Merrien adds to the Aussie misery

Friday 21st January 2011, 2:30PM GMT.

Alison Merrien shows off the trophy she had seen snatched from her grasp twice previously – but it finally arrived yesterday in Norfolk. (Picture by Howard Harding, 1079865)

PHEW- She did it.

After putting her supporters’ nerves through the proverbial mangle, Alison Merrien yesterday lifted the Langham Glass Trophy as the new World Bowls Tour Women’s Matchplay singles champion.

It may not have been her most commanding performance, but the 36-year-old Guernsey woman showed guts and determination aplenty on the portable rink at Potters Leisure Resort to overcome top Aussie Karen Murphy, 9-5, 0-11, 2-1, in a nail-biting final.

Forget about the Ashes – this was Guernsey versus Australia in a winner-takes-all sporting contest, and the tiny Channel Island, with around 300 bowlers, astonishingly came out on top against a sub-continent which boasts a bowling population of more than half a million.