Bowls: Perfect Sims leads top players into post section singles play

Defending champion Sharon Sims led a string of internationals into the women's singles post section play on the opening day of the national bowls championships yesterday.

Sims, from Palmerston North, who will represent New Zealand in the triples at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games, notched a perfect three from three to move into Friday and Saturday's post-section rounds.

Also cruising to three wins were fellow Commonwealth games team members Jan Khan, Val Smith, Serena Matthews and Jo Edwards.

Others scoring three wins were Marlene Castle, last year's runner-up Cathy Fleming and Wellington 18-year-old Clare McCaul.

Playing at the Plimmerton Bowling Club green, Sims said afterwards she was feeling reasonably comfortable with the way she was playing.

"I had a good day. It's early stages yet and hopefully I will start to develop a bit of touch for the speed of the greens, as they are a wee bit slower than what I have been playing on."

Sims, who has not missed a national tournament since debuting in 1992, is also playing in the pairs and fours.

But beyond aiming to make the top eight of each event, she said there were too many good players competing "to say you are going to win it".

"It is open draw post section play so it's cut-throat - you just never know what is going to happen."

In the biggest upset of the day in the women's singles, Commonwealth Games pairs representative Marina Khan, from Tokoroa, lost her second and third matches to miss out on qualifying for post section play.

Smith,from Nelson, praised her opponents at the Island Bay green.

"Conditions were nice and I can't complain about the green because it went for me, really," she said.

Smith teamed with Edwards to win this year's world pairs championship.

"It may have looked easy scorewise but my first opponent played really well, which forced me to have to play well and put me in the right mindset to carry on for the rest of the day," she said.

The men's competition began with pairs section play which will be completed today.

The leading combination of Gary Lawson and Rowan Brassey scored three wins to move into post section play, but fellow Commonwealth Games teammates Jamie Hill and Justin Goodwin won just one of three matches.

Today they face a sudden-death situation, needing to win all their three matches.

- NZPA