:02:08. > :02:18.Of Monday was a topsy-turvy day at the Selwyn Samuel Centre, a great
:02:18. > :02:28.one for a new national champion Damaen Dobbelaere. Mr Beaufort
:02:28. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:38.Jason Greenslade. -- miserable for Today, Wales looks to the Scarlets
:02:38. > :02:42.for inspiration as the two remaining Welshman played. It was
:02:42. > :02:49.D-Day in Llanelly. Coming up tonight, the new Welsh champion,
:02:49. > :02:55.Damian Dobbelaere, against 2010 Welsh champion, Greg Harlow. Also,
:02:55. > :02:58.David Gourlay and the previous bridesmaid, Simon Skelton. Could
:02:58. > :03:03.they go one better? Quick confirmation about how things
:03:03. > :03:07.shaped up before the play to date. The only two upsets in the top half
:03:07. > :03:09.The only two upsets in the top half both at the expense of top Welsh
:03:09. > :03:16.seeds David Wheeler and Jason Greenslade. The only surprise in
:03:16. > :03:21.the bottom, the defeat of another Welsh qualifier, Stewart Anderson.
:03:21. > :03:25.First up, John Price. We caught up with him at the recent Wales
:03:25. > :03:32.championships at Potters to find out how he gets himself in the mood
:03:32. > :03:41.for Bacher, if the big day. -- the mood for a battle on the big day.
:03:41. > :03:45.The difficult is the big gap between gains. -- the difficulty.
:03:45. > :03:51.You need to relax between your games, and do not want to be in the
:03:51. > :03:53.building all the time. You're building all the time. You're
:03:53. > :03:59.looking after your own game, you need to be playing well yourself,
:03:59. > :04:05.but obviously, there are tactics. You look at the length of jack the
:04:05. > :04:10.opponent might play. He wanted maybe break up his red and if he is
:04:10. > :04:14.a quick player. The first priority is to get yourself right and played
:04:15. > :04:19.a wrong game. I am playing better than I have for some time, so my
:04:19. > :04:22.confidence is good. I take it seriously and I want to win badly,
:04:22. > :04:26.but it is not the be-all and end- all of the end of the day, and I
:04:26. > :04:35.have had a good career and now when just playing for enjoyment if
:04:35. > :04:40.anything. -- I am just playing. Today he was
:04:40. > :04:45.up against Darren Burnett who won the 2010 Welsh Open in Swansea. The
:04:45. > :04:50.match started in good humour with both players entering the rematch
:04:50. > :04:58.in hard hats following some emergency work to the emergency
:04:58. > :05:05.lighting. John had a good start, he was seven-one up in the first set,
:05:05. > :05:09.but Darren Burnett hung on. The second set was much closer. We join
:05:09. > :05:19.it in the ninth end. John is trailing 6-7 but has victory in
:05:19. > :05:35.
:05:35. > :05:45.through. He pushed that well alt. - that one. Both players may be wise
:05:45. > :05:47.
:05:47. > :05:57.to have a look at this. It depends which you trust. A hi-tech of the
:05:57. > :05:57.
:05:57. > :06:38.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:06:38. > :06:44.very good five. -- a very good guy. on this end, he earns a tie-break.
:06:44. > :06:53.That is what it is all about. He is holding one. It is not like him
:06:53. > :06:58.today. He was shaking his head. What do I do now, he was saying.
:06:58. > :07:08.You do not want to leave it for John Price to ban one on the jack
:07:08. > :07:27.
:07:27. > :07:32.with the first delivery. That is make any improvement. That helps.
:07:32. > :07:42.That includes it aloft. It makes it much more difficult for John Price.
:07:42. > :07:48.
:07:48. > :07:58.He now it needs to get within five side. Annie touch on the Jackal
:07:58. > :08:19.
:08:19. > :08:29.help with the back Paul. -- on the real good look. Just to drop short.
:08:29. > :08:56.
:08:56. > :09:02.There was a feeling this was going achieve. A big chance for John
:09:03. > :09:09.Price. Expecting Darren to be close to what fat one. No disrespect to
:09:09. > :09:14.the players if I say that this game has been pretty quiet. It has, but
:09:14. > :09:22.you do get games like this. You have games where you have to grind
:09:22. > :09:28.it out. It is not as if they were playing badly at all. There have
:09:28. > :09:37.been many draws. It has not had cut and thrust, re spotted jacks, not
:09:37. > :09:43.much of that at all. The second set has been a matter of drawing.
