KEY POINTS:
The threat Australia's bowlers will pose at the world championships in Christchurch in January has been further underlined by their performances at the NZ Open which completed its second day at Henderson yesterday.
Even allowing for an occasional Kiwi upset, such as the win by a Brown's Bay four skipped by North Harbour representative Brent Turner, the Australians have been impressive in most disciplines.
Four Australian pairs have made those quarter-finals: Mark Strochnetter-Mark Nitz, Casey-Wayne Turley, Scott Caundle-Gerard Beach, Nathan Rice-Aron Sherriff.
The New Zealanders who make up the last eight include Ali Forsyth and Tony Grantham, and Shannon McIlory and Andrew Todd. One of the greats of Australian bowls, Ian Schuback, is a driving force behind the assault Australia plans to make in Christchurch.
At 55, Schuback remains fit and lean, but confirms his serious playing days are over as the emphasis in Australia, if not by design, has gone onto youth. The average age of the Australian women's squad was now 27, when 20 years ago it would have been well over 50. The men's average age was just 30.
All of the Australian squad were on fitness programmes, which explained why a current world champion Steve Glasson was not now included. He had declined to go on a programme.
It wasn't all gloom for locals, though, yesterday, with the 12-10 win by Turner's four of Tony Marinkovich, Dave McMurchy and Dave Gardner over Casey's strong line-up a highlight. So, too, was a win by another Harbour four, Mairangi Bay's John Coady, Ian Coombe, Larry Cane and Brian Rogers.
The Harbour combinations, plus the Kiwi line-ups of internationals Gary Lawson and Ali Forsyth, of Palmerston North's Stephen Wood and of three Auckland veterans, Petar Sain, Grant Goodwin and Ross Haresnape also made the last eight.
But of New Zealand's world championship women, only Jo Edwards remains in the singles, where Australians Karen Murphy and Lynsey Armitage and South African Lorna Trigwell loom as threats.
Trigwell and Murphy remain as skips in the women's four, clashing in one semifinal. The other will be between the women's Black Sticks world championship team of Edwards, Jan and Marina Khan and Sharon Sims and the Auckland representatives, Reen Stratford, Rae Hammond, Marian Broadbent and Jane Fenton.
