Bowls: Bowling elite scheme on roll

Bowls New Zealand's high-performance programme received a fillip yesterday when a composite four brought together through the system reached the semifinals of the national women's championship.

The four, Michelle Preston, from Winton in Southland, Jan Malcolm from Hamilton, another Southlander Sue Wilson and lead Serena Matthews, from Bridge Park in Auckland, eliminated national singles champion Sharon Sims' team 24-18 at Henderson yesterday.

Apart from Wilson, who is not a New Zealand carded player, the four, who are playing together for the first time, met through the programme.

Bowls New Zealand chief executive Kerry Clark said former champion golfer Malcolm, with her background in top sport, had especially benefited from the programme.

Malcolm has been playing bowls for only six years, but that was belied by their composure and accurate drawing yesterday.

One of those impressed was her opponent Sims, who is employed by Bowls New Zealand as a development officer.

"They all played well," she said. "We were outplayed."

Sims has cause to keep a wary eye on Wilson, who has emerged as her strongest opponent to take out the women's consistency prize. Wilson also made the singles semifinals before being beaten by Taranaki's Cathy Fleming.

"I'm just a nobody really," she said yesterday, a claim immediately disputed by her team-mates. For not only has she made the last four of the singles and the fours but she has been - with Preston - a Southland centre representative for some years.

Preston's composite four play a Papakura club four of Diane Harris, Alison Rennie, Rita Berridge and Val Bougen in one semi-final today with the Counties-Manukau centre also involved in the other.

Mary Bush, current international Wendy Jensen, Anne McLean and Karen de Jongh, from the Pukekohe Cosmopolitan club, meet a tough four from Whangarei's Kensington club of Judy Carson, Anne Muir, Nancy Jujnovich and Caroline Downes.

Kensington has had a wonderful record in women's elite bowls events in recent months, with Anne Bateman and Janice McLean winning the national pairs last week while Carson and Downes won last year's national pathways triples.

The Kensington four were in imposing form in yesterday's quarter-finals, beating the line-up skipped by Colleen Griffith of North Harbour's Belmont Park club 25-14.

Harris' Papakura four made a strong start to beat the Grey Lynn four of Tu Tutai 20-13, though it was fine effort from Tutai's lineup to make the final eight.

From one of Auckland's smallest clubs, they were a cosmopolitan lot, made up of Rarotongans, Maori and Pakeha.

Bush and her Pukekohe teammates made it through 20-18 against Hillsboro's Carol Griffiths and her composite four, but only after Griffiths had threatened with a stirring comeback.

Taking too long to settle and find the green, they had trailed at one point 13-1.

Semifinals

* Diane Harris (Papakura) v Michelle Preston (Winton & Citizens RSA)
* Wendy Jensen (Pukekohe) v Judy Carson (Kensington)