BOWLS & BOWLERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1708, 27 March 1913, Page 9

BOWLS & BOWLERS.

CARNIVAL PAIRS,

HATAITAI WINS THE FINAL,

There was a crowded bonk at the Wellington Bowling Club's green yesterday afternoon, when the final gamo in tho Carnival Pairs tournament was played. J-lw contestants were Jones and Laurenson, of the Hafcaifcai Club, ami Hemingway and Bary, of Victoria. was Pe thi at &H ran h s h as to ' wllich P air tatter. ihe majority of tho fU <° had watoh « t ' the play through-einorim,i^v-T e ? t that the fS , .T Victorian men would pull oft o inatcli and win the tournament, but cl f a F n } °f bowls exists in tho glorious uncertainty of every shot put down, and victory Jay mtji t] lo Hataitai Club's representatives after a game, the result of wi i™ s , m 5iS übt rl « ht u " to Hl ° lnst bonl played. The scores were:—Hataitai Jones and Laurcnson, 21; Victoria— Hemingway and Bary, 20.

• The Play in tho Final. m 7"! 'Iei e . tieon Bary (who led on iuesday) skipped the Victorian pair, contrary to tile expectations of the majority ot those on the bank, who wore expeoting Hemingway in the position of re-ponsibi-lity, < Laurcnson. led off spectacularly with a 4, secured by a drivo which n j.t kltt y riglit back to the ditch. 5 Mcon " head Hataitai secured another three shots, thanks to the excellent loading. of Jones. This smart lead off had a salutary cffect on \ ictoria's pair, who showed their disapproval of sueli a speedy get-au'ay by scoring a 2, 1, 4, 3, and 1 on the succeeding nye heads, Laurenson trying his smashing tactics unsuccessfully on several occasions. '

With four to the bad on the seventh head, Hataitoi's stock fell a little, but revived buoyantly on the eighth head, when LaUrenson bagged a nice 3. and followed it up with a 1, 3, and 1 on tho ninth, tenth, and eleventh heads. On tho twelfth head Hemingway, who was now beating his man pretty consistently, assisted materially in a handy 8, obtained on .the twelfth head, making tho' scoro—Hataitai,ls; Victoria, 14. Laurenson improved his position still further by getting a two and a single on the thirteenth and fourteenth heads. Then with four points in hand, Hataitai .stood still, offing a good (foal to Jones having "gone off" a little in his leading, and in the five succeeding heads Bary scored three singles, a two and another single, making his sooro 20 to Laurenson's 18.

When tho skips went down on the twentieth head, Hemingway lav one. Bary's first bowl was strong and went to tho back, and Laurenson was blocked with a front bowl. With his scpond bowl Bary just got through with'o.ut touching .anything,' and lay at .the back. Laurenson's next bowl, played with a bit of running on, trailed the jack back, but still his. opponent lay the shot. Bary's next camo on a lot of front wood, and altered nothing, but with his next Laurcnson took out the shot bowl and lay two, amidst great excitement. Bary repeated the pfcrionnanee, and took out one of his opponent's spots only. Lauronson's last bowl was held. up on somo short wood. This made tho scoto 21—20 in favour of Victoria.

Once more Hemingway's .fine drawing powers gave him two shots when tho skips wont doivn, mid it was Lairtensoa's big task to displace them in favour'of two of his own.to win the game—and tournament. f 1 The Last Head. • . • Laurenson was too strong ' and wide with his first bowl, and Bary, with his, elected to got well behind tho jaok. With his next bowl Laurenson was • nkrrow, but getting a tiny wick off a front bowl rolled into shot position. Bary's next bowl was blocked with front wood, and Laurenson, in. attempting to wrest' out tho seoond Shot, went rather wide, and lay well behind. The next shot of Bary's was a beauty, and touching on' tho shot bowl rolled in on to tho side of the jack, Vhero it still lay tho shot. - Then Laurenson, taking a risk, drew right down on Bary's shot, ami, just touching it on tho side, tumbled ' into 'position of 6econd shot. This gave him tho two required to win, and a round of applause greeted the performance. Bary tried to disturb the head with his last bowl with a firm diot, but went wide and missed everything! and victory lay with thoso whom a wag on tho bank christened the "Hi-tdddly-hi-tai's." The best drawing game in the match was played by Hemingway,'who .was never verv.far away. Jones led 'exceptionally well for the first six or eight heads,'• and then became slightly erratic, and showed a tendency to play narrow. Bary was not in his best form, but still played good bowls, and Laurenson played a firm, free gamo, and 011 occasions drew with attract live accuracy. It is the first tournament' won by the Ilataitai Club, only now in its fourth year of existence, and its representatives deservo everyone's congratulations. < , ■ ' '

THE HILL PINS. A challenge match for the Hill Pius was plnjxd on the Victoria Club's green yesterday. The holders of tho Pins are Victoria, and tho challengers were Lyall Bay.' Fallowing were the scores in tho match:— Victoria—Tucker, Hatch, Varcoe, Snaddon (s.), 28. Lyall Bay—Burgess, Foster, Fairway, llorrah (s.), 7. ;

AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION. By Telegraph—Press Association—OopyrinM Sydney, March 2G. In tho inter-State bowling competition New South Wales defeated Queensland by 99 to 93, and also Victoria by 91 to 81.