WG' would be so proud
DOCTOR W. G. Grace, the first president of the English Bowling Association in 1903, would be proud of today's goings-on in Torquay, where the EBA is celebrating its centenary with the first of a series of test matches.
DOCTOR W. G. Grace, the first president of the English Bowling Association in 1903, would be proud of today's goings-on in Torquay, where the EBA is celebrating its centenary with the first of a series of test matches. In the first decade of the 20th century, the bearded doctor invited his cricketing friends from down under to bring a touring party to play bowls in England and six top Australians are among those competing over the next two weeks.
Three of Guernsey's young bowling stars - Daniel de la Mare, Craig Dorey and Ian Merrien - are also present, proud to be in the six-man Channel Islands team which were lined up to open their programme at Torquay today with a match against Canada.
Also involved in the preliminaries at Torquay, Plymouth, Royal Leamington Spa and Gateshead are players from New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, as well as teams from all four of the home countries.
Group playing at those venues will produce four top teams for the knockout stage at Worthing's Beach House Park, where the semi-finals will be staged on Saturday 9 August, with the finals the next day.
The Channel Islands team, which has been grouped with Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the host country, face England at Plymouth on Friday, New Zealand at Leamington on Sunday and Ireland in Gateshead next week.
The event is a good advert for the notion that bowls is truly a sport for all ages, competitors ranging from young de la Mare and Dorey, who are 17 and 20 respectively, to Tom Stirrat, a feisty 67-year-old from Sun City, Florida.
Australia are sending the world under-25 indoor champion, Mark Casey, who is only 21, while Scotland still rely on the evergreen Willie Wood, who is playing as well as ever at 65.
