World singles champion Shannon McIlroy was forced to scrap his way into the final of the men's singles at the BLK National Bowls Championships at the Taieri Bowling Club yesterday.
Playing teenage sensation Caleb Hope (Gore), in the first semifinal, McIlroy was never permitted to put sufficient real estate on his opponent, as each time he appeared to pull away Hope would pounce back with multiple scoring shots to keep the heat on McIlroy.
In the race to 21 to decide the first finalist, McIlroy also the 2016 national champion was beginning to look assured holding a 9-5 lead after 10 ends, but Hope bounced back to tie the game up at 9-all two ends later. After 17 ends Hope held a 15-13 lead over McIlroy, who was forced to dig deep in turning his fortunes around.
Drawing three shots on the 19th end put him back in the lead 17-15, and another three on the 21st t end had him at match point at 20-16. But Hope was far from ready to concede closing the game back up over the next three ends with the game and a place in the final on a knife edge with McIlroy still on match point at 20-19.
The 25th and final end of the match was not one for the faint hearted with both players playing scoring shots, and McIlroy two down needing to score of his final bowl to save the match played a miracle bowl nudging one of his front bowls to sit alongside the jack to win the match 21-19.
At 31 McIlroy was the old man of the four players in the semifinal, with his opponent 19, while contesting the other semifinal Canterbury's Andrew Kelly is 29 and his opponent Seamus Curtin (Stokes Valley) 17, making for an average age in the men's semifinal of just 24.
In the second semifinal it was Curtin which jumped out to an early lead, holding a 12-4 advantage after 12 ends in the first to score 21. But Kelly began a cluster of scoring shot to lock the match up at 12-all four ends later and from then on kept the pressure on the Wellington teenager to win 21-17 in 24 ends.
In quarterfinal pay Curtin knocked out Scottish international Ryan Burnett 21-17. While Hope cancelled Blackjack Tony Grantham's ticket to final 21-20.
Two hotly contested semifinal matches decided the final combinations to face off in the men's pairs final on Sunday.
New Zealand bowls legend Peter Belliss once again paired up with Lance Tasker this year, the combination having last won the title 23 years ago in Palmerston North at the 1995 national championships.
Bellis and Tasker accounting for the youthful exuberance of Shannon McIlroy and Justin Goodwin 15-13 for a final showdown against the composite pair of Ali Forsyth and Gary Lawson.
The final offering Lawson the opportunity to win a 12th national open title and a chance to go back-to-back with the national pairs title after he was successful pairing with Neville Rodda in New Plymouth last year. While for Forsyth won the title in 2016 pairing with his father Neville and won in 2013 with Matt Gallop.
The women's pairs finalists were found in the first round of the day when defending champions Dale Rayner and Ashliegh Jeffcoat over came the international pairing of Jo Edwards and Val Smith 13-11. They will meet the Elmwood Park pair from Christchurch Bev Morel and Sherrie Cottle in the final.
Should the Rayner/Jeffcoat combination be successful they will become just the third pairing to win back-to-back titles, following in the footsteps of sisters Mandy and Angela Boyd (Burnside) in 2015 and 2016, and the combination of Sharon Sims and Mary Campbell in 2006 and 2007.
There was little rest for Jeffcoat, Smith and Edwards as they were then straight into second round play to decide the finalists to contest the women's single title on Sunday.
Edwards defeated Smith in a one sided affair between the two internationals 21-5, while Inch racing out to an early lead had to claw her way back into her match against Jeffcoat and win an epic final end to win the match 21-19, and secure a place in the final against fellow Blackjack Edwards.
Both pairs finals get under way at the Taieri rinks at 9am today, while both singles finals start at 1pm, also at Taieri.
- By Wayne Parsons
- By Wayne Parsons
