:00:37. > :00:41.Dressed welcome to highlights from the semifinals of the world indoor
:00:42. > :00:48.bowls open championship. Four of the best playing is popping to steal
:00:49. > :01:19.some of the coveted places in the final on Sunday.
:01:20. > :01:52.That is the match we will look back on. The champion from 2006 against
:01:53. > :01:56.Paul Foster. Mervyn came out of the traps quickly, getting the first
:01:57. > :02:47.set. Foster struggled to keep tabs on the local lad.
:02:48. > :03:16.Mervyn, not worried about the front green one. Happy to draw around it.
:03:17. > :03:24.Look at this. How many players would have played this on the backhand. He
:03:25. > :03:36.is happy on the forehand side. He has put pool under a lot of
:03:37. > :03:42.pressure. An eighth of an inch short. It has fallen to the
:03:43. > :03:48.backhand. Just a draw. He will chance offers own bowl. Very close
:03:49. > :04:12.to the jack. Not getting back in time.
:04:13. > :04:22.Don't tell me you have drawn another? Surely not. He has given
:04:23. > :04:32.Paul a problem. He certainly has. First-hand of the second set. Paul
:04:33. > :04:39.has decided to push into it. Controlled weight, very close. Good
:04:40. > :04:42.strike! He did well to get that. Just an inkling he would take his
:04:43. > :04:50.own bowl out. He has stayed within the confines of the ring. Impossible
:04:51. > :05:06.to play the backhand side. Not enough space now. A perfect view
:05:07. > :05:10.from the commentary box. He is six inches off the centre. Outside the
:05:11. > :05:13.line. This is close. He does not want to drift too much. I think that
:05:14. > :05:29.is a cave. -- OK. Same sort of shot for Paul Foster.
:05:30. > :05:36.He cannot afford to lose a bowl. This is why this shot makes it
:05:37. > :05:46.harder for Paul. Has to be high. Looking good. Second bowl was good
:05:47. > :06:13.under the circumstances. Probably what he has got, second bowl.
:06:14. > :06:21.Two boys wasting no time. Getting on the game. Certainly not affecting
:06:22. > :06:28.their performance? Both quick players. Mervyn, really quick, keeps
:06:29. > :06:33.draw in a way. Paul, also a quick player.
:06:34. > :06:59.Good again. Such a solid performance from Mervyn king. Really played well
:07:00. > :07:03.will stop played well all week. His game against Nicholas Brett was one
:07:04. > :07:22.of the best games I have seen on the portable rink. Good from Paul.
:07:23. > :07:35.Trying again. This is perfection. Wants to stay on the high side.
:07:36. > :07:38.Mervyn, what is going on? If one man is going to stop Mervyn king it is
:07:39. > :07:52.macro cheap. -- Paul Foster. He has got his own bowl. That was
:07:53. > :08:10.always the problem here. Always the risk.
:08:11. > :08:19.Paul will be taking with his third bowl. I would expect this to behind
:08:20. > :08:29.the jack. Slightly behind. Not very deep. Virtually on the T. Paul
:08:30. > :08:47.Foster has a choice. Does he draw in for third. Will it hold up? He will
:08:48. > :08:57.get one away. It has made it more difficult. He has a green bowl in
:08:58. > :09:00.position. One side of the head. Wants to give them something to work
:09:01. > :09:04.with. See where Mervyn goes with this. I think this will be another
:09:05. > :09:15.close bowl. Another one in there. He wants to
:09:16. > :09:21.get it in front with the jack. There is a deep green bowl. That is what
:09:22. > :09:25.Paul Foster will be wanting to move the jack to.
:09:26. > :09:36.There is the green wall I was thinking. Can Paul Foster it the
:09:37. > :09:43.green bowl onto the jack. He is three down. All matter of getting
:09:44. > :09:50.back. Very wide looking but it has the edge. And the jack. A good
:09:51. > :09:58.bonus. I did not think you could get the jack with the edge. It looks
:09:59. > :10:15.like two to Mervyn. Harder to tell when they are in the ditch. A drop
:10:16. > :10:25.of five or six inches. Three shots to Mervyn king. Paul Foster thought
:10:26. > :10:30.it was three shots. Not going to measure in the hope of anyone making
:10:31. > :10:36.a mistake. He knew there were three shots there.
:10:37. > :10:47.Almost a repeat of the first set. Mervyn king picked up a three at the
:10:48. > :11:11.first end. This time it is the second end.
:11:12. > :11:39.This is looking good. He puts his first one within a couple of inches
:11:40. > :12:01.of the jack. Mervyn king equally confident on the
:12:02. > :12:06.back and side. If this runs, he has drawn the shot. Just dropping short.
