KEY POINTS:
Gary Lawson's home-town hopes of finally gaining a gold medal got a boost in the world championships in Christchurch yesterday when he and his lead, Russell Meyer, scored a significant pairs win over a crack Australian combination, Nathan Rice and Aron Sherriff.
Lawson and Meyer won a thriller 19-18 and, although it was only in section play, it was a battle that had many of the game's connoisseurs hoping it may have been a prelude to the final this week.
The great New Zealand bowler of the 1980s and 90s, Peter Belliss, who was at the Fendalton green yesterday as a spectator, was among them. "If we can get a final which matches the standard we saw here we will be fortunate," he said. "All of the players showed they were world class players."
It was a game, though, in which the skips, Lawson and Rice, a tall, athletic 28-year old, were especially outstanding. Each had turns changing with the last bowl the outcomes of various ends either with drives or draws.
Adding to the drama was that each side had periods of alternating dominance. After three ends the Australians were up 6-0, but Lawson instigated a New Zealand comeback by picking up four shots on the fourth end and by the 10th end he and Meyer were ahead 14-7.
But they were then scoreless for the next five ends as Rice and Sherriff surged to a 17-14 lead, only for the New Zealanders to clinch the result with a three and a two on the 16th and 17th ends.
With Rice and Sherriff upset on the first day by Malaysia's Saufuan Said and Fairul Izwad, Lawson and Meyer now have a good chance of topping the section and so gaining an advantage for the playoffs. They ended a long day with another win, over Spain's Nick Cole and Barry Latham.
Lawson, though delighted with the win over the gun Australians after what he described as a sensational game, was careful to keep a curb on his celebrations.
"There is a long way to go yet," he said. "There are still a lot of good teams to play. Any one of 10 teams could win this title".
The men's pairs win highlighted another good day for both the Black Jacks men's and women's sides, though the women's Jo Edwards-skipped four lost their fourth round match 17-14 to England.
But women's singles player Val Smith, having survived a tough 21-20 battle with Jersey's Karina Bisson on Saturday, was impressive in her three games yesterday, over Kathy Pearce (Wales), Porea Elisa (Cook Islands) and Pam Cole (Spain).
The men's triple of Richard Girvan, Ali Forsyth and Andrew Todd also ended their first five section matches without defeat, beating Brunei, Jersey and Norfolk Island. If they can beat Fiji and Ireland today their chances of topping their section look bright.
