At Bristol Indoor Bowls Club 25-29 April, 2022
This exciting and brand new event brings together the World Cup, organised by World Bowls, and the World Championships of the former World Indoor Bowls Council under one banner. It involves 64 players from 29 countries, playing in men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed pairs.
The 29 countries are (in alphabetical order):- Australia, Botswana, Canada, England, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, USA and Wales.
DAY THREE Wednesday, 27 April
Today saw the completion of group play in the World Bowls Indoor Championships at the impressive Bristol Indoor Bowls Club, where most of the favourites made it through to knockout stages of the men’s and women’s singles.
It was a good day for Scotland’s Stewart and Claire Anderson, who, on their 3rd wedding anniversary, came through their respective singles sections unscathed – and also for another married couple, Ian and Alison Merrien, from Guernsey, who, like the Andersons, qualified for tomorrow’s (THU) last sixteen stage of the singles.
The Andersons and Merriens also featured in the hotly-contested quarter finals of the mixed pairs in the last session of the day – though, curiously, they were not, on this occasion, teaming up with their life partners. Alison Merrien led for Stewart Anderson, Claire Anderson led for fellow Scot Mike Stepney, and Ian Merrien skipped his Guernsey colleague Rose Ogier.
Alison Merrien and Stewart Anderson, who are the reigning champions of the World Indoor Bowls Council, looked to be in trouble in their encounter with England duo Ruby Hill and Andy Walters. After winning the first set, 8-6, they lost the second 5-14, but showed their class to win the tiebreak.
Claire Anderson, who plays for Glasgow, and Mike Stepney, from Elgin, were always in control against Welsh duo Kerry Packwood and Rob Chisholm, winning, 11-6, 15-7, while Ireland’s Lara Reaney and Gary Kelly, who now plays his bowls in Australia, steamrollered plucky Channel Islanders, Rose Ogier and Ian Merrien, 11-4, 12-7.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Commonwealth Games medallists Colleen Piketh and Jason Evans were involved in a tense struggle with another Irish duo, Sandra Bailey and Andi Duncan, who matched them all the way. Evans played a great bowl to take the game into a tiebreak, but it was Piketh who drew an early shot that stayed put despite Duncan’s efforts to remove it, and the South Africans got home, 7-10, 7-6, 1-0.
Of course, it’s not always the star-studded matches that capture the imagination, as bowlers from Canada and Spain showed in the last round robin session in the mixed pairs, when the evocatively-named Bobbi Charlton (her dad was fanatical about football), and Hirendra Bhartu (born in India, but raised in Fiji) edged home for Canada against Carol Broomfield and Graham Cathcart, representing Spain.
It was drama all the way, as the Canadians scored three shots on the last end of each set to draw level at 8-8, 8-8 – the first instance of two drawn sets in the whole championship. Then, in the sudden-death tiebreak, a brilliant bowl from Cathcart seemed to have done the trick, but an even better delivery from Bhartu nailed it for Canada.
Spare a thought, too, for Namibia’s rising star Ronan Olivier, who turned 18 today, but who lost all six games over the opening three days of the event. “I have enjoyed my visit to Bristol this week. It’s been a great experience – except for the fact that Lufthansa lost my luggage and my bowls somewhere on the flight from Johannesburg to Bristol via Frankfurt!”
Olivier had to borrow a set of bowls from a local club player, but, after losing on a tiebreak to Cathcart in his final game, he refused to use that as an excuse, and expressed his determination to learn from the experience and vowed to be back to challenge for honours next year.
RESULTS
Note – players marked * are holders of WB and IIBC singles titles. Gary Kelly is the holder of the WB World Cup, while Stewart Anderson and Alison Merrien were the last winners o f the IIBC men’s and women’s world indoor championships.
MIXED PAIRS:-
Section 1:
Lara Reaney & *Gary Kelly (Ireland) bt Rahsan Akar & Oskan Akar (Turkey) 8-2, 2-8, 1-0;
Garrett & Mark McGreal (Isle of Man) bt Selwyn Hare & Ruthy Gilor (Israel) 2-7, 5-4, 1-0.
Final group standings:- 1 IRE (9pts), 2 IOM (6); 3 TUR (3); 4 Isr (0).
Section 2:
Rose Ogier & Ian Merrien (Guernsey) bt Marea Modutlwa & Remmy Kebapetse (Botswana) 10-5, 14-5;
Amy Williams (Wales) & Olle Backgren (Sweden) bt Nurul Alyani Jamal & M Fairus Jabal (Malaysia) 5-5, 8-2.
Final group standings:- 1 GUE (6pts; 4 sets); 2 WAL/SWE (6; 3); 3 MAS (3; 2.5; -6 shots); 4 BOT (3; 2.5; -8 shots).
