2024 Imagine Cruising World Indoor Bowls Championship – day one recap
The 2024 Imagine Cruising World Indoor Bowls Championships has opened at Potters Resorts, Hopton-on-Sea. Let’s take a look at the action from day one.
WELSH DUO LEAVE IT TO THE VERY LAST BOWL TO BOOK A BERTH IN THE FIRST ROUND
Welsh qualifiers Sara Nicholls and Ross Owen won their opening match of the 2024 Imagine Cruising World Pairs Championship at Potters Resorts, Hopton-on-Sea, against South Africa’s Kevin Douglas and Peter Harvey (writes Anne Dunwoodie, WBT).
In the opening set the Welsh duo led 5-2 after seven ends in the best of two sets of nine ends (2 x bowl pairs) match. However the Springbok twosome rolled in a single and double to square the set at 5-5.
They continued their form in the second set, picking up a full count of four on the opening end, and that was a major contributing factor in the scoring, giving them a 6-3 advantage after six ends.
Wales continually looked to be clawing their way back into contention but the South African skip – Peter Harvey, denied them time and time again to hold the advantage.
However with three ends remaining, a double to Wales gave them a lifeline to cut the deficit to 5-6.
But once again it was Harvey who blocked any count for the Welsh pairing- with the South Africans scoring a vital single on the penultimate end to lead 7-5.
Nicholls gave the Welsh pair a great opportunity on the last end, leaving skip Owen holding a double and the possibility of a tie break decider.
As the skips took possession of the rink, Harvey was slightly heavy with his last bowl and that opened the door of opportunity for Owen to add a third shot and pocket the result with the very last bowl of the match 8-7 to move through to a first round match against England’s Mark Dawes and Jamie Chestney at 9.30am this morning (Saturday 6th January)
RESULT: Sara Nicholls & Ross Owen (Wales) bt Peter Harvey & Kevin Douglas (RSA) 5-5, 8-7;
IRELAND’S McPEAK AND BENNETT WIN AGAINST CANADA
Regular Irish qualifiers Mark McPeak and Stuart Bennett were in top form in their opening match.
In the second match of the opening day of play, they came up against first time Canadian qualifiers Rick Lyons – a 44 year old locomotive Engineer & Operating Practice Instructor from the Richmond Hills Club, Oshawa, Ontario and 21 year old student Jake Masterson from the Heritage Greens Club in Peterborough, Ontario, led from the opening ends in both sets to post a 12-1, 8-2 win.
They couldn’t have made a better start, displaying their vast experience with precision, only dropping a single on the seventh end and adding the set with two ends to spare 12-1.
The Canadians though played much better in the second and the Irish pairing had to work a lot harder before sealing the result
They return to the portable rink today (Saturday 6th January) where they will take on three time former champion David Gourlay MBE from Scotland and his English partner Mervyn King in the 3.45pm LIVE LINK time slot.
RESULT: Mark McPeak & Stuart Bennett (Ire) bt Jake Masterson & Rick Lyons (Canada) 12-1, 8-2.
NORFOLK LADS KEEP THE LOCALS INTERESTED
Living within half an hour of the Potters Bowls venue, Ian Catchpole and Aaron Johnston kept the locals happy as they came through their Preliminary Round match..
They got a great start in the first set, scoring five shots over two of the three opening ends to take a 5-1 lead against Hong Kong China’s Alan Yuen and Timmy Lui.
Slowly though the Craigengower Cricket Club duo battled back and stood all square in the penultimate end at 7-7 but it was the English partnership who claimed the vital count to take first blood 9-7.
In the second set, Hong Kong lifted their game and went 4-1 ahead after 4 ends.
However this time it was the Englishmen who had to pull out all the stops, denying Hong Kong on each of the last five ends to take the set and seal a straight sets victory.
It was an early birthday present for Johnston, who will celebrate his 24th birthday later this month on 16th January and they will be hoping their good form continues against the Scottish pairing of Stewart Anderson and Darren Burnett who are former holders of this title – when they go head to head in the last match of play tonight (Saturday 6th January at 7.30pm).
RESULT: Ian Catchpole & Aaron Johnson (Eng) bt Alan Yuen & Timmy Lui (HKC) 9-7, 7-4.
CUMBRIAN DUO SNATCH A LAST BOWL TIE BREAK WIN OVER USA
Cumbria’s Paul Wallace and skip Kenny Johnstone pulled a tie break victory out of the hat against USA’s Rachel Marcuson and Jesse May, winning with the last bowl on a best of three end tie break to win 11-4, 4-10, 2-1 in the fourth match of the opening day of play.
It was a game of two halves, with the Englishmen in control in the first, dropping only four singles in the nine end set.
However the match was turned on its head in the second with the Santa Cruz partnership finding a rich vein of form from the the third to the seventh ends, where they scored ten shots, eventually claiming the set 10-4 with an end to spare.
They maintained that form in the tie break, taking out the first end. Johnstone and Wallace took the second and then going into the ‘winner take all’ deciding end, Traffic Officer Johnston played the perfect bowl to count that vital match winning shot and deny the American’s their moment of glory.
The Englishmen return to the portable rink at 9.30am on Sunday morning (7th January) when they will cross swords with Les Gillett and Wayne Willgress.
RESULT:
Paul Wallace & Kenny Johnstone (Eng) bt Jesse May & Rachel Marcuson (USA) 11-4, 4-10, 2-1.
ENGLAND GET THE BETTER OF NEW ZEALAND
England’s Tom Warner and Perry Martin (pictured) staged a great recovered to overcome New Zealand’s Martin Kreft and Richard Corry in their Preliminary Round clash in the last match of the opening day of play.
Chartered Accountant and Tax Advisor Warner and Sales Manager Martin – both from Illminster, held a 6-1 lead after four ends of the first set, but failed to cut the count over the next four ends, with the Kiwis picking up a 2, 3 1 and 2 to have a comfortable 9-6 lead, and they were content to drop a singles and take the set 9-7.
Kreft, a 48 year old Corrections Officer and civil servant Corry – a former, long time Chairman of the NZ PBA – including publicity and archives was awarded life membership of the NZPBA and Victoria club in Wellington, carried their form into the second set, with back to back doubles giving them a 4-3, five end lead. But they fell by the wayside, with Warner and Martin mopping up the set 9-5 after scoring on three of the remaining four ends to force a tie break decision – which they won 2-0.
They will cross swords in the first round with Rob Paxton and reigning world singles champion Jamie Walker on Sunday morning 7th January in the 11.15am .
RESULT: Tom Warner & Perry Martin (Eng) bt Martin Kreft & Richard Corry (NZ) 7-9, 9-5, 2-0.
Bumper crowds are again expected at Potters throughout the championships and World Bowls Tour are delighted to have Imagine Cruising back on board for their second year as the headline sponsor of the event.
Every match will be streamed live on the World Bowls Tourโs Facebook page and YouTube channel at no cost. Important: Please be mindful of fraudulent activity on social media, particularly during the World Indoor Championships. The streaming is available free-of-charge and you should not make any payment or share personal data with anyone promoting live streaming links. Please only watch the live coverage via the official sources.
From Monday 15th to Sunday, January 21, coverage will be available through BBC on BBC 2 and Red Button.
The full daily schedule and draws can be found at the following links:
Check out Bowls Internationalโs January issue for a pull-out preview supplement, with interviews, fill-in draw and more.
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