1948 CHAMPION RINK SUFFER DEEFAT IN BOWLS SECTION PLAY

Wanganui Chronicle, 18 January 1949, Page 6

1948 CHAMPION RINK SUFFER DEEFAT IN BOWLS SECTION PLAY

AUCKLAND, Last Night (PA).— -i he del eat of the 1948 champions, Macklow, Livingstone, Robertson and Mingins (Onehunga) by. a Mangere rink skipped by Burndred, was the outstanding feature of the first day’s ■section play in the fours event of the New Zealand Bowling Association :, annual championship tournament. Mingins went down by 17-22 after leading 17-13 with five ends to play, 'i he game was played on the end rink at the Mount Eden green. Mingins was the only member of she team to show any confidence drawing shots, but his ability, was well matched by Burndred, who had the advantage generally holding the shot when he sent down his first bowl. Mingins, when offered condolences by Burndred as the skips walked back down the green, replied: “Nonsense. You thoroughly deserved to win.” Mingins won his first game against McKeitch (Mount Albert) comfortably. Weather conditions were ideal for play today, with bright sunshine and slightly holding greens, but somtrinks in more exposed positions were a little affected by cross winds. There were many interesting games on the day. The winning skip in 1944, Spearman (Sydenham) had two wins, b. was fully extended in the second game by Harrington (Grey town). The Christchurch man scored sixes on both the 23rd and 24th ends to win after the 25th end by only two points. North, a young skip from the Papatoetoe club, scored an unusual wiy over a former champion pairs skip, Exelby (Frankton Junction) by a single point after two extra ends. On the 27th end, Exelby was lying the shot but North picked up the jack with the final bowland carried it into the ditch to notch the deciding point. The biggest win of the day was scored by Mannix (Waihi). over Greig (Epsom) in a 41-7 victory. Several teams passed the 40 mark and, in some matches, over 65 points was scored by the two teams. The high scoring was produced by game, of 25 ends and no time limit. The winner of the singles and skip of the champion fdur in 1939, W. C. Franks (Balmoral) had two runaway wins with a four containing his two sons. Scores in Franks’ favour were 44-7 and 32-8. Pirret (Tuakau) who has reached the final of the singles with two lives intact, was unbeaten but stretched to the limit by Roper (Ponsonby) to win 22-21- Pirnet, whose four includes his father, scored the winning point on the last bowl of the match. He had a somewhat easier passage in the second match against Walker (Remuera), a brother of the late Professor Maxwell Walker, one of the greatest players in New Zealand bowling history, three times winner of singles titles. One of the strongest fours in the tournament skipped by Benson (Balnoral), sole two-lifers remaining in :he pairs event, suffered a surprise iefeat 25-26 at the hands of McCune (Rawhiti). Georgeson (Kensington, Whangarei' scored two wins in section 16, continuing the unusual run of success scored in the tournament so far by players from his ciub. An unusual scoring feature in games at Remuera and Mount Eden was ;hat Stirling (Remuera) beat Chilcott [Birkenhead) 44-14 after the scores tvere 11-all after the 11th end, when the players went to morning tea. Jenkin (Carlton) at Mt. Eden scored a sensational win over Ayson (Christchurch) 38-25-after being down 0-16 at the end of the tenth head. The Tolaga Bay combination of three Crowley brothers, winners of the 1947 titles, scored two comfortable wins, and Skoglund (Otahuhu), one of the last remaining two-lifers in the singles before swift defeats on Saturday, also came through unbeaten. Engebretsen (Heretaunga), skip )f the champion four in 1945, was not troubled to gain two wins, Franklin, his number three, playing particularly fine bowls. Section play will be continued for .he next three days, with two games each day. Post section play is exacted to commence on Friday.