Section 3:
*Alison Merrien, MBE (Guernsey) & *Stewart Anderson (Scotland) bt M Ayub Qureshi (Pakistan) & Julie Forrest (Scotland) 10-2, 4-10, 1-0;
Robert Briglia & Genevieve Delves (Australia) bt Zoher Motiwalla & May Lee (Singapore) 6-7, 8-5.
Final group standings:- 1 GUE/SCO (9pts); 2 PAK/SCO (3; 3.5 sets); 3 SGP (3; 2.5); 4 AUS (3; 1).
Section 4:
Ruby Hill & Andy Walters (England) bt Daphne Arthur-Almond & Cecil Alexander (Falkland Islands) 11-1, 14-0;
Tanida Kachanthornpak & Wattana Kadkhunthod (Thailand) bt Ronan Olivier & Marietjie Van den Bergh (Namibia) 12-3, 2-8, 1-0.
Final group standings:- 1 ENG (9pts); 2 THA (6); 3 FKI (3); 4 NAM (0).
Section 5:
Bill Brault & Anne Nunes (USA) bt Arosha Jayasundara & Susil Don-Ramanayake (Sri Lanka) 11-3, 11-2;
Kerry Packwood & Robert Chisholm (Wales) bt Devon Cooper (England) & Zoltan Pavelka (Hungary) 8-3, 8-1.
Final group standings:- 1 WAL (9pts); 2 USA (6); 3 ENG/HUN (3); 4 SLK (0).
Section 6:
Claire Anderson & Mike Stepney (Scotland) bt Tom Schneiter & Marianne Kuenzle (Switzerland) 11-2, 13-2;
Gloria Ha & Arthur Lam (Hong Kong) bt Maureen Caesar & Robert Simpson (Jamaica) 10-3, 13-4.
Final group standings:- 1 SCO (9pts); 2 HKC (6); 3 SUI (3); 4 JAM (0).
Section 7:
Sandra Bailie & Andi Duncan (Ireland) bt Megan Kivlin & Alex Stewart (Jersey) 13-2, 8-2;
Henk Veenstra & Saskia Schaft (Nederland) bt Sophy Kihuyu & Benson Wambugu (Kenya) 6-8, 12-1, 1-0.
Final group standings:- 1 IRE (9pts); 2 NED (6); 3 JER (3); 4 KEN (0).
Section 8:
Bobbi Charlton & Hirendra Bhartu (Canada) bt Carol Broomfield & Graham Cathcart (Spain) 8-8, 8-8, 1-0;
Colleen Piketh & Jason Evans (South Africa) bt Janice Pilling (Isle of Man) & David Bolt (England) 4-9, 12-2, 1-0.
Final group standings:- 1 RSA (9pts); 2 CAN (6); 3 (ESP (3); 4 IoM (0).
Quarter finals:
Reaney & Kelly bt Ogier & I Merrien 11-4, 12-7;
A Merrien & S Anderson bt Hill & Walters 8-6, 5-14, 1-0;
C Anderson & Stepney bt Packwood & Chisholm 11-6, 15-7;
Piketh & Evans -bt Bailie & Duncan 7=10. 7-6, 1-0.
MEN’S SINGLES
Section 1:
*Stewart Anderson (Scotland) bt Remmy Kebapetse (Botswana) 11-4, 8-3;
Arthur Lam (Hong Kong China) bt Zoltan Pavelka (Hungary) 13-3, 10-3.
Final group standings:- Q1 S Anderson (9pts); Q2 Lam (6); 3 Kebapetse (3); 4 Pavelka (0).
Section 2:
Ian Merrien (Guernsey) bt Robert Simpson (Jamaica) 5-4, 8-3;
Wattana Kadkhunthod (Thailand) bt Robert Briglia (Australia) 8-2, 14-1.
Final group standings:- Q1 I Merrien (9pts); Q2 Kadhunthod (6); 3 Briglia (3); 4 Simpson (0).
Section 3:
Robert Chisholm (Wales) bt Ayub Qureshi (Pakistan) 8-1, 7-3;
Mark McGreal (Isle of Man) bt Benson Wambugu (Kenya) 14-2, 4-5, 1-0,
Final group standings:- Q1 Chisholm (9pts); Q2 McGreal (6); 3 Qureshi (3); 4 Wambugu (0).
Section 4:
Jason Evans (South Africa) bt Olle Backgren (Sweden) 9-2, 5-4;
Zoher Motiwalla (Singapore) bt Alex Stewart (Jersey) 4-7, 9-3, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Evans (9pts); Q2 Motiwalla (6); 3 Stewart (3); 4 Backgren (0).
