Miracle man Girdler into quarters
Day one of the Australian Indoor Championships concluded with some of the days most exciting matches taking place tonight; a number of games went down to the wire including that of Paul Girdler and David Holt’s round two match. The Australian Indoor Championships are heating up as we reach the conclusion of day one at Tweed Heads.
The match everyone at Tweed Heads has been waiting for since the showdown was established this morning was between two international stars, former English representative David Holt and current New Zealand Blackjacks squad member Paul Girdler lived up to expectation.
Paul Girdler showed his ascendancy in the early stages of the first set; however defending champion David Holt gradually bit into Girdler’s lead and got within one shot going into the final end.
Holt opted to throw a long jack and it paid off; Holt held one for a draw before Girdler’s final bowl was attempting to draw the shot but accidently hit Holt in for a second and consequently lost the first set.
The second set was high scoring and went down to the wire with Girdler’s last bowl needing to dislodge at least one of Holt’s shots to send the match into a tie-break, and he did just that!
David Holt once again opted to roll a long length on the first two ends of the tie-break and was leading 3-0; however a decision to go short on the last end was looking like it wouldn’t cost him but Girdler’s last bowl was likely to go down as the shot of the tournament.
Holt was holding shot but Girdler trailed the jack two feet back and a foot to the side to bring all his bowls into the count and win in the most stunning fashion.
Three other second round matches were completed during the last session of the day including Australian Jackaroos Karen Murphy, Barrie Lester and the defending women’s champion Jamie-Lee Worsnop.
Barrie Lester was pushed all match against Tweed Heads local Ken Emura; however the Australian Jackaroo claimed the match in a tie-break 10-6, 4-7, 6-0 and will now meet the miracle man himself Paul Girdler in tomorrow’s quarter-final at 12pm.
Both Worsnop and the six-time Australian Indoor Championships winner Karen Murphy claimed their matches in convincing fashion tonight and will meet in what is expected to be a high quality quarter-final encounter tomorrow at 12pm.
Earlier in the day Tweed Heads local hope Kristy Thatcher had a resounding win over NSW over 60’s representative Claire Kelly 12-8, 11-3.
Thatcher will now meet Western Australian Bowler of the Year Noelene Abe in a rematch of the 2013 Australian Champion of Champion singles final, after Abe escaped from a three nil deficit in the tie-break against Charlestown’s Rhonda Littlewood.
Noelene Abe was victorious in that singles final and went on to represent Australia at the World Champion of Champions in New Zealand; however here Thatcher will have a home ground advantage and will looking for redemption.
In a battle of the young guns, NSW under 25 representative Chris Herden was up against VIC/TAS NTC Squad member Dane McKinnon.
McKinnon took the first set in spectacular style; after leading five nil he then found himself down by two shots with one end to play but managed to score three to win the set.
In contrast to the first set which saw the lead alternate three times, Herden led from start to finish in the second set and claimed it eight shots to two, taking the match into a deciding tie-break.
Momentum again switched when McKinnon won the opening end, however it was Herden that produced the best in the final two ends scoring three and winning the match.
Herden will now meet Australian Open Singles Champion and the events second seed Aaron Teys who tonight progressed past Western Australia’s Robert Bowron 6-6, 8-3.
In another upset for the day, Solargain Perth Suns star Clive Adams was defeated by Austral’s Gerad Short in a close tie-break 7-4, 1-10, 3-1.
Australian Open singles champion Ellen Ryan, Silver Nugget singles champion Sarah Boddington, dual World Cup Singles Champion Jeremy Henry, Tasmania’s Will Springer, Warilla’s Emelia West, Victorian state representative Nicole Shortis all progressed to the second round.
Tomorrow action begins at 8am with some of the biggest names in the sport up first for their second round matches.
To view all the results from day one or to find out more about the free live streaming available for the semi-finals and finals, visit the Australian Indoor Championships page on the Bowls Australian website by clicking here.
