Day 5 wrap: World Bowls and IIBC Indoor Championships

Day five saw the completion of section play in the World Bowls Indoor Championships at Guernsey Indoor Bowls Association where most of the favourites made it through to knockout stages of the men’s and women’s singles and mixed pairs.

In the men’s singles, Ray Pearse remains on course to take the title back to Australia for the second year in a row following his fifth win out of five games, while also unbeaten are 2022 World Bowls Indoor Championships Under 25 men’s singles and mixed pairs winner Harry Goodwin and former Welsh star Jason Greenslade who is donning the Guernsey colours for the first time at a world event.

They topped their sections, along with New Zealand’s Shannon McIlroy and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple who will be hoping to do better than bowing out at the quarter-final stage 12 months previously. The five now go directly through to the quarter-finals, along with 2022 winner and semi-finalist from last year Michael Stepney who finished second in his group, but randomly drawn out for direct entry into the last eight.

The other four countries finishing in second spot in their sections go into a knockout round for the remaining quarter-final places.

Those players are Simon Martin, of Ireland, who will play South Africa’s Jason Evans, who has put on a plucky display despite not having his own kit and bowls as a result of transportation problems in Dubai, and Spain’s Peter Bonsor who comes up against Clive McGreal, Isle of Man.

The women’s event saw disappointment for title holder Julie Forrest, Scotland, who missed out on qualifying from her group.

Her section was won by Connie Rixon, of Malta, with other group victors being Australia’s Samantha Atkinson, the home club’s Rose Ogier, whose win against England’s Rebecca McMillan saw her jump up the table into first place, and Forrest’s Scottish international colleague Natalie McWilliams, who along with current World Bowls Championships singles gold medallist Tayla Bruce from New Zealand. Can Bruce now add the World Bowls Indoor Championships crown to her World Bowls champion of champions victory from 2022?

The knockout round sees Jersey’s Lindsey Greechan, looking to better her 2014 IIBC singles runner-up performance, drawn against Linda Ng, of Canada, and Christine (Petal) Jones, who is representing the Norfolk Island competing in the mixed pairs with her grandson Jordy, up against Rebecca McMillan.

Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah was randomly drawn out to go straight through to the quarter-finals.

In the mixed pairs, Linda Ng and her Canadian colleague Mike McNorton and Scotland’s Julie Forrest and Michael Stepney’s unblemished record continued with their fifth win to top their groups and earn places in the quarter-finals.

Joining them in the last eight are Wales’ Sara Nicholls and Kristian Crocker, Olle Backgren and Alison Merrien MBE (Sweden and Guernsey) and New Zealand’s Tayla Bruce and Shannon McIlroy who also were section winners. The runner-up randomly drawn out for a direct entry into the quarter-final – Australia’s Samantha Atkinson and Ray Pearse stay on course as defending nation following the exploits of Kelsey Cottrell and Aron Sherriff in Warilla.

The pairings going into the knockout round are Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple who face Ireland’s Sandra Bailie MBE and Simon Martin, and Rebecca McMillan and Harry Goodwin, England, who take on Guernsey’s Rose Ogier and Jason Greenslade.

The winners of the knockout stage will join the remaining six teams in the quarter-final draw. Winner and runners-up from the same section cannot be drawn against each other with only one quarter-final also seeing group winners play against each other.

The draw for the quarter-final round will take place after the knockout round of each competition.

The mixed pairs knockout games are first on tomorrow (Friday) at 8.30 am UK time.

RESULTS

MEN’S SINGLES

Section 1: Section 1: Stanley Gon Lap Lai (Hong Kong, China) bt Robert Simpson (Jamaica) 20-0, 15-1; Simon Martin (Ireland) bt Ozkan Akar (Turkiye) 2-10, 9-2, 1-0; Ray Pearse (Australia) w/o Loren Dion (USA) failed to appear.

Standings: 1. Ray Pearse (15 pts); 2. Simon Martin (9 pts); 3. Ozkan Akar (9 pts); 4. Loren Dion (6 pts); 5. Stanley Gon Lap Lai (6 pts); 6. Robert Simpson (0).

