Merrien wants a return to Potters

ALISON MERRIEN'S promising start in the WBT world indoor championships at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk, on Friday gave way to an ultimately disappointing weekend as she crashed out of the women's singles and mixed pairs. Merrien's form in the semi-final of the pairs was not quite up to the standard she attained in the quarter-final when she partnered in-form Alex Marshall to a great victory over the defending champions, Carol Ashby and John Price.

The Sarnian-Scottish combination looked on course to reach the final when they tied the first set and led Noreen Stratford from New Zealand and England's Ian Bond, who is known as the Devon Destroyer, 4-0 in the second.

But, although Merrien generally matched her opponent, Bond hit a winning streak, skilfully turning heads and denying Merrien and Marshall another shot as the Anglo-Kiwi combo swept to a 7-7, 11-4 victory with a 3-2-2-2-2 sequence.

But the Guernsey star still earned high praise from Marshall, who said: 'It was a real pleasure to team up with Alison. She's a fine bowler and, although she might not have played quite so well in our second game, she set up some good positions.'

In the singles, Merrien was rocked when her first-round opponent, Debbie Stavrou, found her touch from the first wood. The former dropped a treble on the second end and was 3-7 adrift after seven.

A typical rearguard action saw the Sarnian pick up a double on the eighth and a single on the ninth to finish the first set one shot light.

Things were going well in the second set until Stavrou claimed a full house on the seventh end and went on to win 7-6, 9-7.

'I came to Norfolk with high hopes and have enjoyed the experience immensely,' Merrien said last night.

'I knew Debbie was a really good player because she beat my team on the way to the British indoor triples title a few years ago - so I was prepared for a hard game.'

She added: 'To be honest, I thought we were in with a great chance in the pairs, so it was disappointing to go out in the semi-finals.'

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Merrien was impressed with the venue and with the standard of play from the world's best.

'It's a wonderful event and my first visit has made me all the more determined to get back here if I possibly can,' she said.

Her focus now shifts to next month's British Isles women's championships in Belfast, where she has won the right to represent the Channel Islands in singles and fours.

'I won the British singles title last year, so it's fantastic that I am able to defend it,' she said, explaining that the reigning champion had no automatic right to compete the following year and had to qualify all over again.

'Incidentally,' she added, 'while it's true that I will be representing the Channel Islands in Belfast, I was disappointed at Potters that my name in the programme for the event had me down as Channel Islands, not Guernsey.'