ON THE MATS

Poverty Bay-East Coast Indoor Bowls Centre Closing Trios champions (from left) Andrew Rickard, son Adam and daughter Rachael. Picture supplied

Andrew Rickard, son Adam and daughter Rachael have won the Poverty Bay-East Coast Indoor Bowls Centre Closing Trios in a one-sided final.

They beat Malcolm Trowell, Lois Lamont and Mike Foster 11-5.

After four ends of nine, the Rickards were in command with a 7-1 lead.

Trowell’s team responded with one point on End 5 and three points on End 6 to close it to 7-5.

The Rickards then showed their class, recording two points on each of ends 7 and 8 for the 11-5 victory. The final end wasn’t played.

The Rickard family — Andrew, 14-year-old Adam and 18-year-old Rachael — were defending the title they won in 2022. All three are regular representatives for Poverty Bay-East Coast and have a great sporting temperament.

For Andrew this was centre title No.19, for Adam it was title No.4 and for Rachael, title No.6.

Matthew Foster defeated Warren Edlin 18-10 in the handicap singles final.

Foster started on a handicap of zero to Edlin’s six, but Foster’s solid draw bowls helped him level the scores at 8-8 after just five of the nine ends. He then recorded 10 more points to Edlin’s two in the last four ends to win the event.

In a game where draw bowls is crucial, Foster gained the maximum four shots on three of the nine ends.

Keith Setter, Malcolm Trowell and Matthew Foster contested the Auckland Invitation singles. Foster, last year’s runner-up, did the best of the Gisborne bowlers, reaching the last seven this year.

Kayla Trowell and Dylan Foster were among 15 junior bowlers who contested the Auckland under-18 singles. Foster finished runner-up.

In the Auckland Pairs, 75 teams started. Matthew Foster, playing with Waikato’s Shaun Blackbourn, and cousins Dylan Foster and Nathan Trowell both made the quarterfinals, while Malcolm Trowell and his daughter Kayla reached the last 26.