Day 5 Bowls World Indoor Championships


Day 5

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Hello and welcome to highlights of the quarterfinals of the singles

:00:12.:00:47.

competition of the world Indoor Bowls Championships at Potters in

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Hopton on Sea. There were two big derby games at

:00:52.:00:55.

the Blue Rink this afternoon, to keep the Potters crowd enthralled. A

:00:56.:00:59.

battle of the clans between Anderson and Marshall was one to whet the

:01:00.:01:06.

appetite. And two local lads were also in

:01:07.:01:11.

action, pairs partners and great friends, Harlow and Brett, went head

:01:12.:01:17.

to head for East Anglian bragging rights.

:01:18.:01:22.

But eight players in total battling it out for four semifinal spots.

:01:23.:01:27.

Let's look at how the draw looked at the start of play on Friday.

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First of all to the match between Alex Marshall and Stuart Anderson.

:01:39.:01:45.

Alex Marshall, as we all know, has a wonderful record here at Potters,

:01:46.:01:48.

having won the title on six occasions.

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His opponent, Stewart Anderson, now 30, is also a former champion here

:01:53.:01:56.

at Potters, having won the title back in 2013.

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We join this match in the sixth end of the first set with Marshall

:02:00.:02:06.

having made a fast start and leading 6-2. Commentary comes from Andy

:02:07.:02:11.

Thomson and David Corkhill. Not sure if Alex's bowl just touched

:02:12.:02:58.

the jack. It certainly looks very close. If it has touched the jack,

:02:59.:03:04.

spray chalk has allied and -- applied and if it goes into the

:03:05.:03:07.

ditch, it stays there. Anything that goes outside the confines of the

:03:08.:03:11.

rink to the sides is dead. But the... If it goes into the ditch, it

:03:12.:03:18.

must be a toucher to stay. So good bowls by Alex. I wonder

:03:19.:03:22.

should Stewart start attacking things and be more aggressive. I

:03:23.:03:27.

think so. The way Alex has started, he's going to have to try to change

:03:28.:03:31.

the running of this game. He's got a chance here. One will go. The back

:03:32.:03:37.

bowl is good. I'd agree with you, David. The opening ball looks a

:03:38.:03:41.

toucher but I don't think it's been sprayed. Well, we can't tell from

:03:42.:03:43.

here. It's just so close. Didn't make it for the touch. With

:03:44.:04:17.

that angle, it wouldn't have bounced back. The view that we have got here

:04:18.:04:22.

from the commentary box, actually, doesn't show us that angle as it

:04:23.:04:30.

were. However, Stewart's close here. The edge on the jack would have been

:04:31.:04:34.

really good for him. Well, I think he thought he was down the throat of

:04:35.:04:40.

that one. He thought he was good. Shaking his head here. It was very

:04:41.:04:42.

close. Half an inch. I haven't got an angle here. I don't

:04:43.:05:01.

know if Alex has another ball on the green apart from the one in his

:05:02.:05:05.

hand. Which means Stewart will be after it. Correct.

:05:06.:05:11.

So another one needed. This is looking better.

:05:12.:05:19.

Yeah, all the way. Nicely tucked in behind. Stewart will go for the two

:05:20.:05:23.

bowls. He'll try and remove both of them off the rink. Alex's final

:05:24.:05:30.

delivery. Perfect spot. Four inches behind the jack.

:05:31.:05:35.

Well, he's got to hit this, David, or he's in trouble.

:05:36.:05:45.

A mobile phone is going off somewhere, so they'll get that

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sorted very quickly. Always difficult. A large crowd.

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They are asked to make sure that their mobile phones are off. Surely

:06:00.:06:06.

got it this time. Oh. Again, just the one. Oh! If he'd got that just

:06:07.:06:12.

an inch less, the two bowls would have disappeared and he probably

:06:13.:06:16.

would have stayed in for three. As it is... One shot, Alex Marshall. It

:06:17.:06:22.

was a perfect strike, but unfortunately he got the ball,

:06:23.:06:24.

didn't move the jack. Unlucky, Stewart. He hit the target and

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that's all you could ask for. So Alex Marshall in sparkling form in

:06:31.:06:34.

the first set, which he eventually won 10-2 and he had the better of

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the early exchanges in the second set and heads 4-2 prior to the start

:06:40.:06:42.

of end six. Well I don't know if this is the

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right tactic. I know it's his favourite length, but he seems to be

:06:58.:07:06.

losing out to Alex on this length. APPLAUSE

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Apart from the audience -- a clap from the audience but it's a foot

:07:12.:07:12.

down. I'd expect Alex to beat that. Alex is loving this full-length

:07:13.:07:35.

jack. Stewart's got to try to change it about a bit. His bowls are

:07:36.:07:38.

ideally suited. And Stewart will know that if he goes much shorter,

:07:39.:07:45.

if he goes to the minimum 23, 24, well, there's very few people other

:07:46.:07:48.

than maybe Paul Foster that can match Alex at that distance. Yeah,

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but I think sometimes you've got to try things in a game, especially

:07:54.:07:57.

when you're being outbowled. And that's a good recovery.

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Very close. He's gone to jack. Oh, that's perfect. That's just perfect.

:08:02.:08:29.

He trade the track on the -- jack on the forehand. Stewart Anderson is

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saying to himself, "What on earth have I got to do here?" This is a

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difficult shot on this forehand. He plays it to perfection. Once again,

:08:38.:08:43.

forcing Stewart into the heavy bowl. Has to arrive at his own and come

:08:44.:08:48.

back. He's got a chance here off his own wing bowl. But these runners

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have often been under. It's better this time. Bowl on to bowl. Oh! He's

:08:55.:09:01.

just run away from it again! Good hit. Good hit. Remarkable hit but

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you can see by the reactions that he's still a shot down. One red.

