Pair into quarters

GUERNSEY team manager Paul Sargeant looked ever more cheerful as the weekend rolled on at Ayr Northfield, where the Atlantic Championships move into the knockout phase today. 'We wondered what had hit us on Friday, when we lost all four matches in the opening session, but everyone has settled down to a good game and we have taken some notable scalps along the way in the group stages,' he said yesterday.

'It's been a learning experience, especially for first-timers like Doreen Batiste and Paul Wakeham, but they have pulled their weight and have enjoyed every minute - in spite of the changeable weather.'

While it may be that only the Guernsey men's pair of Garry Collins and Matt Le Ber actually qualify for the quarter-finals, there have been brilliant performances recorded by the whole 10-strong team.

It was Collins - Bowls Guernsey's chief executive - and Le Ber who performed the greatest heroics, crowning their late charge with a fantastic 13-9 win over the highly-fancied English pairing of Mark Bantock and Steve Farish.

Collins sat on the bank looking shell-shocked as he recalled how he and young Le Ber had powered into an 8-2 lead after nine ends and kept their heads after the England duo had leveled at 8-8 four ends later.

'That was a great game,' Collins said, as he tried to work out whether the Guernsey pair will meet Scotland or South Africa in this afternoon's quarter-finals.

To be honest, their chances looked slim when they lost to Wales and Spain, but they gained confidence when they beat Canada, 16-15, then added a 17-9 win over Israel, before claiming that memorable victory over England.

Gwen de la Mare and Jackie Nicolle, were edged out at the group stage, but not before they had grabbed the limelight with a brilliant 19-18 win over the favourites for the women's pairs title, Kay Moran and Margaret Letham, from the host country.

The Guernsey duo looked home and dry when they stormed into a 18-1 lead after 10 ends and their position looked even more secure when they led 19-3 with only five ends left to play - but, in the end, they were relieved to get home by a single shot.

Shirley Petit, Doreen Batiste and Wilma Le Feuvre lost their first three matches in the women's triples, but finished in style with consolation wins over the USA and Holland.

In the men's triples, Paul Wakeham, Len Le Ber and Ian Merrien have beaten Ireland and Portugal and were looking for a win over Israel today which might just keep their hopes of a place in the last eight alive.