:09:43. > :09:48.players have opted to try and draw. It has been such a tight game that
:09:48. > :09:58.neither player has been prepared to take a brisk. They have run away
:09:58. > :09:58.
:09:58. > :10:38.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:10:38. > :10:45.from the conversion shots in case settles in front on the jack. Gives
:10:45. > :10:53.Darren Burnett very little margin for error. I think Taran might try
:10:53. > :11:03.to chop this bowl out. It will not be easy. -- Darren. At very hard
:11:03. > :11:08.shot to play. He tried some runners and they did not bend for him.
:11:08. > :11:18.has gone right into the open and John Price is wasting no time. He
:11:18. > :11:30.
:11:30. > :11:40.himself a chance. He knows there is an acre of ground for John Price
:11:40. > :11:54.
:11:54. > :12:04.and we would put our mortgage is on across and draw with not much
:12:04. > :12:25.
:12:26. > :12:34.not want to be counted. normally go to the one that will be
:12:34. > :12:38.the shot first. So, going to the red. The reason for that is if they
:12:38. > :12:45.are right, they would be a gap between a measure and the bowl when
:12:45. > :12:55.they come to the second. It looks well in. Four inches or so. Cutting
:12:55. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:26.half metres from John prize. -- length here. At worst he has got
:13:26. > :13:31.one more length to play after this. Taking a risk. Quite clever
:13:31. > :13:38.thinking by John Price to do that. I do not think he is close enough
:13:38. > :13:46.with his open air. 15 inches the umpire said. Darren Burnett should
:13:46. > :13:52.be able to beat that with one of his four deliveries. Very slick out
:13:52. > :13:58.there. Short jack length. David Gourlay watching this match with
:13:58. > :14:08.interest. The legendary Scot, he is now the head coach for bowling
:14:08. > :14:16.
:14:16. > :14:26.the bowl out of your hand at this distance. John Price definitely in
:14:26. > :14:33.
:14:33. > :14:39.good news 2 Darren Burnett. By anything within 12 inches of the
:14:39. > :14:46.jack is a fine. He had it in his mind that before the end of this
:14:46. > :14:56.end, he will be attacking, so it is time to start doing so., acted to
:14:56. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:08.get the jack back. -- come at it. He is in a lot of trouble her. --
:15:08. > :15:29.
:15:29. > :15:34.now. A destructive shot 20 comes good now. -- John Price. He has
:15:34. > :15:38.come through for a back position and Darren Burnett has choices to
:15:38. > :15:48.make. If he goes again and takes a bowl out, it is really not enough.
:15:48. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:02.He needs the jack and that is not this George jack has worked for
:16:02. > :16:11.John Price. The trouble for Darren is, he has to get to the jack and
:16:11. > :16:18.run it through. The bowl is no value to him. A small drawer at 25
:16:18. > :16:27.and a half metres away. Just over three inches wide. He is going
:16:27. > :16:33.again. Has he pushed it out wide? He has. He is in trouble now. That
:16:33. > :16:42.did not look good off the hand. I think that John will go deeper with
:16:42. > :16:51.this and stay away from it. It left his hand and it did not look good.
:16:51. > :16:56.He knows that he can play better than that. And John prize surely
:16:56. > :17:06.going for the best back bowl that will also be nearest to the spot.
:17:06. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:13.You can cover both spots. Here it comes. Deep bowl. This is as good
:17:13. > :17:23.as it gets for John prize. He is now in a match lie against the
:17:23. > :17:28.world No. 3, Darren Burnett. I think Darren will have to draw this.
:17:28. > :17:33.He did not seem to get those drives away well at all. As you said, the
:17:33. > :17:38.first looked tired out of his hand. He did not miss that much, but he
:17:38. > :17:46.was tied all the way down. The second one, not much of a chance.
:17:46. > :17:54.It did not look right. You feel you will have to try and draw this. He
:17:54. > :18:01.is going again. How on earth does he expect to get this? Closer again,
:18:01. > :18:06.he has got something. I would expect John Price to get the shot
:18:06. > :18:15.with the back bowl. We will wait and see, but I think that back
:18:15. > :18:20.Paul... The match to John Price! do not see how Darren Burnett was
:18:20. > :18:28.expecting to get that shot. He moved the jack, killed the jack,
:18:28. > :18:32.the shot goes to John Price and he wins by a 2-0 on the tie-break.