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He's saying, "What am I meant to do?"

:09:15.:09:20.

Well, he's brought it out into the open. He's given him self a chance.

:09:21.:09:27.

-- himself a chance. Unless Alex puts this one into the top of the

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jack and then he's in even more trouble.

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Well, he's just going to go off the head a little bit and it's another

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shot. Perfect weight. Once again, it's another pressure shot. It is.

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Stewart Anderson doesn't show pressure very much. He really

:09:58.:10:02.

doesn't. He tries to keep... Just keeps very calm and gets on with it.

:10:03.:10:07.

Some players, you can tell, Andy, that they're just starting to fold.

:10:08.:10:12.

But that's not the case with Stewart. He needs a length bowl,

:10:13.:10:24.

though. Can't afford to be short. Short ball coming in. Well played.

:10:25.:10:27.

Well done, Stewart Anderson. That was not easy. That was a lot of

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pressure after a forehand runner to get a good, close bowl on the

:10:32.:10:39.

backhand. One green. Here we see the last delivery from Stewart. Had to

:10:40.:10:42.

draw within 18 inches. Draws the winner. However, Alex has got a good

:10:43.:10:47.

shot here. If he turns a jack for three, I think Stewart Anderson will

:10:48.:10:51.

just run for the hills with a white flag! Alex is looking at this. Well,

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he's trying for the bowl... And he's got the bowl! Oh, look at that! Oh,

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come on! Oh! Didn't even attempt the draw! One out. Looking at the

:11:08.:11:14.

second. Two out. Two shots, Alex Marshall. Oh, that was just amazing.

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He's playing so well, you'd think he'll just draw the jack but to go

:11:21.:11:24.

for that shortish bowl... Yeah, just got it perfect, didn't he? He had a

:11:25.:11:30.

chance, bowl or jack, it was quite a big target. Well... It's outrageous,

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isn't it? Yes. He's played really good. Brilliant stuff. Absolutely

:11:38.:11:43.

brilliant stuff. You know? It's... And he caught... The green brol

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caught one of the red ones on the way through. If it had gone clean,

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it would have been three. An, it would have been three.

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To be fair, Stewart is doing everything he possibly can. It's

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just one of these days that's he's basically been outbowled.

:12:37.:12:44.

That does not happen too often. No, it doesn't.

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I think the interesting thing for me, Andy, in this game is Alex has

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said, "OK, I played the big bowls in the last match against Mark Dawes,

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but this match I'm going to force my opponent to do that," and he's come

:13:30.:13:33.

out of the blocks with all guns firing and everything's working.

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Certainly has. This is a perfect display from Alex. He'll be

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delighted with his performance and in a way he'll be hoping he's not

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peaked too early. If he gets through this game, there's still two more

:13:49.:13:52.

games to get through. But this has been an excellent display. Yeah.

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Just needs to pass the green one. Not this time. I just wonder will

:13:57.:14:00.

Stewart go for the two bowls? Well, I think he tried to draw with the

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last one. He might be tempted now. I think he should. He should drive the

:14:05.:14:09.

two out. Yeah. Going for them. He's just been on the inside with a lot

:14:10.:14:13.

of his running bowls. Got the jack. Yeah. And the run-through. Red bowl

:14:14.:14:21.

in the ditch. Now, this gives him a chance because he's lying a couple

:14:22.:14:24.

and we'll just wait now. There's the marker going on for the jack. Let's

:14:25.:14:28.

see if the red bowl is taken away. It should be. Yeah. There it goes.

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Two green and no matter where Alex puts the bowl, Stewart will be after

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it, if it's the shot. Alex will try and draw the shot but

:14:40.:14:46.

at the same time try and hide the bowl. Welcome to the world of flat

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green tactics. In a strange way, it's a better shot

:15:11.:15:15.

that it's not too close to the jack, isn't it? It's tempting Stewart into

:15:16.:15:20.

drawing it. Correct. And it's very drawable the way it sits. He's well

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angled across. drawable the way it sits. He's well

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try and draw this, I think. No. He's going for it. Oh, is he under? Needs

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full contact! He's got it! Oh! Dear, oh, dear, made contact and put it on

:15:37.:15:40.

to his own green bowl. Yeah. It's one of those days. Yes. On another

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day, that would have been straight into the ditch but just clips the

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bowl. Alex 7-2 ahead and looking good.

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Well, he's one of those players, Alex Marshall, if you don't get him

:16:08.:16:13.

in the first round, he just gets better and better and better. And

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in the first round, he just gets have to say, though, this is

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probably the best I've seen him I would agree. I think he's been

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flawless. It's just been a great display of drawing bowls. I've

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watched him in practice prior to the game and he was playing well in

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practice. That is not always an indication that you're going to play

:16:34.:16:37.

well in the game but he's carried it on.

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Certainly now looking very good for a semifinals spot.

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Well, the only player who can get close to Alex is Paul Foster. He has

:16:53.:16:59.

four singles. He's a little bit younger, but not by much. And...

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He'll be trying very, very hard to get close to Alex's record of six at

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the moment. But Paul's away home this year and Alex is still going

:17:11.:17:19.

very strong indeed. Yes. Paul made an early exit to Matthew Orrey. A

:17:20.:17:23.

talented young English player. Playing David Gourlay. Should be a

:17:24.:17:27.

good game. APPLAUSE

:17:28.:17:44.

