Merrien's long, long day ends in disappointment

ALISON MERRIEN, who won the British Isles women's indoor singles title in 2002, figured prominently in the early skirmishes for this year's championships at Llanelli in south Wales yesterday. And, although she narrowly failed to topple Scotland's Julie Forrest in the quarter-finals of the singles, she gained sweet revenge in the pairs, along with teenager Lianna Bichard.

But, late last night, the Guernsey duo found the going tough against Welsh champions Jenny Davies and Betty Morgan, who beat them, 23-11.

Not only is Forrest the reigning Scottish champion, she is also the holder of the Scottish Masters title, and is regarded as one of the top singles players in the world.

Never one to be put off by her opponent's reputation, Merrien was 9-3 in front after seven ends, but the tall Scot fought back to level matters at 10-10 after 14 and took control, scoring 10 shots to one to lead, 20-11.

The balanced of power shifted again, however, with Merrien tapping a rich vein of form over the next four ends, compiling a 1-2-2-2 sequence to close the gap to just two shots at 20-18.

The marathon finally came to an end on the 27th end, when Forrest took the winning single.