:18:32. > :18:42.lot has been said about the speed of this rink, that seems to be
:18:42. > :18:45.
:18:45. > :18:52.the players have got to adapt. But we are all world-class players, we
:18:52. > :18:56.have got to adapt. The has plenty of life left in you, isn't there?
:18:56. > :19:01.I hope so, we will just keep it going. John Price there, rolling
:19:01. > :19:07.back the years with a great performance. Great early bowls,
:19:07. > :19:11.taking control of the opening set, but Darren is not to be denied,
:19:11. > :19:15.with some great bowls himself. But John is playing really well. He
:19:16. > :19:20.draws the third shot, to take the opening set. Darren takes the
:19:20. > :19:29.second, with air for bowls. It is the tie-break and John takes the
:19:29. > :19:34.opening end. -- what better bowls. Darren runs off the rink, and that
:19:34. > :19:39.his game, set and match to John Price. Well played, the old man.
:19:39. > :19:46.the next round, John Price will play David Gourlay, who survived a
:19:46. > :19:49.scare against Nick Brett. Brett took the first set 9-, six up and
:19:49. > :19:55.the second, and David Gourlay had one shot to stay in the
:19:55. > :20:00.championship, so it went to a tie- break. Had Nick Brett missed his
:20:00. > :20:06.opportunity? Experience one-two, with David Gourlay settling it in
:20:06. > :20:10.the last end to advance to the quarter-finals. Now we turn our
:20:10. > :20:16.attention to the bottom half of the draw, and another Welshman who has
:20:16. > :20:22.a mountain to climb. World No. 2 Greg Harlow last won this event at
:20:23. > :20:28.the turn-of-the-century. But he won the World Championships in 2010.
:20:28. > :20:31.know nothing about David. I have never seen him play. He has won his
:20:31. > :20:36.first Welsh titles Olly must be playing well, you must be very
:20:36. > :20:41.confident. I will approach this game as if I was playing a number
:20:42. > :20:49.one. They are study's new Welsh national champion, Damian Doubler
:20:50. > :20:55.is in uncharted territory. Few youngsters ever have any fear?
:20:55. > :21:01.Hopefully, we will gain some experience from this. A Greg Harlow
:21:01. > :21:11.won the first set, 9-4, but Damian Doubler found his form and the
:21:11. > :21:19.
:21:19. > :21:29.second, and we rejoin it in the 9th has battled hard and board says. --
:21:29. > :21:29.
:21:29. > :22:33.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:22:33. > :22:43.He is playing very well. We saw signs of that at the end of the 4th
:22:43. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:53.set. MARKER: all three point five inches. He has to slow the game
:22:53. > :22:58.down and make sure his concentration is 100% before he
:22:58. > :23:08.plays the bowl. Pick out the shot you want to play and concentrate on
:23:08. > :23:23.
:23:24. > :23:29.it. Just a little bit over. Good the match. -- Greg Harlow. And
:23:29. > :23:39.perhaps significantly, it is Greg Harlow who has the last bowl of
:23:39. > :23:46.this end. He is going for cover. I am not sure about that. The way
:23:46. > :23:56.that Greg plays the game, can he draw this on the forehand, and
:23:56. > :24:03.
:24:03. > :24:06.most destructive shot of all is the dead draw. That is why I thought he
:24:06. > :24:11.might have played the forehand. That was then he could catch the
:24:11. > :24:18.bowl on the jack, on the backhand, he is playing the jack towards the
:24:18. > :24:28.green bowls. He will play this on the backhand. Harlow has position.
:24:28. > :24:32.
:24:32. > :24:36.But Damian Doubler has the shot. needs something on the backhand.
:24:36. > :24:42.plays with a very experienced players in Cardiff and the
:24:42. > :24:48.International team. He knows the tactics of the game. Gently, gently,
:24:48. > :24:54.he will want that to stop and cover it. He has pulled away. It is a
:24:54. > :24:59.useful bowl and it might be of benefit, but it means that Greg
:24:59. > :25:09.will now cover the forehand shot, to run the jack of, or to turn it
:25:09. > :25:20.
:25:21. > :25:30.forehand drive. The re-spot position is for red. That is why he
:25:31. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:40.will have to get to it. This is under, surely. MARKER: second set,
:25:40. > :25:47.Damian Doubler. It is 7-6 to Damian Doubler in that second set. Greg
:25:47. > :25:54.Harlow won the first set, 9-4. It is all in the next three ends.