Well, Stewart Anderson has to score two shots on this end and we

:17:45.:17:48.

continue to the ninth and final end and then he'll need a four so,

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realistically, Andy, probably three minimum to give him any sort of an

:17:54.:17:57.

outside chance. I would agree but, once again, Alex has lined two.

:17:58.:18:05.

He'll go for cover. He's going for the awkward shot.

:18:06.:18:18.

15 ends played in this match so far. Stewart Anderson has scored four

:18:19.:18:21.

singles. Hard to believe. Hard to believe the way he's been playing,

:18:22.:18:26.

Stewart. But I'm afraid in sport sometimes we have an off day and I'm

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afraid Stewart's had one of these. I actually don't think he's played

:18:32.:18:34.

that bad at times. I just think he's been constantly under pressure.

:18:35.:18:36.

Yeah, I think that's the bottom line. Needs an edge to straighten

:18:37.:18:48.

him. I think that look on Stewart Anderson's face just about sums up

:18:49.:18:58.

the match. I think so! One of those days. One of those days. Forget

:18:59.:19:01.

about it. Talented player. He'll be back. I still think that Alex has

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generated this with Stewart. I think he would have played a lot better if

:19:07.:19:10.

he hadn't been under just so much pressure and... Alex looking to see

:19:11.:19:15.

what he's going to do. He's got the back covered. He's lying on two. He

:19:16.:19:20.

knows Stewart has to score at least two. So he's lost one in the ditch.

:19:21.:19:25.

If he split the two green bowls on the forehand or rested one of them,

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that would be it, I think. I think so, David.

:19:30.:19:34.

He knows that Stewart's got to play the hard, difficult four feet, five

:19:35.:19:38.

feet of weight. So he knows that the chances of getting trail here are

:19:39.:19:51.

difficult. So he's after the green bowl. Trying

:19:52.:19:55.

to split them. Oh! He didn't even get to the front of the one or

:19:56.:19:59.

behind the other one. We say up here he splits them, he splits them. You

:20:00.:20:04.

know. It's just... It's outrageous. It really is.

:20:05.:20:14.

I don't think he could have played much better. We can be very critical

:20:15.:20:19.

up here about lots of people playing but at the same time you have to

:20:20.:20:23.

praise people And they're playing well. Stewart just trying to get the

:20:24.:20:28.

edge of the bowl. It's not going to work this time. Two shots, second

:20:29.:20:39.

set and match to Alex Marshall. Look, there comes a time when

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players play at the very height or even beyond what you think they can

:20:43.:20:47.

play. You see Diane just acknowledging her husband's efforts

:20:48.:20:54.

today. But I think if anybody even thought about not giving Alex the

:20:55.:20:57.

praise he deserves after that, they're just, they're just mad.

:20:58.:21:02.

Stewart, I suppose some people would say it wouldn't have mattered how

:21:03.:21:05.

well you played when you're up against a man in the form that Alex

:21:06.:21:09.

was today? To be fair, I don't really know what to say. Alex was...

:21:10.:21:13.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Every time I lay, I

:21:14.:21:19.

thought I'd have it and next bowl in, he beats you. What can you do?

:21:20.:21:22.

Fair dues to Alex. That was some performance. It was some

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performance. In the commentary box, the guys said that's as good as they

:21:28.:21:31.

think they've seen you. They are the experts of course. How would you

:21:32.:21:37.

assess your performance? I think it's the best I've performed on the

:21:38.:21:41.

rink. You've won six titles and that was the best performance? I would

:21:42.:21:46.

say it was. I was getting my first bowl in a lot of times. When Stewart

:21:47.:21:50.

got him, I was -- in, I was beating him. I felt I could have beat

:21:51.:21:54.

anything today, to be honest. Stewart was a fantastic player. But

:21:55.:21:59.

he wasn't at his best today. He'll be back and he'll win this

:22:00.:22:02.

tournament again sometime. I'm over the moon to be in the semifinal

:22:03.:22:05.

again. A different match to your previous one where you had to dig

:22:06.:22:08.

very deep. How do you switch from one to the other? It's hard. As I

:22:09.:22:13.

said in my interviews, I take one game at a time. That's all you can

:22:14.:22:17.

do. I'm confident in my own ability and what I do. From the word go,

:22:18.:22:22.

right from the very start, if I can play my best, I know I'm hard to

:22:23.:22:26.

beat. So the six-time champion looking in ominous form. We're now

:22:27.:22:31.

going to look at the match between pairs partners and good friends

:22:32.:22:34.

Nicky Brett and Greg Harlow. Greg Harlow won the title here six years

:22:35.:22:39.

ago. And his opponent, Nicky Brett, got to the semifinal in 2010 and was

:22:40.:22:46.

voted Players of the Year in 2015. Nicky Brett made a good start,

:22:47.:22:50.

crowing the first set, which he won -- controlling the first set, which

:22:51.:22:54.

he won 9-3. The second set was closer. We join it with the score at

:22:55.:23:02.

three-all. Robert Paxton is now alongside David corkhill.

:23:03.:23:08.

It's a good idea to go long because, for a while, he was dropping his

:23:09.:23:11.

first bowl short. Now it's just a matter of getting it

:23:12.:23:15.

close, up to the jack or beyond, to put the pressure on. He's not bad.

:23:16.:23:20.

A decent start. If he doesn't get him with the first

:23:21.:23:51.

one, he's usually adept with the second one, but... I think that's

:23:52.:24:00.

the big difference at the moment. He's putting added pressure on.

:24:01.:24:31.

Looks like he's going to get caught here. Well, no, he hasn't. He's

:24:32.:24:37.

slipped underneath. He's going to make a connection with the red bowl.

:24:38.:24:40.

