BOWLING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23118, 18 February 1937, Page 4

BOWLING

By Jack

FIXTURES March 6.—Leads and seconds’ tourney (commences). March s.—Otago v. Southland (Harraway Shield) at Dunedin. March 6 and 8. —Champion of Champion Singles. March 10.—Dunedin v. Central Otago at Dunedin. March 13.—Adess Shield rink championship final. March 13.—Dunedin v. South Otago Centre, at Balclutha. March 13.—Dunedin v. North Otago. at Dunedin. March 13.—Finals leads and seconds. at Dunedin. March 20.—Otago v. Canterbury (Redpath Shield), at Christchurch March 25 to 30.—Easter tourneys, Dunedin and North Otago. March 26, 27, 29.—Central Otago tournament. INTER-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP In last week’s notes it was stated in error that Logan Park and West Harbour were still equal at the head of the list in the inter-club championship. As a matter of fact Logan Park won both its sections while West Harbour won one and lost one. The former, therefore, now has a lead of six points. SOUTH OTAGO TOURNEY The steadily increasing popularity of the South Otago Centre’s annual oneday rink tournament was shown by the record entries received, no fewer than 64 rinks, including 42 from the Dunedin Centre, Southland and Invercargill, taking part in last Saturday’s games. This fixture has, as a matter of fact, become almost too unwieldy for the South Otago Centre to handle adequately in the short time at its disposal and with only five greens available. When the post-section stage has been reached it is not satisfactory that important games have to be decided on a few heads. I am not criticising the centre, as it had to have its programme completed, and in the circumstances it did its best to meet the situation. It might perhaps have been better had the time limit been tightened up in the earlier games, but that is a matter for consideration by the centre when arranging future tournaments. The tourney, in spite of the unfavourable weather and the fact that some of the greens were liberally supplied with pools of water, proved thoroughly enjoyable to the players. The final game was played between W. Weir, J. Walls, P. Low and A. J. Dotting (Stirling) and J. Scott. A. Newall. J. Smith and M. Lloyd (Caledonian), the former winning easily by 21 points to seven. Sotting is well known to the majority of Dunedin bowlers, having at one time been a member of the Momington Club. ADESS SHIELD CHAMPIONSHIP The first round of the Adess Shield Rink Championship was played on Monday evening in extremely cold and boisterous weather. Three games were played on the Caledonian Club's green and four on the Kaituna green, the surface of each green being in remarkably fine order. Some very close finishes were witnessed, particularly that between the Balmacewen and Taieri rinks on the Kaituna green, the respective skips being J. Buchan and W. B, Allan. The final head saw the scores 19 all, the extra head yielding one to the “ Ballymacs.” On the Caledonian green A. Thomson (Caversham) and K. Ross (Kaituna) had a great struggle for supremacy, victory finally going to Caversham by a couple of points. . . .. ... One of the surprises of the night was the defeat of the Momington rink skipped by Hardle and the Tainui rink skipped by M’Gregor. As was only to be expected, some powerful combinations were eliminated, notably West Harbour, with J. Veitch at the helm, which went down to Devereux (Kaikorai), and Fastier (St. Clair), who was defeated by Mooney (Anderson’s Bay). The rinks which were eliminated were West Harbour, Taieri, Port Chalmers, Mornington, Kaituna, Opoho, and St. Clair. The next round will be played next Monday evening. TEMUKA CLUB’S SINGLES At the Singles Championship meeting of the Temuka Bowling Club Dr. MTnnes beat T. Edwards in the final game. Dr MTnnes gained the title for the first time in 1935, and the loser has held the title many times. Dr MTnnes will represent the club m the South Canterbury Champion of Champions tournament. CENTRAL OTAGO NOTES The thunderstorm of Wednesday prevented the Clyde-Alexandra game being played, and this fixture will now be played at a later date. Both Alexandra rinks won their sections at the South Otago tournament on Saturday, but did not survive the postE6 Miller^ la Flat met its Waterloo at Cromwell, losing in both rinks. Cromwell also registered four wins against Roxburgh, scoring the maximum points, 12. Alexandra had two wins and a loss at Bannockburn The Bannockburn rink did not horn Ihe Jolly Cup very long, losing on the first challenge to an Alexandra rink skipped by T. Sunderland 25—18. Saturday’s scores: Cromwell v. Roxburgh.—Austin 37, Henderson 14; L. Jolly 26, Dunlay 11; Nicol 25, Scolon 20; Fraser 27, Toms 35 Cromwell v. Miller’s Flat.—E. Jolly 24, Stuart 14; Wilkinson 28. Campbell g Alexandra v. Bannockburn.—Gardner 10, Parsons 32; Marslin 26, Campbell 19; Hamilton 30, T. Crabbe 13. WOODS VERSUS “COMPOS” " Boomerang,” the bowls writer in the Sydney Referee, misses no opportunity to have a tilt at New Zealand. In the latest edition to hand of his paper he leturns to a subject to which he has devoted reams of space to prove that composition bowls are superior to wood. In this instance he uses recent Dominion tournaments in an endeavour to prove his case. This is what he says:— “ In the face of the fact that composition bowls in Australia and New Zealand have exclusively won everything, as big bowls go, the following from the pen of R. Higginbotham, of Auckland, will be read with astonishment. He writes: ‘ To the bowler who essays to draw the shot all the lime, composition bowls in rink play, are, in my opinion, not so effective as a good drawing wooden bowl.’ “ In making such a statement as that, anybody necessarily must look to the results accruing from month to month, and year to year. Speaking for Australia, it is 100 per cent.—the very pos-