:25:54. > :26:04.Harlow took the first end of the tie-break. Damian Doubler had to
:26:04. > :26:31.
:26:32. > :26:39.shot, for what it is worth. Now, what have we got, Damian? He cannot
:26:39. > :26:49.believe it. He is short again. options are reducing with every
:26:49. > :26:51.
:26:51. > :26:57.bowl. Because the art behind the jack is ewes 4. -- the yard behind
:26:57. > :27:07.the jack is useful. He is giving Greg Harlow too many chances to get
:27:07. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:32.to avoid the distance. His string has been on the draw, but if he
:27:32. > :27:41.
:27:41. > :27:46.Looking at the drive, and the forehand. Only a cursory look. The
:27:46. > :27:54.re-spot position is there. The way that he has been playing of late, I
:27:54. > :28:00.think he will come in on the high side and try to drop in, for a draw.
:28:00. > :28:05.He is a good pressure player, but the pressure is not on,
:28:05. > :28:12.particularly, at the moment because he does have one bowl left, but he
:28:12. > :28:18.does not want to play, you want to give it 100%, on the third delivery.
:28:18. > :28:23.To force the opposition to have one bowl to save the tie. That is just
:28:23. > :28:33.going under. But he has got second bowl. That will be invaluable to
:28:33. > :28:34.
:28:34. > :28:40.him. One red. That means of that red disappears, Damian Doubler can
:28:40. > :28:48.win the end. And that means Greg Harlow means -- needs another one
:28:48. > :28:58.in. If things remain as they are, it will be a drive, next time,
:28:58. > :29:03.
:29:03. > :29:13.surely. I expect quick to draw this. -- Greg. He needs another bowl in
:29:13. > :29:24.
:29:24. > :29:34.That is the big question. It has not. You can see his reaction. He
:29:34. > :29:42.knows that is a mistake. He has to drive this, now, surely. He's a
:29:43. > :29:47.good drawer, but he has missed it, this time, surely. He needs to get
:29:47. > :29:52.the bowl out absolutely clean, all the way through, he does that, the
:29:52. > :30:02.short bowl, and he will score. The re-spot is on the far side. He does
:30:02. > :30:08.not want the jack out there. could still put his faith in the
:30:08. > :30:15.draw, if he wanted to, but surely it is a forehand drive. 100% on the
:30:15. > :30:20.drive. Very controlled weight. It needs to stand up away from the
:30:20. > :30:29.jack and miss the jack. He got the jack, and that is the problem. When
:30:29. > :30:33.you get the jack back on the re- spot, it will be one, or to red.
:30:33. > :30:37.Great bowl from Damian Doubler, he got his target, but unfortunately
:30:37. > :30:43.not the jack out of play, and on the re-spot, Greg Harlow took the
:30:43. > :30:47.shot. Two consecutive games and a tie-break to Greg Harlow and the
:30:47. > :30:51.world number two is through to the second round. Played well all the
:30:51. > :30:56.way through, but then I could do a lot more, and Damian kept coming
:30:56. > :30:59.and coming and played it rates second set. My money was on the
:30:59. > :31:05.third tie-break End but fortunately, for me, the jack went off and not
:31:05. > :31:12.into the ditch. I came near to be competitive and I think I have done
:31:12. > :31:15.that. Greg was outstanding and he deserves the victory. What a great
:31:16. > :31:20.performance by Damian Doubler, the young Welsh singles champion. Greg
:31:20. > :31:25.Harlow plays the better of bowls at the start but the main guesses draw,
:31:25. > :31:32.good, and starts to pepper the jack. And it is Greg Harlow plays the big
:31:32. > :31:40.bowl in the final end, to take the opening set. Damian, once again,
:31:40. > :31:45.starts to draw well, but it is wrecker takes the set, and it is
:31:45. > :31:54.the big bowl, the main ones that the jack, the jack goes off, and
:31:54. > :31:59.that his game, set and match to It has been a funny old week for
:31:59. > :32:02.the Welsh. Only one Welshman left standing and David Gourlay will be
:32:02. > :32:08.playing him on to us there. Are you looking forward to that clash of
:32:08. > :32:14.John Price? I enjoy playing John, we have met lots of time over the
:32:14. > :32:19.last 15 years and we have had good, sporting games. Much is being made
:32:19. > :32:23.of the speed of this rink. Can you explain what that means and how it
:32:23. > :32:28.affects the game? The speed is the length of time it takes the bowl to
:32:28. > :32:32.travel a certain distance. They have given this rank an extra
:32:33. > :32:36.stretch so everything you stretch it, the faster the green gets. They
:32:36. > :32:43.have stretched it very tightly this time. It means that the green is
:32:43. > :32:48.very quick. It makes the degree of difficulty a lot more. But we
:32:48. > :32:56.should be adapting to this by now. It seems to sit John's game. Does
:32:56. > :32:58.it affect you as? I have played for a Australia for seven years and
:32:58. > :33:02.their greens are traditionally very fast, so I have got experience of
:33:02. > :33:09.playing on a fast green, and you prefer a fast been to a slow green,
:33:09. > :33:12.and I think John does as well. on to Tuesday's last match. Simon
:33:12. > :33:18.Skelton of Nottingham has been runner-up twice in the last three
:33:18. > :33:24.years. This time, he is intent on going one better. Northern Irishman,
:33:24. > :33:30.Jonathan Ross, who now represents Scotland, likes playing in Wales,
:33:30. > :33:34.having reached the quarter-finals and the last two years. They were
:33:34. > :33:39.at each other's heels throughout a tight match. Simon Skelton still
:33:39. > :33:49.could not pull away in the second set. We join it in the nine end,
:33:49. > :34:15.