Now, this is a problem for Greg. Does he draw this or come in and

:24:41.:24:45.

attack the jack? I think he's got to draw it to be honest. There's not a

:24:46.:24:50.

great deal to hit. Anything between the two green bowls probably gets

:24:51.:24:52.

him the win. Played it very well. Yeah. Got it.

:24:53.:25:09.

APPLAUSE There was a tiny bit of extra weight

:25:10.:25:13.

on that to make sure he was arriving.

:25:14.:25:17.

Forced into the runner. Doesn't want to get his own bowl, though. If he

:25:18.:25:23.

takes that away, he could lose the count. Well, he has taken his own

:25:24.:25:28.

away. I'm not sure about that shot. I wasn't sure it was worth while The

:25:29.:25:34.

angles weren't great for Nicky there. But that's the way he's been

:25:35.:25:38.

playing. It's been working extremely well for him the last two or three

:25:39.:25:42.

years. There's a shot for Greg to have a

:25:43.:25:45.

look at here on the cover. Drawn the shot there, on a backhand

:25:46.:26:04.

and trying to drop it on some kind of angle. If he gets it there, it

:26:05.:26:09.

stops the trail shot but it scores another one to make three and puts

:26:10.:26:18.

the pressure on. It all depends how he feels about

:26:19.:26:23.

it. He could get a third and cover, take a chance that he gets the jack.

:26:24.:26:28.

I think he'll be backhand to the respot. Takes away the count to

:26:29.:26:32.

three on the repot Nick's got to kill the end.

:26:33.:26:40.

Well, he's on a line here for the third shot to put the pressure on.

:26:41.:26:44.

He's ignored the respot for some reason. That's not too bad. It's not

:26:45.:26:57.

bad, actually. It's not bad. That's a tricky draw. He ignored the cover

:26:58.:27:06.

and decided to go for the shots. Well, he has to get close to those

:27:07.:27:27.

front ones and that's where the problem lies. Yeah. Mmmm. I'm not

:27:28.:27:31.

sure about that. I thought he might have played the backhand draw. But

:27:32.:27:37.

that's a big count for Greg. Massive turnover...

:27:38.:28:12.

It's unusual for Nick to be short when he has that big bowl

:28:13.:28:19.

opportunity. But at the same time, after a drive, it's not easy, Rob.

:28:20.:28:23.

You know it's a percentage shot, isn't it, to go through and run at

:28:24.:28:27.

it? Take a couple off? Yeah, the angles weren't great there for him,

:28:28.:28:31.

to be honest. Probably played the right shot. Just didn't quite get

:28:32.:28:37.

through it. It's a big end for Greg now, if Greg can get a single here,

:28:38.:28:41.

or any sort of score. It will certainly put him in the driving

:28:42.:28:50.

seat for the second set. Well, he'd have given a lot for that the last

:28:51.:28:54.

end. Do you get nervous before the big bowls come up? There's a lot of

:28:55.:28:57.

them during your career? More so at the start of the game, I think. You

:28:58.:29:01.

want to get into the game and once you're on the mat and into the

:29:02.:29:06.

match, I don't think it bothers you really. The more times you play on

:29:07.:29:11.

the carpet in front of crowds like this, the... You love them really.

:29:12.:29:13.

Especially when they work! Well, he really cannot afford to

:29:14.:29:29.

lose any more shots here, Nick. If gre Greg wins this end, then he

:29:30.:29:33.

really is in the driving seat -- Greg wins this end, then he really

:29:34.:29:37.

is in the driving seat. That's not going to get back. That's a lovely

:29:38.:29:41.

should forehim now. An inch-and-a-half. Your... This front

:29:42.:29:46.

bowl is five inches past jack high. Gap is six nmps.

:29:47.:30:16.

A chance for Nick to slip another one in here. It drops off Greg's

:30:17.:30:21.

bowl. It doesn't give Greg much Well, I'm surprised at that. I think

:30:22.:30:38.

Greg's got a good shot on here in the backhand. A couple of yards

:30:39.:30:42.

running into that plant, his own bowl will probably go out. He will

:30:43.:30:45.

stay in and make two, maybe three out of it. I think he'll just draw

:30:46.:30:50.

here. He can't afford to get into the jack hand, the green bowl.

:30:51.:30:55.

That's true. If he drops off his own, he's very close, especially

:30:56.:30:58.

with a three-shot lead. Oh, he's very close. He's getting

:30:59.:31:06.

into that. Is he going to get the jack? If he gets the jack, he'll be

:31:07.:31:11.

one down, probably. Oh, that's dropped in nicely. I think that's

:31:12.:31:13.

the shot. He just got enough of it that his

:31:14.:31:29.

own bowl stayed in. Nick has a choice. He'll run this down the

:31:30.:31:33.

forehand, looking for the jack hand, clearing the ditch for two.

:31:34.:31:38.

Controlled weight. He can't afford to be a bowl tight. And it does come

:31:39.:31:44.

across: Oh, not the run-through. Oh! Goodness me! Well, immediate

:31:45.:31:49.

acknowledgement from Nick that that was a fortuitous result. Two shots,

:31:50.:31:55.

nick Brett. Oh! Made the double out of it! There's the run-through. Gets

:31:56.:32:00.

the jack and makes a double. Goodness me. Well, there's

:32:01.:32:05.

acknowledgement, yep. So Nicky Brett was just one shot

:32:06.:32:09.

behind Greg Harlow and that margin was still the same as they

:32:10.:32:12.

approached end nine. The tactics can change as well. Oh,

:32:13.:32:40.

definitely. Nicky wins the end, wins the match. Greg needs to win it to

:32:41.:32:45.

keep himself into it and force the tie-break.

