Alison Merrien holds the WBL World Cup alongside beaten Kiwi Val Smith.
JUST how good is Alison Merrien?
The answer, plainly, is very nearly the best.
Her victory in the final of the WBL World Cup in Warilla was achieved against the official world indoor bowls singles champion, Val Smith, from New Zealand, and comes on top of her win in the WBL Champion of Champions event in November.
In between, she has appropriated the British Isles indoor singles title – in Llanelli last month – and this latest success elevates her to an all-time personal high of number two in the world.
That’s official.
She could be excused for exercising her bragging rights, but yesterday when she spoke in between the main course and dessert at the World Bowls gala dinner and before delivering the traditional winner’s speech, she was as modest as ever.
‘I honestly didn’t expect to come back to Australia and win another world title, but I’m thrilled about it,’ she said.
‘Beating the official world champion in the final was great, but perhaps the highlight was my semi-final win over Karen [Murphy].’
Murphy pipped Merrien 21-20 in the world outdoor championships in Moama in 2000 and beat her again this week in the qualifying group at the indoor World Cup, so it was a case of sweet revenge for the Guernsey star.
Doesn’t it get a bit boring winning all these titles?
‘Not at all,’ she chuckled.
‘Two world titles, plus the British title. I can assure you that every one of them is special. I just can’t believe I’ve done it.’
Garry Collins, the young chief executive of Bowls Guernsey, said yesterday: ‘Ali is on top of her game and it’s brilliant. All the effort she has put in over the past few years is bearing fruit and the results are her reward.
‘She was extremely talented to start with but, quite simply, she has benefited from increased exposure at world level and every time she attends an international event, she adds to her experience and gets better and better.
‘She has certainly put Guernsey on the map and I think it’s fair to say that bowls is now a sport to be reckoned with on the island,’ he added.
The great and the good of indoor bowls, gathered in Swansea for the WIBC championships, were buzzing yesterday with the news of Merrien’s success.
Anne Easton, the secretary of the Scottish Women’s Indoor Bowling Association, offered overwhelming praise of the Guernsey woman’s skills.
‘She’s wonderful. So talented, so determined and such a great ambassador for the sport and for Guernsey. You couldn’t have a more popular winner.’
And where does Easton place Merrien in the sport’s pecking order?
‘Oh, she’s up there,’ she said.
‘She can hold her own with anyone on the world stage and has a great future in the sport.’
What a shame that, thanks to the crazy format employed by World Bowls Limited, the winner of the Champion of Champions and now the World Cup, was not eligible to bid for the official world outdoor singles title in Christchurch in January.
The reason for that is simple. Those championships are regarded as a team event and countries must qualify as a five – though they then split up to play singles, pairs, triples and fours.
Work commitments meant that Merrien was not available to play in the qualifying Atlantic region events in 2005 or 2007 and the Guernsey women’s team failed to make the frame.
The good news is that she is keen to get back into the Guernsey team for the Atlantic championships which are scheduled to be staged in Johannesburg next year – so things may be different when the next world championships are staged in Adelaide in 2012.
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