Australian men dominating at Burnside
Australian High Performance Teams competing in the Stewart Buttar Burnside Pairs in Christchurch have started day one strongly with five from eight possible wins.
It was the Australian men leading the way winning all four games in the opening round of sectional play.
Ray Pearse and Matthew Flapper headlined the great start for the Australian men defeating Ian McNish and Doug Paterson of Bowls Canterbury 20-6 and are leading section one in the early stages.
Andrew Howie and Brett Wilkie posted a 16-10 victory over Bowls Canterbury pairing of Trevor Kennett and Rodney Greaney, and like Pearse and Flapper they too have the highest winning margin of round one in their section.
The Australian women faced tough first round opponents; however Chloe Stewart and Anne Johns managed to secure the Australian women’s only victory in round one with an 11-10 win over local pair Andre Smith and Sean O’Neil.
Boddington and Turley came up against New Zealand Blackjack Andrew Kelly who just two days ago was selected to skip against Australia in the Trans-Tasman.
Andrew Kelly and partner Jordan King, were made to fight hard for their victory with the Australian girls going down narrowly 10-13.
Kristina Krstic and Carla Odgers weren’t expecting to play an Australian in their opening encounter, however they drew Australian ‘A’ Squad member Sean Ingham and former New Zealand representative Shaun Scott.
The Australian girls were in the match from start to finish, however it was the strong male combination that got over the line 13-10.
The tournament consists of eight sections of six, therefore an Australian combination is in each of the sections, and therefore will not meet in sectional play.
After five sectional matches, the teams who finish on top of the ladder will progress into division 1 and play off in another section for the title.
For more information including the conditions of play and full list of teams competing, please follow the link to the Burnside Bowling Club website.
Here are the Australians results from Round 1-
Ray Pearse & Matthew Flapper won 20-6
Aaron Wilson & Nathan Rice won 17-14
Dylan Fisher & Mark Casey won 15-14
Andrew Howie & Brett Wilkie won 16-10
Kristina Krstic & Carla Odgers lost 10-13
Sarah Boddington & Claire Turley lost 10-13
Chloe Stewart & Anne Johns won 11-10
Sam Shannahan & Lynsey Clarke lost 10-18
