Beere sunk by a single shot in final

THEY may be losing grip of the Ashes but the Aussies ruled in Ayr yesterday.

Which is a shame because Guernsey's ex-England international bowler, Lucy Beere, was pipped in the final of the World Bowls Champion of Champions women's tournament by Australia's new teenage sensation.

Kelsey Cottrell, the youngest competitor in the event, is a real child prodigy, who played for her State when she was only 13, and represented her country in the singles in the 2008 World Bowls.

'What a final,' said Beere. 'It couldn't have been closer,' she added.

'When I led by two shots in the first set, Kelsey scored a double to tie things up, then, when she led by two shots in the second set, all I could manage was a single.'

This was an occasion when the 6-6, 6-5 scorecard said it all - low scores, with shots hard to come by, and very little to choose between the players, and it was a major achievement for Beere to lift a world championship silver medal.

For the record, Beere scored on 10 of the 18 ends played, but was generally held to singles, while Cottrell crucially managed two doubles in the first set and another two in the second.