Bye for Matt but a tough test for Gary
HOT on the heels of the British Isles women's outdoor championships in Mid Wales, where only Jersey bowlers were involved, top level bowls continues in Edinburgh from today, when the male champions of Guernsey and Jersey have a chance to become the best of British - though, sadly, they will not compete in the team series.
HOT on the heels of the British Isles women's outdoor championships in Mid Wales, where only Jersey bowlers were involved, top level bowls continues in Edinburgh from today, when the male champions of Guernsey and Jersey have a chance to become the best of British - though, sadly, they will not compete in the team series. The men's event gets under way at the Sighthill club with the quarter finals, also known as preliminary round matches, in singles, pairs, triples, fours and under-25 singles.
Gary Pitschou has a tough quarter-final draw in the senior singles, taking on Ireland's super-consistent Martin McHugh, who has won his own national title four years running.
But Matt Le Ber can relax today, because he has been given a bye into the under-25s semi-final, where he is waiting for either Jersey's Jamie MacDonald or Ireland's Richard Leonard.
Northern duo Richard Nash and Don Batiste line up for Guernsey in the pairs, while Geoff Savident, Paul Sargeant, Ricky Brehaut of Guernsey BC not only bid for the triples, but combine - with Phil Schofield - to challenge for the fours.
Guernsey have been drawn in the quarter-finals in pairs, triples and fours, so the trio of Savident, Sargeant and Brehaut could be in for a busy time, with a possible six games to be played over four days.
All semi-finals are scheduled for tomorrow, while Friday sees the finals of the pairs, fours and junior singles, leaving the fate of the singles and triples championships to be decided on Saturday morning.
* When the British Isles Bowls Council decided in 2002 to rule the Channel Islands out of the team series, they offered a sweetener, guaranteeing separate places in the individual disciplines to Jersey and Guernsey, hence the participation in the championships but not in the internationals, which start on Friday afternoon.
