Miller’s team claims Burton Cup glory

Enjoying their Burton Cup bowls success are (from left) Mark Walker, skip Ricky Miller, Jackie Horsfall and Ben Elkington. All four are members of Tolaga Bay Bowling Club, which only last week officially reopened its green, which was severely damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. Picture by Paul Rickard

Five teams were vying for Burton Cup bowls glory after the first day’s play, but Ricky Miller’s team cleared out on the second day to win by 10 points.

Miller, Mark Walker, Ben Elkington and Jackie Horsfall — who all play at the Tolaga Bay club — accumulated 55 points to secure victory in the premier event of the district’s oldest bowling club, Gisborne.

The competition format these days requires teams of four to be able to play singles, pairs, triples, fours and 2-4-2, and the secret to doing well is to get the right mix of players and disciplines in each of six rounds.

Sixteen teams of four took part. At the end of Saturday’s play, teams skipped by Glenys Whiteman, Paddy Stewart, Tim Sherriff, Seddon Jury and Miller were in contention.

By the time Round 6 started on Sunday afternoon, numerous possibilities were in play. Some teams who had started slowly on Saturday came with a late run but could not make up the gap to the leading contenders.

Second and third places had to be separated by differential.

Sherriff and his team of Paul Everett, Peter Mitchell and Ginny Sherriff took second place, with 44 points, a differential of 35 and 91 ends won.

Whiteman and her team of Boon McIlroy, and Joy and Jeff Davis were third, with 44 points, a differential of 30 and 85 ends won.

In fourth place were Stewart and his team of Geoff Pinn, Dayvinia Mills and Liam Pinn, with 43 points.

Tournament controller Peter Ferris said teams were not necessarily formed within club boundaries. Rather, teams recruited members they thought would be a good fit for the competition.

“This marquee event is part of the Bowls New Zealand Summer of Bowls calendar,” Ferris said.

“It's a hard tournament. Players have to hold it together for six two-hour rounds. It’s not for the faint-hearted.”

He said Gisborne Bowling Club members made sure the 64 bowlers in action were well watered and fed.

Emerre & Hathaway Insurance Brokers sponsored this year’s event, and Gear Meat Pies provided buns and sandwiches.

Tournament director Chris Bunyan oversaw the smooth running of the event, with quick results and troubleshooting where necessary.

Greenkeeper Andrew Ball had managed to keep the greens to a high standard in difficult weather leading up to the event — no small feat when all three greens at the club were

in use.