LUCY BEERE won the battle of the giants when she took on Alison Merrien in the de Putron women’s singles, otherwise known as the island championship.
Beere (pictured), the 2008 champion who later this month goes to Ayr in Scotland to compete in the World Singles Champion of Champions by way of winning the title last year, couldn’t have drawn a tougher opponent in the preliminary round of this year’s local championship, but she met the challenge brilliantly and beat her opponent in 18 ends played on her home green at the Corbet Field.
A former English international under-25 player, Beere went 1-5 down in the opening three ends but settled down to win the next three ends to lead 7-5.
It was all square at 7-7 after eight but a superb winning sequence on the following six ends of a 2-3-2-1-1-3 put the Vale Rec member 19-7 up and well on the road to the eventual 21-13 victory and a great confidence boost for her launch onto the world stage in Ayr.
In the other preliminary round match Angela Bartie came out the winner in a very close encounter with fellow Northerner Doreen Batiste.
Bartie was 6-0 up after four ends but it was all square at 14-14 after 16, 15-15 and then 16-16 after 20.
Batiste went ahead by scoring four shots to nil on the next two ends to lead 20-16 but that one shot needed for victory never came as every time she held the winning shot, which she did umpteen times over the next four ends, Bartie countered with superb accuracy to claim the win 21-20 in a marathon 26 ends of play.
In the men’s equivalent for the Elliott Trophy Matthew Le Ber, who also travels to Ayr later this month, made a successful start in the defence of his island title when after a bye in the first round he beat Paul Wakeham in the second at Beau Sejour.
After dropping a single on the first end Le Ber never looked in danger of losing this one and gradually built up to 20-7 lead after sixteen ends.
Wakeham, however, made him wait by scoring four shots over the next three before Le Ber finally got the single required on the 20th to win 21-21.
Nigel Collins, last year’s losing finalist, also came through against Sid Le Maitre.
The former led 15-8 after 11 ends and had to endure a comeback by Le Maitre whose weighted draws at three-quarter length proved fruitful in turning the heads in his favour on the following six ends to lead 16-15.
But a full length jack cast by Le Maitre on the next was the turning point and Collins went on to score six shots to one over the final six ends to return a 21-17 score card.
Gary Pitschou, always in the hunt for the trophy, won his encounter against the 2007 winner Don Batiste.
A full-house count of four on the first end by Pitschou was turned around by Batiste who led 6-5 after the sixth.
Despite another full house by Pitschou on the next Batiste pegged the deficit back to 9-9 after 10, and a single and two threes with one against over the next four ends put Batiste 16-10 up. But back came Pitschou to win the match 21-18 by scoring on the final three ends of a 20-end game.
Alan Gibson was the shock winner of the round with a superb win over Geoff Savident.
The promising Vale Rec bowler led all the way in this 25-end encounter but not before Savident had closed to 19-17 with a superb weighted shot to turn around a match-winning lie by Gibson on the 23rd, followed by a single on the next.
However, Gibson held his nerve to draw the two shots required and this time his opponent missed with his last bowl.
The longest match was the 27-end encounter between fellow Northerners Ricky Nash and Dan Le Cheminant, which the former won 21-19.Island Championships: Defending champions come through opening matches
Article posted on 8th July, 2009 - 2.29pm
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