Musgrave Hill duo wins pairs
MUSGRAVE Hill bowlers Glen Bailey and Bruce McNish denied Craig Teys and Jeff Dolan back-to-back Summerland Pairs titles with a 20-16 win in a tense final at Ballina Bowling Club on December 29.
Bailey and McNish, who is a former New Zealand representative, held their nerve after going into the final end leading 18-16. They had clawed their way back into the final after trailing early.
Dolan, a Queensland State Fours champion from Brisbane’s Wynnum-Manly club, and Teys, formerly of Ballina but now with Evans Head, had led 9-4 after eight ends.
Bailey and McNish fought back to trail 12-9 after 12 ends. The turning point came in the 13th end when the Queensland pair picked up four shots to lead 13-12.
From there they were never headed, but Dolan and Teys were always in contention.
It was 15-12 after 15 ends, but then Dolan picked up three shots with a great last bowl to level at 15-all.
Shots on the 17th and 18th ends saw Bailey and McNish draw away to 18-15, but Nolan and Teys set up a great finish with a shot on the 20th end to trail 18-16.
Nerves played a factor in the final end, with early bowls from both teams coming up short. But the Queensland pair held on to pick up two shots and win 20-16.
Bailey summed up the tension of the final when he said: “I’ve had enough. Six ends ago I was ready to pack it in.”
Dolan said: “It was a tight one. They played well. We tried.”
The winners pocketed $3000 for their success, while Dolan and Teys shared $1500.
Quarter-finals: Michael Anderson (Byron Bay), John Lang (Evans Head) 21 d Geoff Hawken (Musgrave Hill), Ron Erickson (Murwillumbah) 7; Glen Bailey, Bruce McNish (Musgrave Hill) 18 d Rex Wildash, Ray Hickman (South Tweed Heads) 11; Craig Teys (Evans Head), Jeff Dolan (Wynnum-Manly) 13 d Trevor Clarke, Richard Latta (Lismore Workers Heights) 11; Chris Amos, Kelvin Kerkow (South Tweed Heads) 22 d Geoff Matters (Forbes), Matthew Pietersen (Parkes) 14.
Semi-finals: Bailey, McNish 19 d Lang, Anderson 11; Teys, Dolan 22 d Amos, Kerkow 9 (14 ends).