:32:46.:32:51.

I'd say he deserves that to be honest, on his performance in the

:32:52.:32:56.

match. Fantastic game. Absolutely. It's been very interesting tactics

:32:57.:33:01.

in it as well and there's been... Very little to choose between the

:33:02.:33:02.

two players. Just pushing up. He's just got

:33:03.:34:06.

through this. He's coming down to have a look and

:34:07.:34:12.

I think it's very wise. I think he's got to look deep.

:34:13.:34:19.

I think the issue for him is just if Greg decides to play it, we've got

:34:20.:34:24.

all this area here where he's very, very dangerous. But at the same

:34:25.:34:28.

time, I think that green bowl is too far away.

:34:29.:34:33.

Yeah. You know, I think he -- I think he needs a closer bowl. If he

:34:34.:34:38.

does go deep, it gives the option, if Greg draws shot, to play an

:34:39.:34:42.

attacking bowl himself because he's got the cover. Yeah. He's going

:34:43.:34:47.

through there. Greg's making his way down already. Greg will only be

:34:48.:34:50.

drawing the shot. Yeah. I think it was the draw, I really do. But,

:34:51.:34:55.

again, if he had put one close, Greg had the hit and, you know, it's

:34:56.:34:59.

never easy to decide which shot to play there. You know, there's so

:35:00.:35:02.

many options available but you just don't want to leave him a foot for

:35:03.:35:06.

the shot. But there's no real rest there at

:35:07.:35:09.

the moment either. There's no shoulder. It's the perfect bowl from

:35:10.:35:16.

Greg. Well, he's very interested in it.

:35:17.:35:22.

I think his line is good. He's just up again. He's just up.

:35:23.:35:27.

Just the weight, that's all, nothing more than that. I think Nick might

:35:28.:35:30.

draw this. I don't think he can afford to leave Greg a foot to draw

:35:31.:35:35.

the shot. I'm not sure if he will. I don't think he can afford... If he

:35:36.:35:39.

draws up and drops off his own bowl, he's giving that rest. Greg might

:35:40.:35:43.

try and draw around the forehand. That would do, closer bowl either

:35:44.:35:47.

way. It doesn't matter which way he plays it. The problem with the

:35:48.:35:50.

backhand that Greg is playing at the moment is late bend. You know you've

:35:51.:35:55.

got to be up and it doesn't, doesn't turn right till the end.

:35:56.:36:03.

I think Nicky has done everything he can do... Oh. Has he left a

:36:04.:36:07.

shoulder? No, he hasn't. That's no worse than it was before. And it's a

:36:08.:36:13.

better and closer bowl. It's all about whether Greg decides to play

:36:14.:36:15.

for the respot. That's the key. Who has got the

:36:16.:36:23.

respot? And the respot we're looking at is the one to the left of the

:36:24.:36:30.

picture. That's it there. Now, Greg is in a position where, if

:36:31.:36:37.

he plays it, and gets it just absolutely on the high side, will

:36:38.:36:41.

the jack come over to this side? And which bowl will lie? Oh, well, now!

:36:42.:36:47.

I don't think that's made any difference to the shot. It's made a

:36:48.:36:51.

difference to my graphics, but not to the shot. I think he's playing

:36:52.:36:55.

for the jack still. It's possibly given him a little bit more space to

:36:56.:37:04.

get to it but Nick has done absolutely everything he can do win

:37:05.:37:07.

the match and it's up to Greg now if he can save it. The key is the two

:37:08.:37:10.

respots, toness hoppest. There's even a chance now if Greg got...

:37:11.:37:14.

He's looking at the other respot. There's a bigger gap now between the

:37:15.:37:18.

jack and bowl. And down the forehand, he might be able to edge

:37:19.:37:23.

the jack past the green. Let's have a wee look on the forehand. Time-out

:37:24.:37:27.

called. Greg has no time-outs remaining. The respot position is

:37:28.:37:33.

here. Greg is also looking to see what happens if it goes all the way

:37:34.:37:37.

through to the ditch. Can he carry along with it? So many options but

:37:38.:37:43.

none of thematically easy. He's looking at the angles and if

:37:44.:37:47.

none are good, he's got to back himself to draw. He's got about

:37:48.:37:51.

three inches. Surely he'll play weight to it.

:37:52.:38:05.

Three bowls two or three feet away. Alan Thornhill is asking for a

:38:06.:38:08.

little bit of quiet. Now we'll know what he's going to do. He's angled

:38:09.:38:13.

as if he's going to draw. He is. He's going to try and draw it. The

:38:14.:38:17.

angles weren't good for him. He didn't like the look of the respots.

:38:18.:38:21.

He's going to try and draw it. I tell you what, he's in the area.

:38:22.:38:28.

Needs to run a touch. Needs to run. Going to fall off, though.

:38:29.:38:32.

One shot, Nick Brett. Second set, tie and the match.

:38:33.:38:36.

What a great effort. If that bowl had dropped, it had a good chance of

:38:37.:38:40.

getting the shot. Didn't quite make it. A brilliant effort, though, by

:38:41.:38:45.

Greg Harlow. But the world number one just manages to make it.

:38:46.:38:50.

First of all, Greg, always disappointing to lose at any stage

:38:51.:38:53.

of a big tournament. How did you think you played today?

:38:54.:38:59.

Overall, I was pretty happy the way I played. I perhaps could have done

:39:00.:39:06.

more in the first set but every time I got in, Nick was closer and

:39:07.:39:08.

deserved the first set. I thought I'd probably done enough to pinch

:39:09.:39:12.

the second but didn't finish it off and left myself too much to do with

:39:13.:39:15.

the last bowl. That's my analysis. LAUGHTER

:39:16.:39:18.

