Merrien red-faced at number-one tag

ALISON MERRIEN is now surely the undisputed best indoor bowler in the island. She completed another great year by retaining her Champion of Champions title at the Guernsey Bowls Stadium with a narrow 21-18 victory over Neal Mollet in the final, again displaying her world-class credentials.

Merrien, though, remains modest about the achievement and is a touch embarrassed to be rated number one, regardless of sex.

'It might upset the men to call me that,' she said.

'It has been good this year and I think that I have done as much as I can.

On her latest victory, she said that she expected the final to turn out as it did.

'It was certainly a close match, but Neal and I normally have a good battle. I was just trying to keep a consistency going.

In reaching the final Merrien had initially beaten the island's under-18 and under-25 champion, Daniel de la Mare.

Although the match lasted under one-and-a-half hours, in reality the play was far closer than the score might suggest.

Both players were drawing superbly, but Merrien had the edge on the important conversion shots, on many occasions turning an end with her last bowl.

In the other quarter-final, de la Mare's father, Keith, was playing women's singles champion Carol Ingrouille, who was playing effectively with her new dark blue bowls.

Ingrouille won 21-15 in a match that lasted nearly two-and-a-quarter hours.

With novice singles champion Ivor Perry unable to participate, men's singles winner Neal Mollet and top veteran Clarence Falla, received byes into the semi-finals, while Ingrouille had only 10 minutes rest before having to play her semi against Merrien.

Both semi-finals were completed in just under two hours.

Mollet, playing with dark- red bowls, started strongly against Falla, who found himself 7-0 down after four ends.

Falla recovered to be just 14-7 down by the 12th end, but Mollet turned up the heat and finished strongly with scores of two, three and one to win the match 21-8.

In the other semi Merrien opened up a 5-1 lead after four ends, but Ingrouille once again used the shortened mat tactic to pull back to 5-5 by the seventh.

On the eighth, Ingrouille had just one dark-blue bowl in the head surrounded by Merrien's three greens.

Merrien attacked the head sending all the bowls flying.

When they had come to rest, she found she had scored a full house of four.

This proved a turning point and Ingrouille failed to score for the next four ends, finding herself 16-5 down by the 12th.

There was no way back for her and the match finished at 21-9.

The final saw one of the finest displays of drawing and firing that has been seen in the stadium for some time.

Both players would draw a close toucher and then be outdrawn by their opponent with delicate shots, while on other occasions weight was used with spectacular results.

Mollet's dark-red bowls opened up a 4-2 lead by the fifth end, but on the next Merrien played a superb conversion to score a full house of green.

Mollet responded with a double to level the score at 6-6, then Merrien scored two doubles to lead 10-6.

It was 12-12 after the 14th and the match then seemed to go up a gear with both players drawing incredibly close touchers.

After the 20th end it was still anyone's title at 18-18 and on the next end Mollet held shot only for Merrien to trail the jack for a match lie of three. Mollet fired, just catching his own short red bowl and flying harmlessly by the three green shots.

He sank to the floor in disappointment.

Merrien had retained the Ken Thompson Memorial Trophy, having played nearly six hours and 54 ends of bowls in seven-and-a-half hours.