Section 2: Derek Boswell (Jersey) bt Chiu Pok Man (Singapore) 3-10, 10-4, 1-0; Joe Saragozza (Malta) bt Jordy Jones (Norfolk Island) 4-7, 7-3, 1-0; Peter Bonsor (Spain) bt Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (Malaysia) 10-4, 5-5.

Standings: 1. Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (12pts); 2. Peter Bonsor (12 pts); 3. Derek Boswell (9 pts); 4. Joe Saragozza (6 pts); 5. Jordy Jones (3 pts); 6. Chiu Pok Man (3 pts);

Section 3: Michael Stepney (Scotland) bt Beat Matti (Switzerland) 9-1, 6-3; Olle Backgren (Sweden) bt Guillaume Hertzog (France) 7-3, 6-7, 1-0; Jason Greenslade (Guernsey) bt Carel Aron Olivier (Namibia) 4-4, 14-1.

Standings: 1. Jason Greenslade (15 pts); 2. Michael Stepney (12 pts); 3. Carel Aron Olivier (9 pts); 4. Beat Matti (6 pts); 5. Olle Backgren (3 pts); 6. Guillaume Hertzog (0).

Section 4: Kristian Crocker (Wales) bt Gabor Foti (Hungary) 8-1, 8-3; Shannon McIlroy (New Zealand) bt Clive McGreal (Isle of Man) 11-2, 8-8.

Standings: 1. Shannon McIlroy (12 pts); 2. Clive McGreal (9 pts); 3. Kristian Crocker (6 pts); 4. Hisaharu Satou (3 pts); 5. Gabor Foti (0).

Section 5: Jason Evans (South Africa) bt Oliver Thompson (Falkland Islands) 15-1, 14-2; Mike McNorton (Canada) bt Micharl Gabobewe (Botswana) 6-5, 10-3; Harry Goodwin (England) bt Johnny Ng (Macao, China) 4-6, 10-1, 1-0.

Standings: 1. Harry Goodwin (15 pts); 2. Jason Evans (9 pts); 3. Johnny Ng (9 pts); 4. Mike McNorton (9 pts); 5. Oliver Thompson (3 pts); 6. Micharl Gabobewe (0).

WOMEN’S SINGLES

Section 1: Natalie McWilliams (Scotland) bt Rahsan Akar (Turkiye) 4-4, 6-4; Nor Farah Ain Abdullah (Malaysia) bt Lisa Bonsor (Spain) 8-6, 5-5.

Standings: 1. Natalie McWilliams (12 pts); 2. Nor Farah Ain Abdullah (6 pts); 3. Esme Haley (6 pts); 4. Lisa Bonsor (3 pts); 5. Rahsan Akar (3 pts).

Section 2: Cindy Royet (France) bt Pian Lai (Macao, China) 10-2, 7-4; Lindsey Greechan (Jersey) bt Gloria Yat Ting Ha (Hong Kong, China) 8-5, 6-2, 1-0; Julie Forrest (defending champion, Scotland) bt Keiko Kurohara (Japan) 7-6, 8-8.

Standings: 1. Connie Rixon (12 pts); 2. Lindsey Greechan (12 pts); 3. Julie Forrest (12 pts); 4. Gloria Yat Ting Ha (6 pts); 5. Keiko Kurohara (3 pts); 6. Mary Thompson (0).

Section 3: Christine (Petal) Jones (Norfolk Island) bt Samantha Atkinson (Australia) 6-3, 7-6; Irit Grencel (Israel) bt Lee Beng Hua (Singapore) 5-5, 13-4.

Standings: 1. Samantha Atkinson (9 pts); 2. Christine (Petal) Jones (9 pts); 3. Sara Nicholls (6 pts); 4. Lee Beng Hua (3 pts); 5. Irit Grencel (3 pts).

Section 4: Lephai Marea Modutlwa (Botswana) bt Maureen Caesar (Jamaica) 4-8, 12-1, 1-0; Tayla Bruce (New Zealand) bt Linda Ng (Canada) 5-6, 6-4, 1-0.

Standings: 1. Tayla Bruce (15 pts); 2. Linda Ng (12 pts); 3. Lephai Marea Modutlwa (9 pts); 4. Cindy Royet (6 pts); 5. Pian Lai (3 pts); 6. Maureen Caesar (0).