Nicky, looking at the way the second set went, it looked as if you were

:39:19.:39:22.

up against it, but you got the opportunities and would it be fair

:39:23.:39:25.

to say that that's what turned it for new the second? I had a major

:39:26.:39:32.

bit of fort up at 6-3 down, snuck a two where I played a poor runner

:39:33.:39:38.

under the pace and I think them's the breaks really I got a huge bit

:39:39.:39:42.

of luck where Greg looked like winning the second set. We're going

:39:43.:39:48.

to look back at your last ball in the match. Here's a look at

:39:49.:39:52.

something a little bit better. Yeah, there was too much room to keep

:39:53.:39:56.

leaving him two and three goes at it so I had to try and get one near. I

:39:57.:40:01.

didn't want to do it any earlier than that because I left a runner

:40:02.:40:04.

and, you just touch easier to get out. Luckily it sort of finished

:40:05.:40:08.

perfect to be honest. Greg, we're going to ask you if you don't mind

:40:09.:40:12.

to go through your last bowl of the match because you had a chance to

:40:13.:40:16.

stay in it at this point. I looked at all the angles. His two time-outs

:40:17.:40:21.

-- I used two time-outs. There was nothing other than a perfect drive.

:40:22.:40:24.

Nick had got everything covered and unfortunately for me I'm probably

:40:25.:40:28.

about an inch tight and only just failed but, as you say, Nick's last

:40:29.:40:32.

bowl was the winner. And proved to be so, even if my bowl had fallen

:40:33.:40:37.

in, it was not quite going to win the day. And now to the first of

:40:38.:40:41.

Friday's quarterfinals between qualifier Jamie Chestney and number

:40:42.:40:45.

four seed Paxton packs. Here's what happened in that max -- Robert

:40:46.:40:50.

Paxton from Taunton and chest dhes, also based in the West Country, at

:40:51.:40:57.

Newton Abbott. It was a tight start, but Paxton

:40:58.:41:01.

nudged clear by two with a brilliant draw to the jack in the ditch at end

:41:02.:41:06.

six. That lead was extended to three

:41:07.:41:12.

shots at end eight as Paxton's pin-point accuracy scale to the

:41:13.:41:16.

fore. That left chest any needing a three

:41:17.:41:20.

at end nine to -- Chestney needing a three at end nine to tie the set, a

:41:21.:41:24.

scenario which always looked unlikely.

:41:25.:41:28.

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist made a better start to the

:41:29.:41:32.

second set, building a three-shot lead over the first two ends.

:41:33.:41:39.

He was forcing Paxton into playing running bowls, which weren't proving

:41:40.:41:43.

successful. But the set changed dramatically at

:41:44.:41:49.

end five. First of all, Chestney's drive left the door open.

:41:50.:41:59.

And Paxton duly rolled in for a full house, reducing his arrears to 5-4.

:42:00.:42:05.

A couple of singles put Chestney back in the driving seat, but Paxton

:42:06.:42:10.

stayed in the set with a perfect backhand runner at end eight.

:42:11.:42:16.

He still needed an unlikely two at end nine to halve the set and win

:42:17.:42:20.

the match. His draw to the respoted jack left a big gap for Chestney to

:42:21.:42:26.

force a tie-break. It looked a formality, but the final

:42:27.:42:34.

red bowl ran on and on. It handed Paxton an unexpected double and a

:42:35.:42:37.

place in the semifinals for the fourth time.

:42:38.:42:47.

The final score was 7-3, 7-7. And the last of our quarterfinals

:42:48.:42:51.

was between another qualifier, Matthew Orrey, against a former

:42:52.:42:55.

champion in David Gourlay. Matthew Orrey, 27, making his Potters debut,

:42:56.:42:59.

actually defeated Paul Foster in the first round, so can already be proud

:43:00.:43:03.

of his quarterfinal appearance here. His opponent, David Gourlay, in

:43:04.:43:07.

contrast, has a wealth of experience behind him and won this title back

:43:08.:43:11.

in 1996. Well, the winner of this match would

:43:12.:43:15.

play Nicky Brett in the semifinals and he is now alongside Corky in the

:43:16.:43:18.

commentary box. Matthew Orrey, the man from

:43:19.:43:26.

Grantham, trying to keep the pressure on David Gourlay in the

:43:27.:43:29.

second set. 4-2 behind, but it's a set he must win and this end is

:43:30.:43:34.

absolutely critical to that quest for the second set.

:43:35.:43:39.

The gap is 16 inches. No, the gap is 16 inches.

:43:40.:43:45.

David just asking how far the jack is from the T mark.

:43:46.:44:12.

How many players f they're one and two and three shots in front, if

:44:13.:44:19.

they win the seventh end then win the set? It would be a very high

:44:20.:44:22.

percentage. Good adjustment after the first one

:44:23.:44:36.

dropping so far short. Even a single here would give Matthew a great

:44:37.:44:39.

chance. Definitely needs to score the end. Otherwise it's... Well,

:44:40.:44:43.

it's not over but it makes it very difficult. Well, he'll be chasing

:44:44.:44:46.

the set in the last two. That's the trouble. He then needs to score four

:44:47.:44:51.

shots in the last two ends if he loses a single. It's a bit far away

:44:52.:45:03.

for David on that one. Not sure if he planned to put that past there.

:45:04.:45:08.

If it is a plan, it's an interesting one.

:45:09.:45:13.

