Bowls: Canterbury pair see off early demons

By LINDSAY KNIGHT

Former national pairs champion and Commonwealth Games representative Maurice Symes reckons the omens for him and Canterbury partner Kelvin Scott must have been good when they struggled on the opening day of the Manurewa pairs classic.

Symes and Scott won the tournament yesterday, beating the young Aucklanders Mark Hall and Tony Andrews from the Avondale club 13-9 in the final.

But the southern pair had a horrific start in Saturday's section play.

"Last week, Kelvin and I played together in the Burnside pairs in Christchurch and played like absolute champions until we got to the final, where we were very bad and got well beaten," Symes said.

"Up here it was the other way round. We couldn't have had a worse start.

"We were 18-1 down to a couple of local bowlers [Manurewa's Barry Hornblow and Dave Syme] and though we ended up getting within six, we were well beaten.

"But after that we just went from strength to strength and never really looked like losing."

In their semifinal, Symes and Scott beat Dunedin's Ken Walker and Blair Barringer.

Symes has now won the Manurewa title three times, taking it in 1997 and 1999 with his old Taranaki partner Geoff Hawken - they won the national pairs championship at the Onehunga club in 1985.

After a two-year break from the game, Symes returned this season to the Canterbury centre representative squad, but at 57 he is not contemplating a return to the international scene, in which he gained a Commonwealth Games bronze medal with Rowan Brassey in 1990.

"I've had my time in the sun," he said. "It's time for fitter and younger guys now."

After representing Taranaki and Wellington, Symes moved to Canterbury four years ago, where he has forged a strong pairing with 41-year old Scott, who beat him for the national singles title in 1998.

"We go back a long way and do play well together," Symes said.

Their experience was crucial yesterday in staving off Hall and Andrews, two up-and-comers who had made a speciality of miraculous escapes in the earlier rounds.

They only qualified for post-section play by picking up a five on the last end of the final round of section play, edging past experienced Aucklander Ivan Marsic and partner Neal Fisher by one shot.

And in yesterday's semifinal against Waikato's Kevin Robinson and Neville Risbridge, Andrews brought a tight battle to an abrupt end when his first bowl on the last end took the jack to the ditch and stayed with it.

That flair for the dramatic looked as if it might stay with Andrews and Hall in the final, even though they went into the 15th and last end trailing 12-9.

They were holding three shots and looking likely to take the match into an extra end when Scott removed their bowls with a drive, and a resultant wick gave him and Symes the shot.

Even allowing for the talent the young Aucklanders had shown for miracle shots, Scott said he did not feel under any undue pressure with his drive.

"I was confident I could hit it."

For their win, Symes and Scott have automatic entry to the Warilla pairs in Australia this year, plus $1000 in expenses.

Hall and Andrews shared $1000 as runners-up.