Wow. Did you see Katherine Rednall v Alex Marshall – a match of two bowlers right at the top of their game. One drew to within 6″ of the jack, then the other drew inside it, then the first one nudged the jack away for a draw counteracted by a further draw end after end after end. Watch it on catch up if you didn’t see it.
Our non-roving reporter from West Moseley i.e. Ann B said it was a brilliant match and the few comments I saw after the match said it was the best bowls people had watched EVER!
Katherine returned to the portable rink 40 minutes later in the Ladies’ final and romped away with the first set 14-2, but Laura Daniels settled down and got into the drawing groove taking the second set then a 2-0 win on the tie break.
Julie Forrest & Greg had a see-saw game with Julie leading the first set and Greg coming back to tie, then he had a great lead in the second set only to drop a few ends leaving Julie holding 3 and just a draw needed for her 4th bowl and she put it about 5′ past the jack. Greg then came in with a brilliant second giving him the match. He was a bit troubled and had several false starts. We’re not sure if someone was moving at the far end of the rink – I know the tv cameras change positions or whether he was trying to compose himself as both he and Julie were playing so well and he knew every shot was important.
I caught the tie break for the final match. It was very peculiar as the marker said one shot to Jason Greenslade but David Gourlay had the shot bowl right on the edge of the rink and won the match. Jason does playing a lot of weighted shots and although it can be exciting, I personally would rather see players out-drawing each other. However, if that’s his type of game and he’s reached the dizzy heights he has, there is no reason to change is there?
So, on to today. Quarter Finals of the Open Singles
10.00 am Simon Skelton v Mark Dawes
12.45 pm David Gourlay v Katherine Rednall – they were partners in the mixed, so should be interesting as regards tactics.
3.00 pm (check time) Stewart Anderson v Greg Harlow
7.30 pm Perry Martin v Wayne Willgress
Enjoy! Send in your at-home reports. It’s good to share your views too!