Meantime, oh, wow. He's unlucky. On the target, on the forehand, there's

:45:14.:45:21.

one element of risk for David Gourlay here, that he goes through

:45:22.:45:25.

the gap and takes his own. But he would be very unfortunate to do

:45:26.:45:32.

that. It will come in handy if he gets any jack movement.

:45:33.:45:43.

Well... Um. Took one out but also took his closest bowl out.

:45:44.:45:54.

He's lying two, fully expecting to draw another one here. He'll hope to

:45:55.:45:59.

draw another but hope not to make it any easier for David's runner. I was

:46:00.:46:03.

thinking he might play the backhand to just try and come in behind the

:46:04.:46:08.

jack. He's trumped us, playing the forehand. Well, the thing about

:46:09.:46:13.

playing the forehand is if he frames it on the forehand, David will go

:46:14.:46:15.

again. As long as he makes it behind, it's

:46:16.:46:25.

good. That's fine. Yeah, good bowl. To be

:46:26.:46:29.

fair, good bowl. He might have played the backhand

:46:30.:46:34.

just in case anyway. He'd be frightened of falling short on that,

:46:35.:46:47.

giving David another chance. Down to the draw.

:46:48.:46:54.

Rest on the ball for second. Yeah. It's good.

:46:55.:47:02.

APPLAUSE He'd be happy enough with that.

:47:03.:47:12.

One shot, Matthew Orrey. APPLAUSE

:47:13.:47:17.

I think David would have been trying for the shot, but... He'd have

:47:18.:47:20.

certainly took second walking back up to play it. I would say so, three

:47:21.:47:29.

against him at the time. Well, a good crowd once again coming

:47:30.:47:32.

in for the evening session, Nick. And still in there for Matt Orrey.

:47:33.:47:37.

He's still got a good chance in this set. Yeah, he's, you know, after the

:47:38.:47:43.

first set, he's still hung in there. He'd want to improve his first bowl

:47:44.:47:47.

a little bit. But he's still in with a chance.

:47:48.:48:10.

One thing about Matt Orrey, as you said, the first bowl hasn't really

:48:11.:48:16.

been doing the damage you'd like it to do but he still looks very

:48:17.:48:19.

comfortable out there. He looks like he's at home on the portable rink

:48:20.:48:23.

and that's not always the case with the qualifiers coming through. It's

:48:24.:48:27.

certainly not. Not... It's not every day of the week you play in front of

:48:28.:48:34.

1,200 people and the TV cameras, and he's certainly handled himself very

:48:35.:48:35.

well. No extra shots for that, just for

:48:36.:49:02.

the non-bowlers that might be watching.

:49:03.:49:21.

We're often asked about the spray chalk. Please forgive me if the

:49:22.:49:28.

bowlers out there that know about it, there are an amazing amount of

:49:29.:49:33.

people who ask about it during a match.

:49:34.:49:42.

What would you do here? Take a little risk? I would now, definitely

:49:43.:49:47.

now, with the third bowl. If he loses a single here, he's going to

:49:48.:49:51.

be looking for a three in the last end and they're hard to find at the

:49:52.:49:54.

best of times. I think he has to give it a chance and he is giving it

:49:55.:49:58.

a chance in terms of the weight, but not in terms of the line, just over.

:49:59.:50:02.

I can't blame him for that. You know... It's not an easy shot to

:50:03.:50:06.

play. No, it's not. Definitely not easy to play, you know. He might

:50:07.:50:10.

have to take a bigger risk and go quicker because it may be easier to

:50:11.:50:14.

get it. Yeah. Go strong. If he takes his own bowl out, fair enough,

:50:15.:50:17.

there's nothing he can do about that. But the angle for his own bowl

:50:18.:50:21.

could easily take the other green one out. So definitely worth playing

:50:22.:50:25.

it. David will just try and slip another one in. There's no reason

:50:26.:50:29.

why he shouldn't because he'll be concerned about that one bowl

:50:30.:50:34.

disappearing. Certainly will. Good weight with his second to be fair.

:50:35.:50:42.

If he can bring her in... Well, he's definitely trying to draw one even

:50:43.:50:46.

closer. But come around that bowl, it's still decent. It's still handy

:50:47.:50:49.

there. I think Matthew has to go at this again and hope to get the bowl

:50:50.:50:54.

out clean. If it stays as it is, he'd need a three last end and

:50:55.:50:59.

they're not easy to come by and certainly in a closed set like this

:51:00.:51:02.

one. Well, this is different. A lot less

:51:03.:51:14.

weight. Must think he needs the double. I

:51:15.:51:19.

tell you what, he's very close here, Nicky. He has to hold on to miss his

:51:20.:51:24.

own. Oh! Well, great effort. Great effort. David will take the one.

:51:25.:51:30.

He'll walk away interest that. -- from that.

:51:31.:51:35.

One shot, David Gourlay. There's no way David Gourlay will play anywhere

:51:36.:51:39.

near it. He's happy to go into the last end two up. He realises this

:51:40.:51:44.

set has been very, very close. Yeah, definitely.

:51:45.:52:36.

David needs a good second here, just to:! Even when you drop the first

:52:37.:52:42.

one short, you're sort of thinking... Mmm, I I'd rather that

:52:43.:52:46.

one would have been six inches away. Correct. Sort of blocked the

:52:47.:52:51.

runner... His favoured runner to get out of trouble. He's played this

:52:52.:52:55.

well. There's the correction. APPLAUSE

:52:56.:53:00.

Yeah. I'd say he'd be happy with that one. It's a very, very good

:53:01.:53:08.

ball. - - bowl. David just at the side of the rink

:53:09.:53:12.

and Matthew Orrey takes his line from the marker. You can see the

:53:13.:53:16.

yellow marker almost in the centre of the picture at this end.