Section 5:
David Bolt (England) bt Mike Stepney (Scotland) 4-4, 8-4;
Graham Cathcart (Spain) bt Ronan Olivier (Namibia) 4-6, 11-3, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Bolt (9pts); Q2 Stepney (6); 3 Cathcart (3); 4 Olivier (0).
Section 6:
*Gary Kelly (Ireland) bt Henk Veenstra (Netherlands) 10-5, 12-2;
Fairus Jabal (Malaysia) bt Cecil Alexander (Falkland Islands) 8-4, 7-4.
Final group standings:- Q1 Kelly (9pts) Q2 Jabal (6) 3 Alexander (3) 4 Veenstra (0).
Section 7:
Andy Walters (England) bt Ozkan Akar (Turkey) 12-1, 9-3;
Selwyn Hare (Israel) bt Bill Brault (USA) 16-0, 8-6.
Final group standings:- Q1 Walters (9pts); Q2 Hare (6); 3 Brault (3); 4 Akar (0).
Section 8:
Andi Duncan (Ireland) bt Susil Don-Ramanayake (Sri Lanka) 6-3, 12-1;
Hirendra Bhartu (Canada) bt Tom Schneiter (Switzerland) 4-6, 11-1, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Bhartu (9pts); Q2 Duncan (6); 3 Schneiter (3); 4 Ramanayake (0).
Draw for tomorrow’s (THU) last sixteen stage:-
S Anderson v Kadkhunthod; Lam v I Merrien; Chisholm v Motiwalla; McGreal v Evans;
Bolt v Jabal; Stepney v Kelly; Walters v Duncan; Hare v Bhartu.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Section 1:
Sandra Bailie (Ireland) bt Bobbi Charlton (Canada) 0-15, 4-10, 1-0;
Marietjie Van den Bergh (Namibia) bt Maureen Caesar (Jamaica) 12-3, 14-2.
Final group standings:- Q1 Bailie (9pts); Q2 Van den Bergh (6); 3 Charlton (3); 4 Caesar (0).
Section 2:
Amy Williams (Wales) bt Megan Kivlin (Jersey) 8-4, 10-1;
Marea Modutlwa (Botswana) bt Genevieve Delves (Australia) 7-3, 3-8, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Williams (9pts); Q2 Kivlin (6); 3 Modutlwa (3); 4 Delves (0).
Section 3:
Devon Cooper (England) bt Ruthy Gilor (Israel) 8-5, 11-0;
Kerry Packwood (Wales) bt May Lee (Singapore) 8-7, 9-3.
Final group standings:- Q1 Packwood (9pts); Q2 Cooper (6); 3 Gilor (3); 4. Lee (0).
Section 4:
Saskia Schaft (Netherlands) bt Janice Pilling (Isle of Man) 3-8, 8-4, 1-0;
Ruby Hill (England) bt Tanida Kachanthornpak (Thailand) 5-6, 10-3, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Hill (6pts; 3.5 sets; +14 shots); Q2 Schaft (6; 3.5; +6); 3 Pilling (3; 3); 4 Kachanthornpak (3; 2);
Section 5:
Rose Ogier (Guernsey) bt Daphne Arthur-Almond (Falkland Islands) 7-3, 10-1;
Colleen Piketh (South Africa) bt Gloria Ha (Hong Kong) 8-6, 3-11, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Ha (6pts; 5 sets); Q2 Piketh (6; 4); 3 Ogier (6; 3) 4 Arthur-Almond (0).
Section 6:
Lara Reaney (Ireland) bt Paula Garrett (Isle of Man) 9-4, 4-7, 1-0;
Claire Anderson (Scotland) bt Arosha Jayasundara (Sri Lanka) 13-2, 13-2.
Final group standings:- Q1 C Anderson (9pts); Q2 Reaney (6); 3 Garrett (3); 4 Jayasundara (0).
Section 7:
Julie Forrest (Scotland) bt Carol Broomfield (Spain) 15-1, 6-4;
Nurul Alyani Jamal (Malaysia) bt Sophy Kihuyu (Kenya) 9-2, 11-2.
Final group standings:- Q1 Jamal (9pts); Q2 Forrest (6); 3 Broomfield (3); 4 Kihuyu (0).
Section 8:
*Alison Merrien, MBE (Guernsey) bt Marianne Kuenzle (Switzerland) 9-2, 13-3;
Anne Nunes (USA) bt Rahsan Akar (Turkey) 4-6, 6-5, 1-0.
Final group standings:- Q1 Nunes (9pts); Q2 Merrien (6); 3 Kuenzle (3); 4 Akar (0).
Draw for tomorrow’s (THU) last sixteen stage:-
Bailie v Kivlin; Van den Bergh v Williams; Packwood v Schaft; Cooper v Hill;
Ha v Reaney; Piketh v C Anderson; Jamal v A Merrien; Forrest v Nunes.