:12:07. > :12:16.-- backhand side. Paul will be looking for a backed up
:12:17. > :12:26.chair. Trying to get in control of this early on.
:12:27. > :12:47.Once again, Mervyn king starting to the draw. Knows he is drawing well
:12:48. > :12:57.enough. This is lacking pace. It is struggling. That will be a problem
:12:58. > :13:04.for his next delivery. Paul Foster, keeps roaring around the blindside.
:13:05. > :13:09.If he pops another one in has other two, Mervyn cannot see them because
:13:10. > :13:16.they are protected by the front red ones. Looking good for number three.
:13:17. > :13:19.Will it dropped? It is close. -- will it dropped? Do not think that
:13:20. > :13:35.one is counting. Only two. Keeping away from the white one,
:13:36. > :13:43.Sandy. Not using them at the moment. Most players like to save them up.
:13:44. > :13:52.Use them at the back end of the set. Mervyn, much be reached Jasmine --
:13:53. > :14:01.must be reaching this one. The last one was short. This one is short as
:14:02. > :14:06.well. It is not like him. Paul Foster played this on the backhand.
:14:07. > :14:12.Any touch on the jack, he could make four. I think we will see him
:14:13. > :14:23.playing the back and side. Any movement on the jack will be a four.
:14:24. > :14:30.That is what he is playing. This is all about weight. The line is good
:14:31. > :14:43.enough to come back. Here it comes. All the way in. He is OK. A really
:14:44. > :14:48.good three from Foster. Just when we thought Mervyn king was taking
:14:49. > :15:10.control. Paul Foster schools a three. -- scores.
:15:11. > :16:25.This is better. You might be attempted to run this. The green on
:16:26. > :16:33.the red has taken the two reds away. He has to be positive with this one.
:16:34. > :16:43.Mervyn king playing great once all the time. Giving full problems. You
:16:44. > :16:50.could certainly take that one away. He has got the green bowl here. Very
:16:51. > :17:05.valuable. If he wants a runner. Spotlight. Key bowl. Sticking to the
:17:06. > :17:15.draw. Already turned his back on this delivery. Looks like a
:17:16. > :17:17.backhand. Has been reluctant to play the heavy bowls, Paul Foster. There
:17:18. > :17:50.is room for it. This looks like number three going
:17:51. > :17:54.in. Got to be a backhand. Such a good player, the heavyweight.
:17:55. > :18:09.Surprised he has -- is not hitting this. He is attacking. Has to make
:18:10. > :18:14.the target will stop. That was a horrible result to go through the
:18:15. > :18:28.jack --. It touched the jack as well. Still three down.
:18:29. > :18:47.The crowd cheering his bowl as soon as it left a San. Playing -- his
:18:48. > :19:02.hand. Will he make it handy? Maybe not. You could put your mortgage on
:19:03. > :19:18.that one. I know you do not have a mortgage. The rest of us poor souls.
:19:19. > :19:42.It is very close to the fourth. The way Mervyn king is looking, they
:19:43. > :19:52.will come and measure this. This is a big measure here. Full heist is
:19:53. > :19:59.very important. The referee is using a box measure. Very secure. History
:20:00. > :20:09.of that goes back to the early 1,900 was first developed. A massive cheer
:20:10. > :20:22.for Mervyn king, the local hero in Norfolk full lock that is not too
:20:23. > :20:40.far away. Is that the big four? It gets Mervyn king to the final. A bit
:20:41. > :20:48.early yet. For ends to go. -- road four ends. You hit the target and
:20:49. > :21:20.hope that luck is on your side. He hit the target and got a bad result.
:21:21. > :21:32.Disappointment of the four put away. He has seen it all before. He is
:21:33. > :21:37.certainly capable, Paul Foster of getting his way back into the seat.
:21:38. > :22:07.Trying hard, needs to run. APPLAUSE. Getting encouragement from
:22:08. > :22:16.the crowd. Pushing for this to go all the way through. 20 of time.
:22:17. > :22:21.Plenty of time for Paul Foster. He schools one or two in this end, he
:22:22. > :22:31.is back in the banks. You feel as though Paul has to score at this
:22:32. > :22:45.end. Struggling for weight. Might still be two. You think there is one
:22:46. > :22:51.end Mervyn king might go off a little bit. Nothing within two or
:22:52. > :23:02.three inches. Paul Foster can lift up a three, he is back in it. This
:23:03. > :23:10.one needs to run. Not bad. Probably in. That is in. Mervyn king might
:23:11. > :23:20.decide to play his first weighted shot. Very close. He tends to favour
:23:21. > :23:28.his back and runner. A good case for one. If he moves on to the forehand,
:23:29. > :23:35.that is on the. He could draw short on it very easily. Trying to draw
:23:36. > :23:41.this. If anybody could draw it, he could. So tempting to play the
:23:42. > :23:43.backhand runner. Forehand is not easy when you move across to it.
