Ali accused of go-slow

ALISON MERRIEN was at the centre of a bowls storm in Belfast yesterday when, after beating England champion Sian Gordon in the semi-finals of the British women's indoor singles championship, she was accused of gamesmanship by sections of the English supporters.

It must be said that the rumpus that exercised Gordon's supporters was the result of a misunderstanding - and was stoked by the disappointment they felt when their champion lost a big lead and was eliminated.

Merrien, who revealed afterwards that she was taken ill during the game, asked for a time-out and took 10 minutes to freshen up, but said she felt awful even after she returned to the rink.

Understandably, she was not her usual lively self and the pace of the game slowed to a crawl as she attempted to make inroads into Gordon's 12-7 lead.

Some spectators were under the impression that Merrien was deliberately slowing things down in order to unsettle her opponent - an accusation she vigorously denied.

England team manager Edna Bessell was clearly unhappy and many English supporters felt that Merrien had been employing unacceptable gamesmanship.

'I have known Alison a long time and watched her in action in tournaments all over the world and have never seen her behave like that before,' said Bessell.

'Ten minutes break was one thing - but the way she dragged things out got to Sian in the end and there has been a lot of criticism from our supporters.'

'I suffered a giddy spell and was feeling rotten,' said Merrien, who categorically denied any element of gamesmanship.

'If it had been anything else, I would have given her the game, but I was determined not to surrender my title.