Tuesday

When The Going Gets Tough!

Congratulations are in order to all competitors and officials on a magnificent effort yesterday after Monday’s rain interruption threw this championship’s playing programme into disarray and turned Tuesday into a marathon. Mind you, dealing with adversity is nothing new to the people of this beautiful city, while the players responded accordingly with professionalism and patience to the point where everything is now back on schedule. As the qualifying stanza of the championship nears halfway there are five players undefeated; Australia’s Dylan Fisher in men’s section one and Shaun Scott representing New Zealand in section two; then there’s hot favourite Karen Murphy from Australia in women’s section one, along with two of the sport’s most enduring stars, Norfolk Island’s Carmen Anderson and Lorna Smith from Scotland in section two. All have five wins from five starts. Good judges are adamant that 19-year-old Fisher is the best young bowler in the game and his run into this coming weekend’s finals will be a great opportunity for spectators to savour his exquisite skills. But it won’t be a walk in the park for the young star as he meets 1998 gold medallist Roy Garden from Zimbabwe first up this morning, while tomorrow’s high noon showdown with youthful Jersey champion Mal de Sousa will also be a ripper. Then, for good measure, Dylan has wily Irishman Ian McClure – a world and Commonwealth Games champion - to contend with after breakfast on Friday. Seductive stuff – make sure you’re here! Shaun Scott is flying the New Zealand banner with pride and distinction, while his surgical demolition of Guernsey’s Mat Le Ber, who will represent the tiny Channel Island at next year’s Commonwealth Games, in yesterday’s fourth round has stamped his authority. However, the North East Valley gun has a date with destiny on Friday afternoon, when he meets reigning Games singles champion Robert Weale from Wales in a match that could have a huge bearing on this championship’s outcome. As expected Karen Murphy has imposed her will – and abundance of talent - on the five matches already decided, while her clash with pocket-sized English dynamo Amy Truran, winner of the past two EBA singles crowns, this afternoon will be a lively affair. Section two in the women’s rates ten out of ten on the exhilaration scale. Former world champions Carmen Anderson and Lorna Smith will meet tomorrow morning in a match that should decide who will graduate directly into the semi finals. Both are brilliant performers on any surface, anywhere in the world and it will be a ‘Clash of the Titans’. However, local ace Val McEldowney should not be discounted in the calculations – she is currently on a rich vein of form and is more than capable of causing an upset – or two! Val faces Carmen at noon today and Lorna on Friday at 10.15am and no one would be surprised if she were to prevail in one, or even both outings. There’s thousands more bowls to go down in this fantastic event and nothing is a certainty in this sport, so sit back, enjoy the action and above all - expect the unexpected!

Former world North East Scotland’s Lorna champion. Valley’s Shaun Smith is a former Carmen Anderson Scott is leading world and from Norfolk the local Commonwealth Island charge gold medallist.