2024 Imagine Cruising World Indoor Bowls Championship โ Day 13 Recap
GILLETT THROWS HIS HAT INTO THE QUARTER-FINAL MIX
Les Gillett became the fourth player to confirm their place in the quarter-final line up in Imagine Cruising World Indoor Bowls Singles Championship, beating 2006 title holder Mervyn King 8-7, 9-8 (writes Anne Dunwoodie, WBT).
King built up a solid 7-4 lead in the opening set after six ends. But it was the 53-year-old Leicestershire player who took the set, reeling off a 1, 2 and 1 finish.
Gillett kept that momentum going in the second set, taking a full house of four shots on the first end and then opening up a 5-1 advantage after three.
A further full count of four went Gillett’s way on the sixth end to lead 9-4, and although this time King scored on the last three ends he narrowly missed out on the set and ultimately the match 9-8.
One interesting fact from the second set – King scored on six of the nine ends, while Gillett won three, but courtesy of two full counts plus a single victory went to Gillett.
RESULT: Les Gillett (Eng/2) bt Mervyn King (Eng/14) 8-7, 9-8.
DEFENDING CHAMPION STAYS ON COURSE TO RETAIN HIS SINGLES TITLE
Jamie Walker negotiated his passage into the quarter-finals of the Imagine Cruising World Indoor Bowls Singles Championship. In a replay of last year’s title decider, Walker once again edged out Inverurie’s Jason Banks in a neck-and-neck tussle 7-6, 7-5 with both sets decided on the last end.
Banks produced a sizzling display of lead bowls, but Walker played some bold shots to keep the game tight, non more so that the last end of the opening set.
Banks held a 6-4 advantage but Walker held a potential two shots on the last end. However, rather than settle for a drawn set, Walker played a brave runner, connecting with the head, forcing the jack through the head, and when the dust had settled he counted a magical treble that gave him the thumbs up 7-6.
In the second, Banks took a 4-1 four end lead, but a double and single for Walker saw them share the score 4-4 and two ends later they remained locked again, this time at 5-5 on the penultimate end.
Walker though rolled in a double to win the match and set up a quarter final berth against fellow Englishman Harry Goodwin on Friday 19th January at 10am.
RESULT: *Holder Jamie Walker (Eng/1) bt Jason Banks (Scot/16) 7-6, 7-5.
REDNALL CHASING A SIXTH LADIES MATCHPLAY SINGLES TITLE IN TEN YEARS
Twenty-eight-year-old local Norfolk teacher Katherine Rednall will be chasing the Ladies World Matchplay Singles title for a record extending sixth time in ten years when she lines up in todays title decider (Thursday 18th January at 1pm).
In her semi-final at the Imagine Cruising Championships yesterday (Wednesday 17th January) she did enough to win the first set, scoring a single on the last end to win 7-5.
However her 25-year-old opponent – Nicole Rogers from the Exonia club in Exeter pulled her game together in the second set, winning five of the opening six ends to lead 7-1, and she put the set to bed with a single on the last to win 8-4, square the match at one set all and go into a best of three end shoot-out.
Shot down on the first end, Rednall ran at the head and cracked the jack to the right hand respot area but Rogers played her last bowl slightly on the tight side and it was advantage Rednall winning the first of the ‘best of three end’ tie break – and she scored the match winner on the second end of the tie break to put her through to her third final in three years.
RESULT: *Holder – Katherine Rednall (Eng) bt Nicole Rogers (Eng) 7-5, 4-8, 2-0.
FORREST BIDS FOR A SECOND TITLE
With the World Mixed Pairs title already in the bag with Nicky Brett, Scotland’s Julie Forrest will be eyeing up a second title at this year’s Imagine Cruising World Indoor Championships at Potters Resorts, Hopton-On-Sea, after beating former champion Ceri Ann Glen from Wales in the Ladies World Matchplay Singles semi-final 9-5, 10-7.
In both sets, Forrest won five of the nine ends in each set while Glen chalked up four.
In the first set, trebles on two of the four opening ends gave Forrest a 6-2 lead, and she added singles on three on the remaining five ends to win 9-5.
Tied at 3-3 in the second set, the pivotal moment came when Forrest rolled in a full count of four shots on the fourth end to take a 7-3 lead, and that was the difference in the game with Glen scoring a single and treble over the closing stages while Forrest kept the match tight with three singles to win 10-7 and book that tantalising place in the final.
Since the event started in 1988, statistics show that 28-year-old Katherine Rednall – besides looking for her sixth title in this event in ten years – will be setting her sights on joining Carol Ashby as a three-in-a-row winner of this title – Carol won her titles in 2002, ’03 and 04.
Forrest joins four other women who have won this title back-to-back – Caroline McAllister, Ellen Falkner MBE, Debbie Stavrou and of course Katherine Rednall who has secured not one but two sets of consecutive titles.
Today (Thursday), the remaining three second round matches in the World Open Singles campaign will be down for decision.
Six times winner Alex Marshall MBE, who has slipped out of the WBT Top 16 ranked players – takes on Kiwi qualifier Martin Kreft. He eliminated twice former champion Mark Dawes in the first round and should Marshall safely negotiate that hurdle then the highly experienced Scot keeps himself in the frame for a record extending seventh World Open Singles title.
In the other matches – in order of play – 2016 champion Nicky Brett meets Scottish qualifier Billy Mellors and five time title holderย Paul Foster MBE will take on fellow Scot Mike Stepney with Foster – who will hoping to stay in the equationย and equal the record held on Marshall of six WBT Open Singles titles.
Caption: Jason Banks and Jamie Walker
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