Bowls: Favourites bite the dust at nationals

By GRAHAM SKELLERN

A year ago, Carlton's Peta Sain, Nick Krajancic, Ivan Zonich and Alf Dickens were on top of the bowling world after winning the National Fours title in Christchurch.

Yesterday they joined the big Bay of Plenty graveyard by becoming heavy casualties in a day of upsets in the pairs qualifying of the Tower National tournament.

The winning four fell apart when the combinations of Sain/Dickens and Krajancic/Zonich lost their first two games.

Sain and Dickens, two experienced players, lost to unfavoured local teams - 15-14 to Trevor Mills/Chris Halbert (Matua) and 17-10 to Jeff Linn and Brian Willis (Gate Pa). The Carlton pair won their last two games, but it was too late to join the pairs post-section play tomorrow.

The two Dalmatians Kranjcic and Zonich were upended by Counties pairings - 22-12 against Steve Dumper/Daniel Rajek and 17-10 against Trevor Johnston/John Wallace.

The Hillsboro Grgicevichs, Nick and Neven, left town in a hurry after also falling to an unheralded pairing following their single demise.

The talented Auckland father and son bowlers, who will return for the fours qualifying next Tuesday, lost 20-12 against Mt Maunganui's Fred Coley/George Millen, and Kawerau's Andy Baker/David Wottom 18-15 after leading that match 15-3.

Another strong Hillsboro pairing, John Harding and Clive Major were beaten 22-13 by Hinuera's John Settle/Neil Wilson and 17-14 by North Harbour's John Janssen/Murray Matheson.

Other favoured pairings to bite the dust were Mt Albert's Tony Holdsworth - a former national singles runner-up - and Graham Holden, Bay of Plenty representatives Lance Tasker/Kevin Maxfield, and Canterbury representatives John Mears/Nigel Godman.

Mears and Godman lost by a single point in a tough draw against centre representatives John Dunn/Gordon Bond (Northland), and Brian Hubert (Bay of Plenty).

Meanwhile, there will be some early fireworks today on the headquarters Matua green in the singles post-section play. A loaded draw sees two of the favourites, Kerry Chapman (Glenfield) and Peter Shaw (Palmerston North), the 1997 champion, close together.

Chapman, the New Zealand Super bowls champion has a difficult first match against the Auckland representative Ivan Marsic, while Shaw will have to be ever-watchful of the hard-driving George Stanisich of Papakura.

Looming dangerously in the same quarter is Henderson's Nick Separovich. He will meet one of the tournament surprises, Howard Fahy (Hamilton), who has been bowling for only two months.