Crowd favourites Casey and Sherriff slide into third round
A scintillating men’s pairs rubber between former New Zealand and Scottish internationals Richard Girvan and Graeme Archer and Australian Jackaroos spearheads Mark Casey and Aron Sherriff drew in the crowds to Broadbeach today.
The match was one of 64 played this afternoon at Broadbeach Bowls Club and Club Helensvale as the men’s pairs were trimmed to just 32 with each pair taking one step closer to the elusive final.
Girvan and Archer opened proceedings with the first shot, but faced a tough day one the greens against the team many pundits expect to go all the way.
Sherriff bowled brilliantly throughout the match highlighted in the forth end when Girvan had set his team up nicely and were up three.
A well-placed drive by Sherriff, however, converted to pick up a shot and the lead, 3-2, which they didn’t relinquish again over the course of the match.
In the eighth end, down two shots, Sherriff again came to the rescue by trailing the jack with precision accuracy to give them four shots, a 12-3 lead and all but sow up the match.
The final nail in the coffin came on the tenth end when Casey set his teammate Sheriff up nicely peppering the jack with three tight bowls.
In a move that summed up the match for Archer and Girvan, Archer, on his final bowl, drove his own bowl out of the way and Sherriff capitalised, drawing another to give them five for the end.
Casey and Sherriff pencilled in a final score of 18-3 to advance to the third knockout rubber.
Across the rinks at Broadbeach, fellow Club Helensvale pair Brett Wilkie and Nathan Rice kept their chances alive with a slender 14-13 win against Chris Le Lievre and Ben Morthorpe.
In other matches around Helensvale and Broadbeach seven-year-old Jett Simmons’ fairytale run came to an end today in the second rubber, bowing out with his partner Alan Fawcett 5-14.
Victoria’s international representatives Dylan Fisher and Matthew Flapper prevailed in their herculean hit-out against Aaron Teys and triple World Cup winner Jeremy Henry 17-9.
New Zealand’s hopes are still alive in the men’s pairs as the all-star combination of current Blackjack Shannon McIlroy and former representative Paul Girdler took a step closer to another discipline’s semi-final.
The Kiwis had a commanding victory, 23-5, against Benjamin Walsh and Jade Groenewege and will take that form into the men’s fours semi-final played tonight at 5.00pm.
Another pair featuring in tonight’s men’s fours semi-finals, South Australia’s Wayne Ruediger and Scott Thulborn remain in the hunt in the pairs disciplines, advancing courtesy of a 16-6 win over Lachie Sims Joshua Appleyard.
NSW Male Bowler of the Year Ray Pearse and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kelvin Kerkow also booked a spot in the next round with a 23-6 victory, but must now face the Adelaide Endurance pairing of Ruediger and Scott.
Five-time finalist Barrie Lester appears to have his best chance of claiming a coveted crown this year, easing his way into the third round alongside Scotland’s world champion Alex Marshall 19-9.
