good start, getting two 'twos and a single in the first three heads. In the next Tucker drew a beauty to his No. 2's’ shot howl and scored two, and, then a single in the next.. CSaridge rested off Bolton’s shot', bowl ahd Fielding drew a second through a narrow port, but had too much pace with his. second, Tucker’s bowls just going through. In ■the - next head Tucker improved his score by a couplte, but the next three were Fielding’s with two two’s 1 and a single. In the eleventh head Tucker was • resting two, and Fielding opened the'head with a running shot, the jack staying on the edge of the bouhdary,' His second shot wept too' far round, and Tucker drew both of his and scored two. Tucker: followed this with two' singles, but "on the fourteenth head Hataitai caine away with a duster of four, whith Tucker failed to disturb. Bolton was useful in the next head, drawing both bowls round the head to take the shot and second shot. . Tucker’s team added, five more in the next three heads to bring the scores,level at 16-all prior to the 19th head. Tucker had' been’lying three, but. Fielding played a couple of running shots, and took out two, just keeping Victoria from taking the lead. Hunter, whose leading had been brilliant all through, plaoed a pgir. right behind the jnok. ‘When the skips went up Fielding had three in, and Tucker, trying to cut out the shot bowl, also cut out his own, and Fielding took three on the head. Tucker killed the 20th head with his second bowl when Fieldirtg was three up, and'on the replay Hnjtnitai’s No. 1 and’2 had each a shot bowl, Bolton drove and missed with his first, and though his skip asked him to draw with the second he drove and missed, although very narrowly. Tucker also drove with ' both bowls, but only took out one of his

qwn, -and with one that Fielding drew Hataitai added four more, Victoria required seven to tie, and eight to win in the remaining head, an almost impossible task against such, opponents, and Hataitai added another to win by eight points. Hunter, Wearne, Claridge, Fielding (H.) 24 McGill, Thornley, Bolton, Tucker (V.) 16 Thornley was the weakest player in ,the Victoria rink, being aver temperamental. J. McGill’s leading was not always of the . best, but Bolt-on played well with the 20th head when he might have given his side a chance by drawing toe shot instead of driving. rink received 4n ovation on their great achievement. f BRIGHTLING v. HALLIDAY Brighting’s rink was a tired one when it took the green against Halliday, having already played two strenuous games.' In eight heads Halliday put on 16 points, including a five ana a six, while Brighting could only take a couple of singles. In the nintl) fiund Brighting drove the kitty in toe ditch and scored two with a toucher in the ditch, and one on the bank. He gained two more in the next head and then a single, the score at the 11th head being 16-7 in Halliday’s favour. On the nest six heads Halliday scored each time, taking eleven points to nil, and at toe end of. the ,17th head Brighting resigned with the score:— Emerson, Ardell, Cometti, Halliday (H.) 27 Grant, Snow, Martin, Brighting (H.) ...! ?. 7 The final between Fielding and Haluday will be played on the Wellington green at 12-30 to-day. HUTT TOURNEY Hutt Valley tournament commences to-day, on Lower Hutt, Central, and Petone greens. AUSTRALIA’S GOOD WISHES A cablegram was received, yesterday by a Wellington bowler from Mr John Rankin, vice-president of the New South Wales Bowling Association, Sydney, wishing bowlers and people in feneral of New Zealand a happy New ear.