:53:17.:53:20.

And David Gourlay does that too, actually. He likes to see it as

:53:21.:53:23.

well. Some players do. Some don't. Some

:53:24.:53:29.

are what we call natural sighters. I might ask them to take them off

:53:30.:53:37.

tomorrow then! If if only! Some players in the outdoor used to leave

:53:38.:53:41.

their bags at the end of the rink on the line that they needed

:53:42.:53:44.

their bags at the end of the rink on just to give them a little guide.

:53:45.:53:49.

Let's put it that way. Very sneaky. As soon as you realised they were

:53:50.:53:54.

doing that, we took them away and put them underneath a bench

:53:55.:53:59.

somewhere! Little tricks of the trade, but certainly not at this

:54:00.:54:03.

level. This is good again. Oh, that's a

:54:04.:54:08.

beauty. That really is. Now it's really, really hard. Matthew

:54:09.:54:11.

dropping short with his bowl. That's always making it difficult but this

:54:12.:54:16.

is becoming almost impossible now for Matthew to develop a three.

:54:17.:54:20.

David must have been curling the first one. Absolutely. The first one

:54:21.:54:26.

he put in, I thought what on earth was going on. But he's banged them

:54:27.:54:32.

in. Little chat with Mike Davies on the way through. Time-outs aren't

:54:33.:54:36.

the issue. Matt was certainly looking to change something here.

:54:37.:54:39.

Otherwise, he's going to be... Curtains. There's no point in even

:54:40.:54:44.

trying to draw. I think he has to open it up at the front. If he

:54:45.:54:48.

misses, it's going to be really hard. Just trying to time it round

:54:49.:54:52.

the front. He probably is and that's a very difficult shot. He's in the

:54:53.:54:55.

area, though. Oh, yes! What a good bowl! But the

:54:56.:55:02.

back one will look on it -- lock on it and David Gourlay will be

:55:03.:55:07.

absolutely delighted with that. It's a great bowl from Matt, but... It's

:55:08.:55:14.

strange to think that a player would be delighted with the opposition

:55:15.:55:16.

playing a super shot but that just about cancels out everything. Yeah.

:55:17.:55:20.

It would be some shot to create, even from the position it's in there

:55:21.:55:23.

now. Looks like it's a stay-away job.

:55:24.:55:43.

Somethings around three feet jack high would be decent. If you want to

:55:44.:55:47.

play a cover bowl in... Yeah. I'm not quite sure how... Unless he can

:55:48.:55:52.

hit the front red on to the green and follow with a... Well, he's just

:55:53.:55:57.

mixing and matching here, isn't he? APPLAUSE

:55:58.:56:02.

There's just no way to create anything out of this. Do you know

:56:03.:56:06.

something? If I was Matt Orrey, I'd be tempted just to shake hands. I

:56:07.:56:12.

really would be. Yeah. You know, I just can't see anything and for

:56:13.:56:16.

people at home watching this, I've got the world number one beside me

:56:17.:56:20.

and he can't see anything. So I'm... If he makes three on this, David, it

:56:21.:56:25.

will be shot of the day. Shot of the year! I would suggest shot of the

:56:26.:56:50.

year. Good luck to Matt on this one. Big

:56:51.:56:55.

hit and hope. And he's pulled it. There it goes. Won the red. Match to

:56:56.:57:01.

David Gourlay. Well, David Gourlay, a very

:57:02.:57:04.

professional performance against the qualifier, Matthew Orrey. Controlled

:57:05.:57:08.

the first set 9-3. That scoreline was a bit unfair to Matthew but

:57:09.:57:11.

David Gourlay gets through 5-4 in the second set. It was a difficult

:57:12.:57:15.

set but he's over the line and he goes into the semifinal where he'll

:57:16.:57:18.

meet the world number one, Nicky Brett.

:57:19.:57:22.

Congratulations to David Gourlay, through to the semifinal where he

:57:23.:57:27.

will play Nicky Brett and that will be live on the red button on

:57:28.:57:31.

Saturday at the slightly later time of 10.45am.

:57:32.:57:34.

And then we're on BBC One on Saturday at 2pm for the second of

:57:35.:57:39.

our semifinals, Alex Marshall MBE up against Robert Paxton.

:57:40.:57:43.

And now to the moment that you've all been staying up late for.

:57:44.:57:51.

Corky's Shot of the Day. My shot of the day comes from the

:57:52.:57:55.

match with Alex Marshall and Stewart Anderson. Alex Marshall was

:57:56.:57:59.

fantastic in the first set, winning 10-2 but in the second set, Stewart

:58:00.:58:03.

Anderson has scored 4-2, he's lying in the shot that would bring him

:58:04.:58:08.

right back into it and Alex Marshall plays the most wonderful

:58:09.:58:11.

controlled-weight shot. Most people would have tried to draw this and

:58:12.:58:16.

turn the jack around the corner. But Alex Marshall decides to play the

:58:17.:58:23.

punt shot all the way through, absolutely perfect, takes two shots,

:58:24.:58:27.

and he lifts his score up to six shots 20 two, carry on with that and

:58:28.:58:31.

won the second set comfortably. He was the master today.

:58:32.:58:36.

Thanks very much, Corky. Now we know the identity of all four

:58:37.:58:39.

semifinalists, but included in that quartet is Alex Marshall, who is

:58:40.:58:43.

still on course for title number seven and very much the man to beat.

:58:44.:58:48.

From all of us here at Potters, good night.

:58:49.:58:59.

This is the story of how conquered superpowers conquered all.

:59:00.:59:05.

How British classics became British clunkers...

:59:06.:59:09.

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