Section 5: Yvonne Olivier (Namibia) bt Caroline Whitehead (Isle of Man) 7-5, 11-1; Rose Ogier (Guernsey) bt Rebecca McMillan (England) 9-7, 5-9, 1-0; Marianne Kuenzle (Switzerland) bt Sandra Bailie MBE (Ireland) 6-4, 2-13, 1-0.

Standings: 1. Rose Ogier (12 pts); 2. Rebecca McMillian (12 pts); 3. Sandra Bailie MBE (9 pts); 4. Marianne Kuenzie (9 pts); 5. Caroline Whitehead (0); 6. Yvonne Olivier (0).

MIXED PAIRS

Section 1: Yvonne and Carel Aron Olivier (Namibia) bt Caroline Whitehead and Clive McGreal (Isle of Man) 9-4, 1-9, 1-0; Sara Nicholls and Kristian Crocker (Wales) bt Marianne Kuenzle and Beat Matti (Switzerland) 7-4, 4-11, 1-0.

Standings: 1. Wales (12 pts); 2. Australia (9 pts); 3. Namibia (9 pts); 4. Isle of Man (3 pts); 5. Switzerland (0).

Section 2: Lindsey Greechan and Derek Boswell (Jersey) bt Christine (Petal) Jones and Jordy Jones (Norfolk Island) 8-6, 7-4; Nor Farah Ain Abdullah and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (Malaysia) bt Irit Grencel and Gabor Foti (Hungary) 8-7, 8-6; Olle Backgren and Alison Merrien MBE (Sweden and Guernsey) bt Connie Rixon and Joe Saragozza (Malta) 10-2, 12-1.

Standings: 1. Sweden and Guernsey (12 pts); 2. Malaysia (12 pts); 3. Jersey (9 pts); 4. Malta (6 pts); 5. Norfolk Island (3 pts); 6. Israel and Hungary (3 pts).

Section 3: Linda Ng and Mike McNorton (Canada) bt Pian Lai and Johnny Ng (Macao, China) 12-4, 10-5; Oliver John Thompson and Natalie McWilliams (Falkland Islands and Scotland) 18-2, 6-4; Sandra Bailie MBE and Simon Martin (Ireland) bt Lephai Marea Modutlwa and Micharl Gabobewe (Botswana) 12-2, 14-1.

Standings: 1. Canada (15 pts); 2. Ireland (12 pts); 3. Macao, China (9 pts); 4. Falkland Island and Scotland (6 pts); 5. Botswana (3 pts); 6. Jamaica (3 pts).

Section 4: Tayla Bruce and Shannon McIlroy (New Zealand) bt Cindy Royet and Guillaume Hertzog (France) 13-0, 11-1; Rebecca McMillan and Harry Goodwin (England) bt Lee Beng Hua and Chiu Pok Man (Singapore) 8-4, 8-4; Gloria Yat Ting Ha and Stanley Gon Lap Lai (Hong Kong, China) 7-4, 7-3.

Standings: 1. New Zealand (12 pts); 2. England (12 pts); 3. Hong Kong, China (6 pts); 4. USA (6 pts); 5. Singapore (6 pts); 6. France (3 pts).

Section 5: Lisa and Pete Bonsor (Spain) bt Keiko Kurohara and Hisaharu Satou (Japan) 6-4, 8-3; Rose Ogier and Jason Greenslade (Guernsey) bt Esme Haley and Jason Evans 9-3, 11-4;Julie Forrest and Michael Stepney (Scotland) bt Rahsan and Ozkan Akar (Turkiye) 6-4, 5-10, 1-0.

Standings: 1. Scotland (15 pts); 2. Guernsey (12 pts); 3. Spain (6 pts); 4. Japan (6 pts); 5. South Africa (6 pts); 6. Turkiye (3 pts).

𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsVFShuPvK3HusJ67xYH7Nw

𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞:

https://youtube.com/@guernseyindoorbowling2440?si=hWsobvdgNuHDT_P7

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤: https://www.facebook.com/WorldBowls/

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞:  http://bit.ly/49dv9Xv

𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: http://bit.ly/3PKnxox

𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 – 𝐁𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒

Photo caption

Wales’ Kristian Crocker jumps in the air on the Guernsey carpet. Credit: Sporting Highlights

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