Bowls: Pair reach national milestone

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Ashton was in sublime form as he and Sain continued their record of not having had one match go the full 18 ends. Regardless of the result in the final of the men's pairs championship in the national tournament at Browns Bay on Sunday, either of two fine Auckland bowlers, Danny O'Connor or Peter Sain, will achieve a significant milestone.

O'Connor and Sain with their respective skips Richard Girvan and Rob Ashton entered the final yesterday with stunning wins in the semi-finals, putting O'Connor in reach of a bar to his gold star for his 10th national title and Sain equally near his gold star for his fifth title.

O'Connor and Girvan overcame a 16-9 deficit with only six ends to play to beat a Wellington combination, Scott Roddick and Bruce Miller, 23-16.

And after a slow start when they were 6-0 down, Sain and Ashton powered away from Thames' Colin Gawith and Karl Garrett 20-13 after 17 ends. Ashton was in sublime form as he and Sain continued their record of not having had one match go the full 18 ends.

The women's singles final, also on Sunday, features Elaine McClintock, from the host Browns Bay club, and an experienced Wellington bowler, Leigh Griffin. McClintock made the final with a gutsy 21-20 win over Canterbury's Angela Boyd and Griffin was too strong for the Canterbury teenager Tayla Bruce, winning 21-12.

If McClintock wins, she will become the first Browns Bay winner at national championships, apart from Paulette Mytton, who was in a winning composite four skipped by Marlene Castle in 1999. Last year, a John Walker-skipped triple also won a New Zealand title, but that was in the "pathways" category.

McClintock won yesterday despite trailing 20-15, turning the game with a run shot to earn two shots. She then picked up further twos on the final two ends.

A bowler for 18 years, McClintock has nine centre titles, in Bay of Plenty and North Harbour, but her only previous success at national level was in the New Zealand Open triples.

Griffin has had little success nationally, too, but has a formidable record at centre level, with 25 titles, placing her second only to the 1990 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Judy Howat.

As well as her own bowls, much of her focus has been on the promising career of her daughter Kirsten, who also came close to securing a semifinal spot, losing only in the quarters. A win on Sunday would mean Griffin will follow the success last year of her Victoria clubmate Helen Smith.