OTAGO FOURS PLAYING CREDITABLY AT NATIONAL BOWLING TOURNAMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27291, 18 January 1950, Page 6

OTAGO FOURS PLAYING CREDITABLY AT NATIONAL BOWLING TOURNAMENT

Special to the Daily Times

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 17,

Ten of the 54 rinks from Otago remain unbeaten after four rounds of section play in the Fours contest at the New Zealand Bowling Championships. These fours, with 16 others which have recorded three wins

to one loss, should have an excellent chance of reaching the past-section play, which will begin on Friday after eight rounds within sections.

The records of several other Otago fours which have had only one win, or none at all, are not as bad as they seem. They have had a run of luck against them in many cases to go down by an odd point or two, while the fact that some sections are stronger than others also has a big effect. Otago fours which have come through four rounds undefeated so far are:—Riach (Taieri), Ravenwood (North-East Valley), A. E. Edwards (St. Kilda), Timms (St. Kilda), Middlemass (Alexandra), Jelley (Cromwell), Lang (Hampden), Marshall (Port Chalmers), Claridge (St. Kilda) and Veitch (Kaituna). Those with three wins and one loss are:—McKay (Roslyn), Devereux (Kaikorai), Timmings (Dunedin), Mills (Tainui), Mackay (Caledonian), Forrester (Caledonian), Adess (St. Kilda), Vaughan (Caledonian), Mcßride (Balclutha), McMullan (Anderson’s Bay), Adams (Phoenix), Linn (Opoho), Lloyd (Caledonian), Paterson (West Harbour), Tyrrell (Mornington), Hunter (Awamoa). Fours with two wins and two losses are:—McNish (Caledonian), Anderson (Roslyn), Nisbet (Balmacewen), Maclean (Omakau), Hope (North-East Valley), Austin (Cromwell), Tilleyshort (Anderson’s Bay), Cull (Milton), L. J. Edwards (Balclutha), Wing (St. Kilda), Murphy (St. Clair), Forbes (Oamaru RSA), Clark (Maheno), Mulligan (St. Clair), Henderson (Caledonian), MacDonald (Balmacewen), Logan (Opoho), Crossan (Caversham), Liddell (Mornington).

To qualify for post-section play, fours must obtain six wins or win their section. Those fours with only one win so far, therefore, have little hope of qualifying. Riach preserved his unbeaten record with two easy wins, the first 28 —21 and the second 34—19. Playing on the same green at Linwood, Ravenwood also came right through, winning both his games today most comfortably. Ravenwod included Franks (Balmoral) among his victims. Franks was champion skip at the 1939 tournament, but he could not foot it with Ravenwood, who won 36 —16.

Edwards, of St. Kilda, had to fight hard to secure his fourth win, which was gained by only a two-point margin over Garland (Opawa). Timms, a club-mate of Edwards, was hard pressed, too, in the final stages of his fourth-round game, which he won 21—18.

Middlemans, who is in the same section as Timms, but will not meet him, did some big scoring in the fourth-round meeting with Keen (Edgevvare). Middlemans, one of the unbeaten skips, beat Keen 40—30, and this is the biggest aggregate of the tournament so far. Middlemass registered one 7 and two 6’s on successive ends early in the game to lead 30 —9 after 14 heads. He eased up towards the finish.

Many Otago fours will return to their homes with excellent stories of close games and narrow defeats. Among them will be McKay (Roslyn), who suffered his first loss in the fourth round by only one point. McKay was leading Taggart (Southland) 25—22, with the last end to play, but Taggart registered a 4 on the last head to win 26 —25. Ufton (Kaikorai), who has had three losses, made a fine recovery against Martin (Edgeware) to draw up from 12—18 at the twentieth to tie, 19-all, on the twenty-fourth. However, he failed to draw the winning shot on the last head to lose by one point, 20 —19.

In the same section the visiting Australian rink skipped by Waldron just pipped Mulligan (St. Clair), 23 —21. Mulligan’s rink faded after leading 14 —2 at one stage. Otago rinks who lost games by only one point included Tilleyshort (Anderson’s Bay), Dr Austin (Cromwell), Murphy (St. Clair), Adams (Phoenix), Avent (Balmacewen), and Lloyd (Caledonian), while fours who lost games by only two points were Henderson (Caledonian), Crossan (Caversham), and Liddell (Mornington).

Luck was not always against the southern fours, however, and Hope (North-East Valley) collected two wins today by only two-point margins. Forrester (Caledonian) had even closer victories, getting home both times by just one point. One of the two wins to Linn (Opoho) was over Marriott (Opawa), the national Singles champion two years ago, whom he beat 21 —17. James (Caversham) has only one win so far, but that was over Elwood (Christchurch RSA), who is in the final of the Pairs.