sible—and crossing to New Zealand, what do we find? “Rink play or pairs, singles, or anything" else, the same shots appear, and have to be brought off. Engebretsen won 14 consecutive games the season before last in the Dominion tournament, then Frank Livingstone added his 13 or 14, both undefeated, while all tha rest had two lives. “ Letham and the runner-up at Auckland a few weeks ago put the lid on the argument—if one exists outsida Mr Higginbotham. New . Zealand’s greatest player. (with many others), Arthur Parsons to wit, turned in tha finest set of woods in the Dominion to play with composition, and at once succeeded. “ I personally have won every N.S.W, classic, plus A.B.C. pairs, with Henselite, which is composition, and they comprise rinks and pairs. At Mr Higginbotham’s door an Australian beat Brackenridge and Foster, in the Auckland - Dominion championship, using composition, while they usea wood. Jock Best soon after turned to the composition. “In spite of Mr Higginbotham’s statement, New Zealand is * going composition,’ and tons of wooden bowls are becoming curiosities of the dear dead days. He says nothing of their drawbacks, known to the milkman of every bowler’s family. “ Our good friend is drawing largely from his imagination when he declares that, for certain shots, wood is best. If ‘ quite a,few players ’ say they ‘cannot get round a head with anything but wood,’ they need either to come to Australia or travel a bit locally. I saw somebody ‘ get round a head ’ to- trail a jack at Perth that would have been a tonic to Mr Higginbotham’s outlook, and it wasn’t a wooden bowl. " Queensland was the stronghold of wooden bowls in Australia. Get this: In the past years the Rink Championship has been won there with conipo. Currey, the Boldery brothers, and all eight men in both rinks this year used composition, and formerly used wood.” I am not going to argue the relative merits of wood and “ compo.” bowls except to say that I changed a season and a-half ago from woods to Henselites, and have no hesitation in saying that I prefer the latter. Still, I cannot agree that “ Boomerang ” has proved his case by taking Dominion tournaments as an illustration, as he never at any time, makes reference to any classic event when it is won by woods. The recognised big event in the New Zealand bowls world is the annual New Zealand Rinks Championship. R. Howarth, of Christchurch, has skipped the winning rink in the 1936 and 1937 tournaments, and has used woods on each occasion. He also used woods when he skipped the winning pair in the 1936 New Zealand championship tourney. It would not be difficult to quote many other big events that have been won in recent years by woods, just as “Boomerang ” can quote the "compo.” victories. It will be noticed that he quotes “ Jock ” Best as having turned to composition. One certainly has to go from home to get news, but even Jock’s club mates will be surprised that he turned some time ago to “compos.” Certainly he gave Henselites a good try-out a couple of seasons ago and then went back to his old trusty woods.