Bowling Notes

Southland Times, Issue 19552, 5 May 1905, Page 4

Bowling Notes

(By

“Skip.”)

Tho long looked for tournament with Ita Champion Rink Contest Is now a thing of the past and all that is loft to bowlers is, whenever they chance to encounter each other in the street, “to Bght their battles o’er again and thrice to slay the slain.t That is always providing it is tho enemy that has gone down. But the meeting just concluded has been brimful of incident, and players and onlookers have stored away in their miTiriq any amount of subject matter that will on slightest provocation lead to most animated conversation. Look at I the heroes that represented the corporation, Messrs Longuet, McKay, Martin and Stead—Who would hkivo thought that tho redoubtable president would have gone down before them ? Yet he did go down. Only by ono point it is true, but in so for as a win is concerned one point is as good as fifty. Fortuno had been kinder had sho allowed them to meet a weaker rink than Mackie's, for doubtless their efforts against Findlay had shorn them of their strength. Anyhow our worthy J councillors were but small potatoes to the sons of the Plain. Then again where was I’orteous this l time ? Ho has, in our club matches, bee* performing wondrous feats and had drawn the eyes of all our Southern bowlers unto him, but meeting Kaitunu Sneddon, he was Samson without the locks.— £ look to see honour, when better supported, and many laurels hardly won by this same Samson. H>ain had a somewhat easy course through the first three games of'lhe ordinary rink. Indeed it wa.s only against Ball that ho met anything like serious opposition and then the ” muckle wretch ” came gallantly forward and carried home the team to victory. The final against Sneddon was but a poor affair for civil strife was raging in Kaituna's fold, and lie fell an easy prey.. And where was Erskine ? Echo answers. The great Carswell lost him, nor in the champion section light was he much in evidence, but he turned up all right in the doubles. Hain and McIlwrick found him on Wednesday afternoon and they are sorry for ;t yit. Our good old veteran R. Taylor had a merry time of it in the rink matches. Payne went down before him and it was a sheer fluke that brought Lock’s Gore team level with the Southlanders towards the end of the game. These two teams met again in tho champion semifinal and a good finish would have resulted but for the rain. It was a mystery to mo why R. Taylor continued the game for neither J. Taylor nor J. Rennie could hold their bowls much less get them up. But in tho pairs match what became of R. Taylor and D. Miller ? McIntyre and Gibson (Taieri) can perhaps answer this query. A. E. Smith had a close match against C. Hannah, losing by a couple of points. W. Wesney went down before the Lawrence contingent and 1 . Leek, after a. really good fight, had to confess deI teat to Carswell.

In the champion section matches J. E. Taylor with W. Manson, P. Gilkison and A. Harper, was conspicuously successful, all hard fought games too where nerve was all-essential. Three games did this rink) win by a single point, losing against Allnutt (that .player’s sole win) also by a single point. Harper was the skip’s great support but the whole team played up well. Indeed, in one of the games especially—that against Dall—W. Manson left H. Smeaton sadly behind. Erskine and Leggat were tho disappointments. They had pretty good rinkh but except in one or two games did not make a great fight. ■ The most notable achievement oi Findlay’s was the defeat of McLaren, and the game which he lost by a single point against R. Taylor. What a narrow margin separates victory and defeat 1 Had he been able to score at that last head, he and not Taylor would have been in the finals anti this same remark applies to Sneddon —one point kept nim out oi the chance for the big prize. It was Hain’s day out this Easter. With Wallace leading in such style that no other leader in the tourney could equal him, and Allen and Mcllwrick doing capital work, Hain had a fine opportunity of coming to tho front and results would seem to show that he seized it. Tho two most successful rinks were Dall’s (St. Kilda) and Hain’s (Northend). There two were on Tuesday morning still in everything. They met each other in each rink semi-final and each was won by Hain by a single point. The Erskine brothers beat Dall and Keast in the pairs match. ' The weather promised at one time to ruin the whole meeting but it didn t. Northend green played splendidly and tho efforts of the ladies in the tea room reduced discomfort to a minimum. I must hardly close these notes without a reference to Ab' C. J- Rayne, vice-president of the New Zealand Bowling Association. He was particularly jolly, took his defeats so handsomely, and played such a sound game that ho has obtained a host of admirers down South and all Invercargill bowlers will when his turn comes to act as president next year wish him 'good luck.’.