Howick Bowling Club is buzzing with excitement today. All three greens are being used for the quarter-finals.
Only the Dunedin and Auckland women, and the Marlborough and North Harbour men have had clean sweeps of all the disciplines through to semi-finals. The other teams winning 2 out of 3 to advance.
Spectators occupying all the vantage points around the green
The women’s singles, a clash between New Zealand development players from Waikato and Dunedin, is a see-saw event, with Dunedin’s Sarah Scott the eventual winner 21-18. Dunedin’s pairs and fours go down to Waikato. Auckland prove too strong for the Bay of Plenty, taking a clean sweep. It’s an Auckland-Waikato final.
The men’s singles semi-finals see Marlborough’s Simon Hitchcock win over Bay of Plenty’s Talor Duncan, and Wellington’s Seamus Curtin win over North Harbour’s Daryl Read. The other disciplines go the way of the other teams and it’s a Bay of Plenty-North Harbour final.
Both men’s and women’s finals are on the number one green, with spectators occupying all the vantage points around the green. These games are to be one of the closest finishes for the both the men’s and women’s sides for some time.
Scoreboards across the green show one to two point differentials. The wind picks up and the 17 to 19 second greens become a real challenge. At times the spectators are silenced as players execute amazing shots. The lead changes two or three times at each end.
The closest finishes in men's and women's for some time
The Auckland women’s fours team win against Waikato. But the singles is a game of change. Both players, Ashleigh Jeffcoat and Ling Qu [lay crucial shots to avoid defeat. Ashleigh wins so now it is a game each. Pressure on the 16th end of the pairs sees the Auckland lead pick up the two shot bowls of Waikato and declare head when her skip still has a bowl to play. These are replaced with no change to the end.
On the last end, Waikato holds one shot to give Waikato the title. The Auckland skip plays her last bowl for a game draw. An extra end to be played for the trophy. The Auckland pairing of Judy Raill and Jenny Stockford play the shots to take the win. High-fives and tears follow.
The men have a similar final. The Bay of Plenty pair take victory over the North Harbour duo who were victorious during section play. The Bay of Plenty singles player Talor Duncan puts his game face on against North Harbour’s Daryl Read. Daryl’s close drawing game puts pressure on Talor. He executes some timely shots. The score is 19-18 to Bay of Plenty.
The fours game stops play on the 13th end with Talor holding two shots to seal the win for Bay of Plenty. Daryl’s last bowl is slightly narrow and passes the jack to give Talor the win. High-fives and handshakes all round. Bay of Plenty managing to defeat the two-time champions North Harbour.
