The format, in which the men’s pairs and triples and women’s singles and fours completed their events on Saturday, allows a fresh start halfway through, as teams regroup for men’s singles and fours and women’s pairs and triples.
Jamie MacDonald, representing Jersey in the men’s singles, was disappointed to lose his opener to Guernsey’s Gary Pitschou, but he bounced back to beat Joe Riveros from Argentina, Namibia’s Douw Calitz and Munokoa Totoo of the Cook Islands.
The Island’s four, skipped by Lee Nixon, who has Derek Boswell, Alan Shaw and Cyril Renouf at the front end, won three of their first five matches, beating Papua New Guinea 23-15, Argentina 34-11 and mighty Malaysia 16-14.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, they went down to the host country, and they were unfortunate to be pipped by the Namibians.
The women’s hotly-tipped triple – Chris Grimes, Liz Cole and Karina Bisson – were unbeaten at the end of the second day, having defeated Samoa 25-11, Cook Islands 21-14, Swaziland 22-6 and Fiji 20-15, but had to settle for a 23-23 draw with Zambia.
By contrast, former British Isles pairs champions Gaynor Thomas and Suzie Dingle were surprisingly unable to score a point in their first five outings, losing to Zambia, Australia, Spain, England and Samoa.
The difference between success and failure in bowls can be tantalizingly small, and the Jersey duo can take hope from the way they played against England and Spain, who both beat them by two, and Zambia, when the margin was just one shot.
Two more games are scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday in each event, and the knockout stage, featuring the top four from each group, will be played on Friday.
WBL World Outdoor Bowls Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand:-
Finals:- Women’s singles: V Smith (NZ) bt E Falkner (England) 21-13.
Women’s fours: L Armitage, J Keegan, C Duke, K Murphy (Australia) bt H Smith, W Price, I Jones, A Butten (Wales) 22-6.
Men’s pairs: R Meyer & G Lawson (NZ) bt B Mellors & D Burnett (Scotland) 18-13.
Men’s triples: W Hogg, W W Wood, D Peacock (Scotland) bt S Tuikiligana, C Mar, K Goundar (Fiji) 16-14.
Yesterday’s and today’s Jersey results in men’s singles and fours …
Men’s singles (J MacDonald): lost to Guernsey 12-21; bt Argentina 21-9; bt Namibia 21-12; lost to England 15-21; bt Cook Islands 21-14.
Men’s fours (D Boswell, A Shaw, C Renouf, L Nixon): bt Papua New Guinea 23-15; lost to Namibia 20-21; bt Argentina 34-11; lost to New Zealand 11-26; bt Malaysia 16-14.
Women’s pairs (G Thomas & S Dingle): lost to Zambia 15-16; lost to Australia 5-20; lost to Spain 19-21; lost to England 17-19; lost to Samoa 12-27.
Women’s triples (C Grimes, L Cole, K Bisson): bt Samoa 25-11; bt Cook Islands 16-15; t/w Zambia 23-23; bt Swaziland 22-6; bt Fiji 20-15.
