Blackwell’s Keep Success in the Family

by Cameron Harris on December 14, 2018

Kaye and Donna Blackwell have won the the 2018/19 Women’s State Pairs in hot conditions on Friday 14th December.

They defeated Kukerin’s Bev Davidson and Debbie Smith 15-14 in a final end thriller at Osborne Park.

It was a game of few up shots but it was an outstanding display of draw bowls throughout the game with some key bowls played.

The Kukerin pair had the better start with four shots in the first three ends before a four to the Blackwell’s undid that work on the fourth to levelthe scores.

It stayed very close for a few ends before a couple of big bowls stopped the match from breaking open.

At 6-6 after six ends Blackwell was down three before trailing bare jack to get a lot more room, ultimately dropping a single shot on the end. On the very next end Blackwell again trailed the jack three or four down and made two shots. This gave them the lead 8-7 after eight ends instead of the 6-13 down they could have been.

As the game wore on the standard continued to increase with the country girls rising to the occasion and Donna Blackwell lifting to match the standard of the game. A two on the eight end started a Blackwell run that got them a 13-7 lead with six ends left.

This was where Davidson and Smith really came to the fore as they dug deep to get themselves back in it in the last third of the game. In the next five ends they scored seven shots to one.

This meant the match entered its final stanza dead level at 14-14 each with a winner take all final 18th end to finish the game. Donna nailed the jack with her first bowl which stayed shot most of the end. Trying to sit the shot Davidson turned up another Blackwell bowl onto the jack to force her to try and kill the end with her last. She got a bowl out but not the jack and the Blackwell’s hung onto one shot to win the match.

It was a terrific performance from the Kukerin ladies who had a huge amount of country support behind them despite playing at a club with just 5 lady members.

However the Blackwell’s certainly earn’t their title having beaten 2017 winners and 2018 runner-ups Kristina Krstic and Laura Merz in knockout play and four times champions Noelene Abe and Kerry Andersen in the semi-final.

This is Kaye Blackwell’s second open age state title and Donna’s first. Kaye’s last title was the fours in the 1996/97 season making it a long time between drinks. The Blackwell’s are the first known mother/daughter combination to win the event.

Full results can be found via this link Women’s State Pairs results