Jackaroos march towards post-sectional rounds
The Australian Jackaroos are making a charge towards the post-sectional rounds in the first four disciplines of the World Bowls Championships, but are not in the box seat just yet. The Australian Jackaroos are making a charge towards the post-sectional rounds in the first four disciplines of the World Bowls Championships, but are not in the box seat just yet.
The contingent claimed nine wins from 12 matches during the three sectional rounds held today in Christchurch, with the losses spread evenly between the women’s fours, men’s pairs and men’s triples teams.
Three of the four disciplines are within striking distance of a post-sectional, or better yet, a direct semi-final berth, which is awarded to the top finisher of each section, going into tomorrow’s final three rubbers.
The men’s triples squad, of Barrie Lester, Mark Casey and Aron Sherriff, looked settled at the top, but came unstuck in the sixth rubber, losing to Namibia 9-12, which relegated them to second place on the ladder; 4 shots behind the Blackjacks.
Their teammates in the men’s pairs started the second day with a less than ideal result against Singapore, where they fell by one shot, 15-16, but bounced back with victories against Fiji, 19-10, and Hong Kong China, 24-13, to conclude the second day in third place.
The pair face perhaps their toughest challenge so far in tomorrow morning’s seventh rubber – aside from the Scottish defending champions, who they have already overcome – in the form of first-placed England, who are one game and 28 shots ahead of the Jackaroos.
Karen Murphy has continued to press for a post-sectional berth in the blue-ribbon women’s singles, where she is attempting to defend her title, with a third successive victory on day two.
Murphy eased past fifth-placed Wales to record her fourth win in the fifth round, jumping a position to second on the leaderboard.
She trails New Zealand’s Jo Edwards by 9 shots, while Canada’s Kelly McKerihen is 16 shots behind in third place.
Murphy will encounter tenth-placed Guernsey tomorrow morning, followed by a match up against Edwards that could well decide who progresses directly to the semi-final, and who has to make their way through a post-sectional rubber between the second and third placed finishers of both sections.
The other Jackaroos enjoyed a resurgence after a couple of positional changes to the women’s fours, which saw Kelsey Cottrell take control of leading duties and Natasha Scott take the reins as skip, after encountering a third loss in this morning’s fourth round.
The contingent galvanised with back-to-back victories, against Hong Kong China 21-11 and Ireland 26-12, which saw them move from eighth to fourth, but still require a few results to go their way over the last three rounds tomorrow.
Click here to view the full men’s results.
Click here to see the full women’s results.
Click here to visit Bowls Australia’s World Bowls Championships page.
Round 6: 1.45pm – 4.45pm AEDT
Women’s singles (section 1): Australia (Karen Murphy) def Wales (Laura Daniels) 21-9 (Papanui)
Women’s fours (section 1): Australia (Carla Krizanic, Rebecca Van Asch, Natasha Scott, Kelsey Cottrell) def Ireland (Cliodhna Eadie, Sarah-Jane Curran, Alicia Weir, Sandra Bailie) 26-12 (Canterbury)
Men’s pairs (section 1): Australia (Brett Wilkie, Aaron Wilson) def Hong Kong China (James Po, Tony Cheung) 24-13 (Fendalton)
Men’s triples (section 1): Australia (Barrie Lester, Mark Casey, Aron Sherriff) def Namibia (Graham Snyman, Douw Calitz, Will Esterhuizen) 9-12 (Fendalton)