:34:15. > :34:22.with Skelton leading 9--- 7-pack. - He has got to get three shots. He
:34:22. > :34:29.cannot afford to waste any. That is a good opener. It was critical that
:34:29. > :34:37.Simon Skelton did not lose the jack. Jonathan Ross has been able to play
:34:37. > :34:47.his favourite jack length. It is not easy to get around this green
:34:47. > :34:48.
:34:49. > :34:54.bowl. Here it comes, sweeping back. He was not a very close with the
:34:54. > :34:59.first two bowls and he is going to have two shots against him when he
:34:59. > :35:09.gets to his third delivery. That mistake with the jack could be very
:35:09. > :35:35.
:35:35. > :35:43.the forehand, Simon, or else attack tie-break situation. If Simon loses
:35:43. > :35:47.a three in this end. If he drives at it and takes the one a way, it
:35:48. > :35:52.would certainly help. If he takes his own bowl away, he is a lot of
:35:52. > :35:56.trouble. He can draw the forehand or he can attack it but if he takes
:35:56. > :36:06.his own bowl away, he is in deep trouble. He is a very attacking
:36:06. > :36:09.
:36:09. > :36:19.player. He is playing a very delicate backhand shot. This must
:36:19. > :36:28.
:36:28. > :36:38.be absolutely perfect to be a drop, it needs to drop, I think.
:36:38. > :36:39.
:36:39. > :36:48.Which makes life more difficult by Jonathan Ross, Matt. -- now. The
:36:48. > :36:55.game started so well for Jonathon Ross. If he draws another shot here,
:36:55. > :37:01.he is in with a great chance. Just trying to fade onto the backhand
:37:01. > :37:09.onto the green bowl. This is what he is looking for. If he taps his
:37:09. > :37:19.own bowl in, he could make a double, but he has to reach it. That is
:37:19. > :37:20.
:37:20. > :37:24.very disappointing and Jonathon Ross. -- from Jonathan. That will
:37:24. > :37:29.come as a great relief to Simon Skelton. Simon knows he has to be
:37:29. > :37:34.careful. If he drops on his own bowl, that is a massive help. He
:37:34. > :37:44.doesn't want to sweep into the red bowl, because that would give
:37:44. > :37:46.
:37:46. > :37:51.Jonathan two. He needs a close a bowl. -- closer bowl. I don't think,
:37:51. > :37:58.the way that it is sitting at the moment, that it is secure enough
:37:58. > :38:06.for Simon Skelton. He could even push his own green bowl out and
:38:06. > :38:14.give two shots away, and a chance for Jonathan Ross to draw a third.
:38:14. > :38:19.It is not easy. He's not going for the forehand, is he? This is going
:38:19. > :38:26.to have to be a very wide arc, if he is playing this. He is leaving
:38:26. > :38:32.that on the backhand, were drawn up into play. This has to be very
:38:32. > :38:37.accurate, to get back. He has done his best, but he has given John it
:38:37. > :38:45.and a great chance. Perfect line. It came back all the way to the
:38:45. > :38:50.centre line of the rink. It was just overplayed by about 15 inches.