JERSEY’S men’s triples bowlers put a road traffic collision involving their Commonwealth Games bus to one side to give England a stern test in the quarter-finals.
Malcolm de Sousa, Greg Davis and Scott Ruderham finished 16-11 down to the hosts at Leamington Spa’s Victoria Park yesterday – having pushed the medal contenders right up until the final end on the showpiece, television rink as they targeted a place in this morning’s semi-finals.
It is the third time skip de Sousa – making his fourth appearance at this level – has fallen at the last-eight, following identical results at both Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014.
Their colleagues, Ross Davis and Derek Boswell, suffered the same fate last night – finishing 19-6 down to England in their men’s pairs quarter-final.
‘A loss is a loss, whether you lose by 20 or narrowly, said de Sousa.
‘Being on the TV rink, we wanted to make some sort of a battle out of it, which we did. We’re pleased with that but obviously we’re disappointed to go out in the quarter-finals.’
He added: ‘You’re not going to get many more nerve-racking games than that – against a home nation where the crowd are supporting England. We might wake up tomorrow and take confidence from it but at the moment we’re still dwelling on the loss.’
The trio had to walk the final stage of their journey to the venue after their bus driver, who later collapsed, allegedly ran a red light and collided with a car. However Ruderham said the experience did not hamper their performance.
‘Throughout the game we didn’t even think about it,’ he explained. ‘I had forgotten about it. We were so into the game that it didn’t come across our mind. You’re thinking about so many other things, being on the TV rink.’
The last-eight clash followed a narrow defeat to Australia on Saturday, which left them as Group B runners-up.
Jersey claimed four shots for a 5-4 lead in the fourth end and the five ends that followed produced just one shot apiece in a tit-for-tat affair. The teams were level at 7-7 at the halfway stage but England turned the screw as the second half of the encounter progressed.
They went from 13-9 to 13-11 with two to play, and although De Sousa kept Jersey in it they were unfortunate in the penultimate end. Holding one, for a potential 13-12 deficit, they quickly found themselves facing a 14-11 scoreline following a well-placed shot from England skip Jamie Chestney.
De Sousa played an all-or-nothing shot with his last bowl of the competition seeking a three, but it only served to extend England’s advantage.
Meanwhile, Boswell and Ross Davis did what they needed to do to stay in contention in the pairs draw, having lost to Scotland on Friday. The duo needed to avoid defeat to Canada and New Zealand and a convincing display against the North Americans kept their dreams alive, before they finished tied at 15-15 with the Kiwis.
They could not have asked for a better start against Canada – taking nine shots without reply in the opening three ends. A pinpoint shot from Davis, when their opponents were holding two, extended the advantage to 10-0, before their opponents replied.
Davis, with his energetic runs down the rink, urging his shots towards the jack, kept cutting Canada’s shots to maintain Jersey’s cushion and remained a thorn in the Maple Leaf duo’s side. A 20-13 win was a boost to their confidence, as well as their shot difference.
A cagey clash against New Zealand ended all square despite the men in black being on the brink of a 16-13 victory with just one bowl left to play. Davis delivered again, although he was muted in his celebrations post-match.
‘The last bowl gave us chance,’ he said.
‘We rode our luck a lot against New Zealand to get a draw. We probably didn’t deserve it but we didn’t get much luck [on Friday] … it’s swings and roundabouts in bowls.
‘The Canada game was crucial and we played well. We went in with a basic game plan and it worked pretty well.’
Discussing the pair’s chances ahead of the quarter-final, which was secured thanks to Scotland’s victory over New Zealand yesterday morning, Boswell added: ‘I’m fortunate enough to play with Ross. He’s as good as any of them here and you’ve always got a chance when he’s in the team.’
