ALISON MERRIEN added to her reputation as one of the world’s top women bowlers today. She won the WBL World Champion of Champions title at Warilla, New South Wales.

The highly successful and talented Vale player defeated the Commonwealth Games champion, Siti Zalina Ahmad, 8-4, 6-6, in the final.

‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet,’ said Merrien. ‘But hopefully by the time I get home it may have. I was quite calm until I saw my mum, who is my number one supporter – then a bit of emotion crept in.’

Ahmad may have been the favourite for the title, but Merrien started the final with a psychological advantage, having already beaten the 28-year-old Malaysian at the round robin stage.

‘I played really well in the first set,’ Merrien said. ‘I was three shots up with one end to play and managed to score a single – so that was pretty comfortable.

‘But things didn’t look too good in the second set when I could have gone 6-0 down after only two ends.’

Ahmad, who predictably hit back after losing the first set, picked up a double on the first end and was holding four shots on the second for a 6-0 lead when Merrien dug deep to draw the shot and avert a crisis.

‘That meant I was able to change the length and I opted for a short jack,’ said Merrien. ‘I can’t remember much of what happened after that, but I hung in there and went into the last end two adrift at 4-6.

Merrien has plenty of experience of the controversial new best-of-two sets format – introduced a few years ago for television – so she knew that two shots was all she needed, because a tied set is regarded as halved.

‘I really didn’t want the match to go into a tie-break, but, needing a double to tie the set, I managed to get two bowls near the jack and I couldn’t believe it when her last bowl – an attempt to save with a drive – was wrecked on one of her short bowls.’

Among the first to congratulate Merrien was Swaziland’s Liz James, who beat her in the final of the inaugural Champion of Champions event in 2003. ‘I was quite touched, because she was ecstatic for me,’ said Merrien.

Merrien’s brilliant double whammy over Ahmad – she beat the talented Malaysian bowls professional 12-3, 13-7 at the group stage – is a real feather in her cap.

Apart from winning the Commonwealth Games title in 2002 and 2006, the Malaysian champion is currently the holder of the Australian Open title – so, in a sense, she qualified for this event twice.