Bowls: It’s hoodoo-breaking time for Brassey

Rowan Brassey, an all-time great of New Zealand bowls, yesterday took a major step towards achieving one of the few major titles to have eluded him when he marched almost imperiously into today's national singles final at the Henderson club.

Brassey will meet Dwayne Cameron, a 28-year-old from the Homai club in Counties-Manukau, who overcame the sparse amount of bowls he has had recently to make a late rally to pip Tony Andrews, from Auckland's Carlton club, 21-19.

Brassey, though he has eight national titles since starting his illustrious career leading as a youngster in the fours for Nick Unkovich more than 20 years ago, has always come unstuck in the singles.

The closest he came was in 1983 when he was the last remaining two-lifer, only to lose to his friend, Danny O'Connor.

While Brassey will go into the final as a hot favourite - there was gossip yesterday of one big bet on him at the TAB - he was taking nothing for granted, nor was he preoccupied with removing what some might judge as a hoodoo.

"I'm not really chasing it," he said. "If you chase things you can become too intense and you never get it. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

The national singles title, too, was not his ultimate aim. "I wouldn't mind winning the world indoor singles," he said. "That's worth $90,000 compared to $1200 here."

Brassey was also not underrating Cameron, who as part of national development squads has often stayed at Brassey's Mt Albert home. "You never can tell, and they're all pretty tough. They have to be to get this far."

Brassey, playing at the venue where he won the world pairs title in 1988, opened yesterday with two comfortable wins with neither of his opponents reaching double figures. But he was given more of a workout by the Waikato representative Steve Posa, who trailed 9-17 and then 11-20, but prolonged the battle with some booming drives and runs of the kitty into the ditch before losing 15-21.

"You're always reasonably confident when you're ahead, but I didn't feel all that good when he was hitting everything and taking the kitty to the ditch," he said. "Steve's a good bowler and he's won the last two national pathway singles. He's never easy."

Both technically are clubmates at North Harbour's Takapuna club, though it now seems his shift to the Auckland region will be only temporary. And Brassey, though still a member of Auckland's Avondale club and wearing its shirt yesterday, has opted to play at intercentre level for Harbour as a Takapuna member.

"I'm playing as a dual club member," he said.

Cameron, originally from Gisborne, has been in the Counties area working as a painting contractor for only the past four months. And though he's a past national under- 19 champion and was a national representative in 1988 in a Zimbabwe quadrangular tournament, Cameron was one of the most surprised to have made the final.

His work, and family were more his priorities. "Considering the amount of bowls I've played I'm surprised to have done so well."

He was also up against a player he revered, even though today he would be doing his best. "It's a privilege to be on the same green as Rowan."

With Gisborne teenager Shannon McIlroy making the quarter-finals by beating Wellington veteran Lou Benvenuti 21-11 before going out to Cameron, the tournament so far has been a triumph for youth. Andrews is another relative youngster at 31.

With the favoured internationals Sharon Sims and her lead Mary Campbell, plus Marlene Castle and Wendy Jensen among the casualties, the Khan sisters, Jan from Christchurch and Marina from Tokoroa, have become favourites for the women's pairs. The semifinals and final will be today.

The Khans will play North Harbour's Noeline Culpan and Sunnybrae's Jan Jones in one semifinal and Waikato's Sue Broadbent and Sue Crackett will meet Anne Bateman and Janice McLean from Northland.

The Khans have previously won national titles, especially in lineups skipped by their famous late mother Millie. Marina will have another tangible family distraction today. Her partner, Kevin Robinson, and Posa are also in the men's pairs semifinals being played at the same time.

"We'll be concentrating only on our own game and not Kevin's," Marina said. "We've asked that our matches won't be on side-by-side rinks."

 Singles finals

Men: Dwayne Cameron (Homai) v Rowan Brassey (Avondale)

Women: Cathy Fleming (Paritutu) v Sharon Sims (Northern)