By Graham Skellern
CHRISTCHURCH - Hillsboro skip John Harding and lead Clive Major arrived three minutes late for their first post-section game in the New Zealand pairs championship and were two minutes away from being defaulted by the umpire.
Harding and Major, who form a dangerous combination of aggressive play from the
skip and steady drawing from the lead, settled long enough yesterday to reach the last 16 of the pairs, after having a first round bye.
They scraped through their first two matches over Wellington pairings. They beat Mike Anton/Laurie Guy 14-11 and then Lou Newman/Wayne Coleman 13-11 after picking up four shots on the last end.
The Hillsboro pair, who this morning play Belfast's Pat Horgan/Michael Rees, were more in their rythym in their fourth round match, beating the young Browns Bay bowlers, David Eades/Brian Torrey 18-10 after leading 8-6, 11-10 and winning the last four vital ends.
The Auckland selector and 1991 pairs titleholder Ross Haresnape, skipping Rawhiti's Ken Fitness, took out the defending champions Peter Shaw/Russell Meyer (Palmerston North) 14-9 in the second round.
Haresnape wasted no time in overcoming Hamilton's Malcolm Kidd/John Barr 21-8 but then fell to a strong local pairing of Colin Lowery/Lance Main 10-20 in the fourth round.
The 1996 singles champion Nino Vlahovic, playing with Mike Farac, had another fine nationals day by beating Dunedin's Steve Beel/Paul Girdler on an extra end after running the jack in the ditch, and then Shayne Sincock/Stephen Ditfort (Belfast) 18-15 to reach the last 16.
Last 16 draw is: Rob Ashton/Cory Carroll (Johnsonville) v Steve Jones/John Scriggins (Geraldine), Pat Horgan/Nichael Rees (Belfast) v John Harding/Clive Major (Hillsboro), Terry Rice/Glenford Porter (Woolston) v Nino Vlahovic/Mike Farac (Carlton), Jim and Terry Scott (NE Valley) v Reg Goston/Brian Howman (Paraparaumu Beach), Peter McLean/Eric Allison (Belfast) v Eddie Simpson/Darryll Hawker (Halswell), Paul Baken/Peter Pinnock (Stoke) v Philip and Ray Skoglund (Northern), Tim Hook/Craig Gush (Northern) v Chris Waterson/Sean Johnson (Wanganui), Rod Leitch/Dan Dickison (Johnsonville) v Colin Lowery (Leeston)/Lance Main (Parklands).
