Strategy pays dividends
FRANK BERRY from Gravesend, Kent, joined forces with Tish Duquemin to win the top prize in the P. and J. Conservatories Easter Three-Bowl Pairs at the Guernsey Bowls Stadium.
FRANK BERRY from Gravesend, Kent, joined forces with Tish Duquemin to win the top prize in the P. and J. Conservatories Easter Three-Bowl Pairs at the Guernsey Bowls Stadium.
bly assisted by Michael Le Noury in the group stage games, they topped Group B by a shot difference three better than David de la Mare, Chris Dyer and Terry Duquemin playing as Hopefuls.
Terry Boreham and Dennis Baglin topped Group A playing as Vultures and looked to have lost their touch as Berry and Duquemin opened up a 10-0 lead over the first five ends.
However, Vultures settled and Boreham's bowls gradually, over the next few ends, seemed to be closer than Berry's yellow ones. With Baglin playing some great bowls at skip, they levelled the game at 12-each after 15 ends.
Popular opinion among the large crowd favoured Vultures to move ahead and take the top prize.
But on the 16th end and holding one and a possible measure, Duquemin arrived at the head with his final delivery being tight and a yard over weight. A deflection off a short bowl took his delivery onto the jack, which moved a couple of feet and left him with a count of four.
The 17th end saw the jack move several times and Baglin was only an inch or so too narrow to draw the shot with his final delivery of the end and Three Musketeers lay two shots.
Needing a maximum count of six on the last end, Boreham attempted to kill the end with his final delivery and Baglin continued in similar mode. But Berry and Duquemin were not to be undone and strategically-placed bowls ensured a count of two to finish 20-12 to the good.
The third/fourth play-off between Craig Dorey and Steve Desperques and Terry Duquemin and Daniel de la Mare proved to be an equally enthralling encounter necessitating an extra end.
Desperques managed to draw an excellent back toucher, leaving partner Craig Dorey to place the positional bowls. De la Mare to try to move the jack to make a score, but all three attempts narrowly missed the target and U What took the spoils ahead of Hopefuls who had also played with three players throughout the group stages, with Chris Dyer being the unlucky one to miss out on the final.
Richard Hill and John Wallis, playing as Double Trouble, took fifth place over Bandits with a 22-12 scoreline in their deciding match. Steve and Kris Bichard contested this match for Bandits who had also employed Jason Knight and Ali Merrien during the group stages.
