Rep bowlers do the business

“An amazing effort from both teams”, was how Marlborough senior bowls selector Shane O’Leary described last Sunday’s double victory over their Nelson counterparts.

For the past few seasons Nelson combinations have dominated the annual battle for the McKendry Cup and Masonic Trophy, but this year fortunes turned around dramatically at the Blenheim Bowling Club greens.

The 14-man Marlborough senior men’s team prevailed 10-2 to claim the McKendry Cup while the junior men’s reps finished locked together with Nelson but prevailed on countback to reclaim the Masonic Trophy.

Each team comprised two fours, two pairs and two singles players, all combination playing twice. At the lunch break the Marlborough senior side held a 4-2 lead, handy but hardly insurmountable.

However, after the break they produced some unstoppable bowls, winning all six games on the trot to claim the silverware for the first time in seven years.

“Nelson have strong clubs and a strong bowling fraternity so for us to do what we did was a massive effort,” said Shane.

In November, Marlborough were almost totally dominated by Nelson in the annual Noble Adams event at Murchison, finishing third, so to reverse that result so quickly was a thrill, said Shane.

“It was a huge turnaround, a whole team effort,” he said. “I’m proud of them all. We have a good mix of young and old … there were no standouts really, they just clicked and looked after each other.

“Bowls is a team sport … it is all well and good to have a team full of champions, but they might not be a champion team. These fellas just gelled well, played well and it was awesome to watch.

“It shows that we are well placed for the future and have some real depth.”

Junior selector Craig McDonell described it as “a great day for Bowls Marlborough”.

The Marlborough teams:

Senior: Singles – Simon Hitchcock, Kevan Greenwood. Pairs - Steve Roberts/Ken Lond; Sanjhe Prasad/Damin Hitchcock. Fours - Josh Boyd (s), Max Brydon, Chase Bishop, Mark Grenfell; Salve Muollo (s), Ivan Munday, David Smit, Phil Guthrie.

Junior: Singles – Nick Murrell, Taz Moanaroa. Pairs – Dave Barnes/Craig Smith, Kerry McNulty/Matt Collins. Fours – Barry Fishburn, Jordan Hart, Mike McFadden, Simon Hansen; George Arneson, Murray Logan, Al Humphrey, Andrew Bishell.