Sheldon Bagrie-Howley arrived back in New Zealand recently after competing at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic which ran from November 9-18.
He said it was a good showing.
"It was a good trip. We lost the quarterfinal to Scotland which was unfortunate.
"We were the two favourites leading into it other than England. We lost on a tiebreaker."
Bagrie-Howley said his team played well despite the defeat. He was paired up with Seamus Curtain, of Wellington.
"In the qualifier, we only lost one game and we played 12. We actually only lost two games the whole tournament.
"We played really well."
Bagrie-Howley, ranked fifth in the world and expecting to place even higher after his recent tournament, is now in Melbourne.
There he will compete in the Ultimate Bowls Championships in a team with David Ferguson and Matthew Lucas.
Bagrie-Howley said it was a big tournament.
"They have the best players in the world there. Each team is worth about $45,000, and there’s a lot of teams, so a lot of money up for grabs."
The tournament features everyone in the top 12 rankings in the world, and is being played from December 1 until December 6.
Bagrie-Howley was confident of his team.
"I’d say we’ll do OK. It’s like the NBA. You get drafted."
"One of the guys in my team has won it twice, and the other guy is in the Australian rep team, so on paper we have a really strong team."
Bagrie-Howley said it was a new format, played inside on carpet, with new rules to adjust to which could make every game winnable.
"It’s a new format. Five ends, but you get points for touchers and crossover, closest and second-closest.
"It’s a whole different concept.
"Anyone can win it, get the five ends. It’ll be quite an experience," Bagrie-Howley said.
