Bowls: Castle, Watson chase vital singles spot

By Graham Skellern

Several leading players' aspirations of landing the prime singles spot in the New Zealand women's team will be fully tested when post-section play in the national bowls championships in Christchurch begins tomorrow morning.

The draw following the qualifying play on Monday threw up one "death section" at the headquarters Burnside green with two of the aspirants Marlene Castle and Marie Watson having to deal with Millie Khan, who is giving up the spot they are chasing.

Khan, the long-time New Zealand representative, retired from international play after winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The race for the singles berth for the transtasman test series in Sydney in May will become clearer at the nationals - the televised final is on Sunday.

Should either Watson (Nelson) or Castle (Orea) - both experienced internationals - survive their cut-throat section they will have greatly improved their chances of taking up new roles in the national side.

Castle, the New Zealand Superbowls champion who is still seeking her first national championship title, is currently regarded as Khan's immediate successor.

In that tough Burnside section she has to contend with NZ Academy squad member Carol Griffiths (Hillsboro) in the first round - no easy matter - and if things go according to favouritism Castle would play Khan in the third round and Watson in the fourth.

Beforehand Watson - who won back-to-back national singles titles in 1996-97 - is drawn to play the talented Howick and Auckland representative bowler, Estelle Burgess.

Another international Sharon Sims (Palmerston North) would come across the defending champion Eryn Brightwell (New Plymouth) in the third round.

Two more hopefuls, NZ Academy representative Wendy Jensen (Manurewa) and Commonwealth Games bowler Patsy Jorgensen (Napier), are in the easier top half of the draw and have ideal opportunities to press their singles claims.

But in her section Jensen will have to be wary of Hunua's in-form Doreen Schumacher who beat her in the Counties inter-club final last month.

Meanwhile, the hunt for a specialist lead in the New Zealand men's team for the transtasman series intensifies after the incumbent Andy Curtain (Christchurch) yesterday said he was unavailable for the event because of work commitments.

Curtain, a Commonwealth Games representative, is still attending the trial in Dunedin this weekend involving the eight-man North and South Island teams - and Adam Newman (Wellington), Russell Meyer (Palmerston North), Mike Kernaghan (Auckland) and Paul Girdler (Dunedin) now come into focus as leads for the five-strong New Zealand side.

Kernaghan's position as a player needs to be clarified - for his job as Bowls NZ Development Officer and Academy Manager places him close to the decision-making. He went to the Commonwealth Games as an assistant manager of the New Zealand team.

The selectors will also be keeping a close eye on the latest form of the Australian-based players Peter Belliss and Iain Dickison who line up for the South Island team and seem likely to be included in the final five.