BOWLS

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 51, 24 November 1926, Page 8

BOWLS

POSITION OF WEDNESDAY COMPETITION

(By

“No. 3.”)

The following are results of the midweek competition up till Wednesday last: —

Wellington 0 3 — Local bowlers are advised that not only do entries close for tbo centre tournament on December 11, but they also close on the same day at Auckland for the Dominion tournament; so it will be incumbent upon those who intend to take part in that tournament to arrange their rinks and pairs by next week at the latest. It is understood that the committee in Auckland of the council is arranging a ceded draw, and is acting on such lines, as far as is possible, as the entries are received. December 11 is next Saturday fortnight. . Which should count first in an iuterclub contest, points or games? This question has come before the various centres time and again, and no doubt will continue to bob up as time, goes on. It ie one of the unending questions, one which almost vies with the interminable bowl-testing question, which is now due for a long, long rest. Not that the latter question is ended, or can ever end, as long as there are players unsportsmanlike enough to prefer narrow bowls to those which as a general rule under all conditions take an average green on its journey. Perhaps a much more effective way out of the difficulty of having to tolerate the player with straight bowls is for those who play with him to freely and audibly criticise such bowls as they run up the green. If they are obviously narrow, no matter what stamp thev have, the owner deserves such criticism, which is often heard quietly on the bank; but if the order were slightly changed, and players audibly commented on the run of a narrow bowl, we would soon find narrow bowls eliminated from the game. But to return to the points versus games question. On Saturday last tho Wellington Club, playing Kelburn, won three games, and yet lost by two points to Kelburn. The result counts a win for Wellington in the contest. Should it ? I am inclined to doubt whether this is the fairest way out. After all, bowls is a game the result of which is decided by points. Each separate game is so decided, and always has been, and if in one game why should not aggic o ate points count in a series of games ? the prowess of the one Kelburn team (in this instance) which established such a healthy margin of points over its opponents to be discounted when.it has more than made up the few points by which the other three Kelburn rinks have gone down? Why. it is the very essence of keen bowls, in its petitive sense, to pile up as many points Is possible, with a view of helping othei rinks of your own sides who might be down, but, as witnessed m this case, the substantial majority attained availed Kelburn nothing. I hey might as well have lost all four games, instead of having won them, on points, by a mavgm of two. On the other hand, it will be argued that the wins in. three gam® s should counteract the loss in the fourth, however severe it was. I am not so sure about that, for after all. the game of bowls has always been decided on pm nts > and I should think that by stmtang to points any bowling authority w onld l>e on sound ground; yet we have for the cast four years counted games as the first consideration in the , Penna s ts L.. r that it is possible for a team of four rinks to win three gamesi by one- point in each instance and go down bv twenty points in the fourth game and. yet be victors. This point is so interesting and rnanv angled that I would be glad to hear the opinion of others ® x P resse^’- i .- h So obsessed are some players with Hi n decision by games rather than y nointe that a Gentral Club representsKX U» Well.uglon ii:ra “a “s ", In he the rink that scored most w] ns, ruF-Jt®a. As S. burfr/d “Ld ’A'SS Si’S’ S?’"u "A «i«b b.. W Thc names of twenty-three members of the to will be a five-rink. one and on played on the Carlton Wellinrton W^ en A d rthur Parker, fie 'luis” beenthe New Zealand of Australian Siting tT™ & « from Im'lmd r had" grntifyin? suce’e’ss ‘at Adelaide and that there will Le two foams from that city for khe Dominion tournament and a South Australian touring team in March. He says the executive of Hie South Australian give him a good hearing and that they Tnnointed Mr. Lee as manager and Mr T Crase as secretary of tho teams to New Zealand, so that the prospects of a visit look very, healthy. P Mr Parker has also been active whilst in Melbourne, and the Victorian Bowliim Association assured him that so tar two or three rinks will come over tor Hie tournament. On Mr. Parker s sugimstion the Dominion Associations ex-ecutive-have invited the Victorian Bowlin- Association to send a touring team to" New Zealand in the 1927-28 season, and the Melbourne authorities were to consider the matter at their next monthly meeting. Tn this connection it is interesting fo note that <;nlv two teams from Victoria hare visited New Zealand. the first visits having been paid in 18S4. when there wore, very few chibs in existence within the colony (as it then was called), and the other some venrs nftorAvni’ds. A few nwnins <xgo« some 26 Victorian howlers who took part in the Suva tournament spent a fortnight in Auckland and visited various greens. .... As a New South Wales touring team is expected late in February or early imvl March. ti'inirs will ho moving briskly in the New Zealand bowling world/ that is. should Hie proposed South .Australian team also come. It is sfil’ on the cards whether or no there will bn any New South Wales competitors at the Dominion tournament.

Wins Losses Byes Hataitai 4 0 —— Island Bay .. .... 3 0 1 Soatoun .... 3 1 —— Central .... 3 1 — Victoria o 1 1 Karori 2 2 — Pet-one 0 Newtown 1 3 Kelburn 1 2 1 Thorndon .... 1 3 — Lyall Bay .... 1 2 1 Hutt 0 3 —