Australia and Scotland set to lock horns at Broadbeach in June
Two of the world’s powerhouse bowls nations; Australia and Scotland will face off at Broadbeach Bowls Club from June 5 to 7 in a friendly test series leading up to the world’s biggest bowls festival, the $250,000 Australian Open.
Names which are synonymous with the sport of bowls, the likes of Scottish greats Alex Marshall MBE and his fellow 2014 Commonwealth Games pairs and fours gold medallist teammate Paul Foster, Australia’s most capped international bowler Karen Murphy and three-time International Bowler of the Year Aron Sherriff will spearhead their respective nations in the highly-anticipated dual.
The 2016 Australia v Scotland Series will see 40 players in total, 10 female and 10 male from each country, converge on the Gold Coast for the clash of the titans, on the eve of the world’s biggest and most lucrative bowls event – the Australian Open, which will be staged from June 11-24 across 15 Gold Coast clubs.
National Coach Steve Glasson OAM says this test series will be highly entertaining and of an exceptional standard from both squads, who are eager to prepare and acclimatise to the conditions they will face at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
“Ultimately it is a friendly series off the green but on the green it will be full noise with both powerhouse nations chasing bragging rights,” Glasson said.
“This series has a vision of the future with the 2016 World Bowls Championships just around the corner and long term goals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2020 World Bowls Championships in sight – with the latter two to be staged on the Gold Coast.
“Playing quality opposition on the very greens these pinnacle international bowling events will take place will be of great advantage to both countries.”
The full Australian Jackaroos Squad contingent will represent Australia during the three days of competition, with the national selection panel utilising it as another chance to cast their eye over the team ahead of the 2016 World Bowls Championships in New Zealand this November and December.
For those unable to witness the stars in action at Broadbeach, two matches will be filmed for episodes of The Bowls Show, the sport’s new free-to-air TV production, which commences on SBS and SBS On Demand on Sunday, May 15.
In a twist on standard international test series, the two nations will conclude the friendly test series with two Jack Attack matches on Tuesday, June 7 from 5.00pm, marking the first time the format is played at an international level.
The Australian Selection Panel have confirmed the line-ups for the first two days of action, with three sessions per day consisting of singles, pairs, triples and fours of each gender to be contested.
The Australian Open and 2020 World Bowls Championships are proudly supported by Tourism and Events Queensland and promoted as part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
Day 1
Women:
Singles – Karen Murphy (Cabramatta, NSW)
Pairs – Kelsey Cottrell (St Johns Park, NSW) & Rebecca Van Asch (Invermay, Tas)
Triples – Ellen Ryan (Cabramatta, NSW), Carla Krizanic (Sunbury, Vic) & Lynsey Clarke (Club Helensvale, Qld)
Fours – Chloe Stewart (Broadbeach, Qld), Kristina Krstic (Manning Memorial, WA), Anne Johns (St Johns Park, NSW) & Natasha Scott (Raymond Terrace, NSW)
Men:
Singles – Aron Sherriff (Ettalong Memorial, NSW)
Pairs – Barrie Lester (Mulgrave Country Club, Vic) & Nathan Rice (Club Helensvale, Qld)
Triples – Ray Pearse (Cabramatta, NSW), Max Kleinig (Holdfast Bay, SA) & Brett Wilkie (Club Helensvale, Qld)
Fours – Wayne Ruediger (Grange, SA), Aaron Teys (Warilla, NSW), Aaron Wilson (Clayton, Vic) & Mark Casey (Club Helensvale, Qld)
Day 2
Women:
Singles – Ellen Ryan
Pairs – Anne Johns & Karen Murphy
Triples – Lynsey Clarke, Chloe Stewart & Rebecca Van Asch
Fours – Kristina Krstic, Carla Krizanic, Natasha Scott & Kelsey Cottrell
Men:
Singles – Aaron Wilson
Pairs – Ray Pearse & Aron Sherriff
Triples – Wayne Ruediger, Brett Wilkie & Aaron Teys
Fours – Barrie Lester, Max Kleinig, Mark Casey & Nathan Rice
Day 3 line-up to be confirmed on June 6.
Caption: Broadbeach Bowls Club will host the Australian and Scottish national teams from June 5-7 in a friendly test series prior to the Australian Open
