A brilliant last bowl from skip Lee Nixon bagged a count of four to ensure a 7-7, 11-5 result, and more than made up for an earlier defeat at the hands of a strong South African trio.
Jersey team manager Peter Le Long was disappointed but far from downhearted at that defeat sustained by Alan Shaw, John Lowery and Lee Nixon.
‘It was a bit of a surprise to start in the rain,’ Le Long said.
‘But the lads played really well against the South Africans, and it was just a couple of crucial ends that let them down.’ The Jersey trio were level pegging with Eric Johannes, Gippo Vermeulen and the vastly experienced Neil Burkett at 4-4 after six ends of the opening set, but dropped a three on the pivotal seventh end, and lost the set, 11-4.
Bouncing back at the start of the second set, Nixon’s men looked poised to square the match and take the South Africans into a tiebreak when they led 5-2 after four ends, when disaster struck again.
Counting four shots on the fifth and another four on the eighth, the Proteas (that’s the new, politically-correct name for the Springboks), who scored on only four ends to Jersey’s five, returned a flattering 11-4, 11-7 scorecard.
Meanwhile, Peter’s wife Gina was skipping Christine Grimes and Gean O’Neil to a fine 7-7, 13-3 ladies’ triples victory over three lively competitors from the Cook Islands, who always add grace and charm to proceedings.
The colourfully-named Nane Tere, Mata Raeputa and Dorothy Paniani took an unexpected 5-0 lead at the start of the first set, but the Jersey trio hit back to square the set, and dominated proceedings in the second, dropping only a double on the fourth end and a single on the seventh.
Peter and Gina were delighted to learn that their daughter – the high profile Lindsey Greechan, a former world indoor junior champion – had given birth on Saturday to a bouncing baby boy, called Taylor.
‘That’s as good as a gold medal as far as we’re concerned,’ laughed Peter, before returning to his post to shout on the triple to further success – this time against mighty Scotland.
A 7-7 tie in the first set was followed by a gruelling second set in which no quarter was asked or given, but a Jersey treble on the eighth end sent them into the last end with a 7-5 advantage.
The Scots built up a potentially winning count of three shots, as Lowery was unlucky to slip through a gap with his two bowls – but Nixon struck accurately to send the jack out of bounds, and the re-spot gave Jersey four shots for a shock 7-7, 11-5 victory.
The ladies’ triple kept their unbeaten record intact with a good win over Samoa, though they had to endure some anxious moments before getting home on a tiebreak, 13-6, 8-12, 2-1.
Derek Boswell, who was introduced to bowls 11 years ago by Gus McKinnon, is partnering his fellow-Scot in the pairs – and the Jersey duo experienced an amazing double-tie with Norfolk Island, only to give best on a tiebreak.
Meanwhile, in the ladies’ pairs, Gaynor Thomas and Suzie Dingle chalked up a great straight sets win over Fiji, scoring a three on the very first end and three trebles in the second set for a 9-6, 10-6 victory.
Men’s – pairs: Jersey lost to Norfolk Island 6-6, 8-8, 1-2.
Triples: Jersey lost to South Africa 4-11, 7-11; Guernsey bt Brunei 8-7, 4-12, 2-1; Jersey bt Scotland 7-7, 11-5; Cook Islands bt Guernsey 10-5, 13-4.
Ladies – pairs: Jersey bt Fiji 9-6, 10-6.
Triples: Jersey bt Cook Islands 7-7, 13-3; Jersey bt Samoa 13-6, 8-12, 2-1.
