Peter Belliss and his powerhouse line-up of internationals and New Zealand bowls champions came close to being on the receiving end of the day's biggest upset when the national fours championship started on North Shore greens yesterday.
As was to be expected of a side containing Belliss, Richard Girvan, LanceTasker and Danny O'Connor, with 19 national titles and four world titles among them, they won their first two games at Browns Bay with ease.
But in their third, against an Orewa four skipped by Peter Clark, the Belliss side all but lost, recovering from 17-10 down with just three of the 18 ends left, to snatch victory 18-17.
A four and three on the 16th and 17th ends made the score 17-all going to the last end and when the Orewa two Noel Rooney took the kitty into the ditch after O'Connor had drawn the first two shots, the boilover looked possible.
Compared to Belliss and his team-mates, the Orewa side was composed mainly of club battlers whose main role in the game had been in administration. Clark, though, has a 40-year history in the game, first with Papatoetoe and then Orewa, with his greatest distinction the fact his nephew David once won the national pairs.
But the fairytale ended for Clark and his men when Tasker drew almost on the verge of the ditch to pip the Orewa shot bowl and despite some frantic drives it couldn't be removed.
While a loss would not have ended Belliss' tournament, with three rounds today, it could have been a blow psychologically and it was a relieved Belliss who later admitted: "We were lucky to get out of it."
In the women's fours there were two upsets. Sandra Keith lost to a Mairangi Bay four skipped by Colleen Griffith and accomplished Auckland bowler Karen Hema, with national singles champion Leigh Griffin at three, lost to a little known Glendowie four skipped by Bev Cassie.
Birkenhead's Carole Frederick, who has Ruth Lynch and Lisa Helmling with her from the four which won the national title in 2012, lost her first two games, but to tough opposition, Anne Bateman, from Northland, and Orewa's Ann Pearce. Frederick did win her third game, though, and could yet qualify.
Women's skips in top form included leading contenders Karen de Jongh and Mandy Boyd and most of the favoured men, including Gary Lawson and Rob Ashton, ended the day unbeaten.
Especially impressive was a four skipped by Wellington's Raymond Martin which scored three comfortable wins.
