Sherriff fires opening shot in singles assault
With the disappointment of unsuccessfully qualifying for the Commonwealth Games men’s pairs medal play-offs behind him, Aron Sherriff has picked himself up and started his campaign to make amends in the singles at the 2014 edition of the Games in Glasgow. The Ettalong Memorial bowler and team mate Brett Wilkie completed their sectional pool matches in the pairs undefeated and were surprisingly ousted from the competition in their quarter-final bout 12-19 to Namibia. Sherriff, who is attempting to become the third Australian man to win Commonwealth Games singles gold after Robert Parrella and Kelvin Kerkow achieved the feat in Auckland in 1990 and Melbourne in 2006 respectively, has started his assault on the title in typical Sherriff fashion – devastating. Pitted against Dalton Tagelagi from Niue, Sherriff began as well as he could have for an opening hit-out by streaking to a 12-1 lead after six ends allowing him the comfort of relaxing into his game style, finding his rhythm. maintaining a convincing lead and cruising to a 21-6 victory in just 59 minutes winning 11 of the 16 ends played. Tagelagi, a 48-year-old from the tiny island country in the South Pacific Ocean which has a population of 1400, won three of his five ends on end but only yielded three shots in the process in a match that looked one-sided on paper and proved to be just that. The 15-shot win was the largest margin Sherriff held all match and the three shots he collected on the final end was his fourth bag of three for the match. National coach Steve Glasson was short in his summation of the match of the World Champion and three-time International Bowler of the Year. “That’s the type of match a coach likes to see.” The 28-year-old Sherriff offered a more detailed self-analysis when he spoke to Bowls Australia after the match. “The greens in the last session of the day at any tournament can have a lot of wear and tear and so it was a bit difficult to find the line sometimes. “My weight was good most of the time so I’m pretty happy with that,” Sherriff said. “Strangely I was a bit nervous at the start and the first couple didn’t come out well but I felt good towards the end. “I couldn’t tell you the last time I felt nervous on the bowls green” Sherriff said with a wry grin. Sherriff’s next match will be against the Falkland Islands before taking on Kenya, England and Wales in his remaining pool matches. Australia’s next appearances on the Kelvingrove greens will be tonight Australian time and courtesy of the women’s pairs and triples and Bowlers with a Disability triples who take to the mat for the first time at these Games. Both the men’s fours and women’s triples have round two byes. In other news, New Zealand stalwart Jo Edwards has claimed a gold medal in the women’s singles event defeating England’s Natalie Melmore for the title. Edwards, a member of the New Zealand Blackjacks outfit that competed in the inaugural Australian Premier League last, already a Commonwealth Games gold medallist winning the pairs title with Sharon Sims a the 2002 Games in Manchester. Australia’s Kesley Cottrell narrowly missed out on making the post-sectional rounds in the women’s singles by just two shots. Round 1 Women’s Pairs – (5.45pm-8.00pm AEST) Carla Odgers and Natasha Scott v Niue Bowlers with a Disability Triples – (5.45pm- 8.00pm AEST) – Tim Slater, Tony Bonnell and James Reynolds v New Zealand Women’s Triples – (9.45pm-12.45am AEST) Lynsey Clarke, Karen Murphy & Kelsey Cottrell v Niue Round 2 Men’s Fours – BYE Women’s Triples – BYE BRONZE MEDAL PLAY-OFF – Monday night, 5.45pm AEST Men’s Triples – Wayne Ruediger, Nathan Rice, Matt Flapper vs Wales