:23:44. > :24:08.Trying very hard. APPLAUSE.. Against normal players, the white
:24:09. > :24:16.flag would have gone up by now. Look at this. He held onto it a single.
:24:17. > :24:21.Paul Foster, has a chance. Plant the bowl out, he could score a two or a
:24:22. > :24:28.three. He is in the area. All about connections. Did not make it. Three
:24:29. > :24:29.bowls, all around the jack. Paul Foster loses a single.
:24:30. > :24:54.Unbelievable. It was a wonderful escape from
:24:55. > :25:07.Mervyn king. How many players would have played that format -- forehand.
:25:08. > :25:19.A perfect draw. Could be a matchwinner. If he schools here. No
:25:20. > :25:27.way back. Turns his back on this one. Do not know what you are doing
:25:28. > :25:46.here, Mervyn. We will give him one bad bowl for the game.
:25:47. > :26:03.Once again, Foster in on the pro the jack. Poss -- still fighting hard.
:26:04. > :26:08.He will never give up. Paul Foster. Mervyn, there is the correction.
:26:09. > :26:29.Just dropped inside. A quick swimming pool. -- bowl.
:26:30. > :26:54.A slight correction needed by Mervyn king. Does not want to overplay it.
:26:55. > :26:56.It is close, David. If you slightly overplay it you do not get back to
:26:57. > :27:19.the centre rank in time. Shouts of come on, pull from the
:27:20. > :27:26.crowd. That was the Mervyn playing the draw shot now. I do not think
:27:27. > :27:38.anything will stop him playing the bowl shot. Goodness me. If he has
:27:39. > :27:42.perfect weight here, if he can draw offers own bowl, does not need it.
:27:43. > :27:56.It may not be shocked. Second is good. Absolutely nothing against
:27:57. > :28:02.Mervyn king. Losing this round. One read. He has done it again. This is
:28:03. > :28:10.brilliant. A hint of a smile from Mervyn king. When he plays against
:28:11. > :28:15.you like this, you feel like giving the game up. He has been absolutely
:28:16. > :28:21.brilliant. Paul Foster having a look. Needs to catch 's own short
:28:22. > :28:34.bowl into the head. Just going to drop away on that one. One more
:28:35. > :28:40.read. Paul Foster has not been at his best, he has not played badly.
:28:41. > :28:49.He has played well. But Mervyn king has been superb. Two ends to go.
:28:50. > :29:00.Paul Foster needs a three at this end. He knows it himself. Played
:29:01. > :29:06.well in this competition, Paul Foster. Played well to beat Alex
:29:07. > :29:22.Marshall will stop he is on the wrong end of Mervyn king at his very
:29:23. > :29:25.best. Difficult for anyone to play against Mervyn king the way he has
:29:26. > :29:34.been playing today. It is just as drawing. -- as drawing. He is the
:29:35. > :29:49.best draw bowler in the world. Paul Foster has a good round game. Makes
:29:50. > :29:52.him world number one. If his draw is on, like it is today, he's almost
:29:53. > :30:19.unbeatable. Comes in to protect the green bowl.
:30:20. > :30:26.This will be a mix-and-match job. Paul really needs to score seven
:30:27. > :30:30.shots over the next two ends. Anything short will really cancel
:30:31. > :30:38.out that opportunity. And there it is. There was the short bowl.
:30:39. > :30:43.Should be academic now. Paul realises that this is not going to
:30:44. > :30:48.be his day. Well, for wife Pamela at home, and
:30:49. > :30:52.the kids, he's had a good championship, Paul, but it's just
:30:53. > :31:15.sliding away a little bit. Just gonna slide off the front one.
:31:16. > :31:18.Well, the thing with Paul is he's very professional. He knows when
:31:19. > :31:24.things just haven't been going his way. Well, I would say you could
:31:25. > :31:27.almost shake Mervyn King's hand now. I don't think there's a three. I
:31:28. > :31:32.think Paul will just shake his hand here. He will walk up and have a
:31:33. > :31:38.look and see what it's like, see what the options are. There are no
:31:39. > :31:43.options. Exactly. Brilliant. He's got the bowl in his hands, which
:31:44. > :31:54.gives me the impression he's gonna shake his hand. He is. Very
:31:55. > :31:58.professional, with his good friend, Mervyn King, as well. Knew he
:31:59. > :32:02.couldn't make the three. Accepts the fact he's lost a double. My goodness
:32:03. > :32:11.me, what a performance by Mervyn King. They're on their feet. Family
:32:12. > :32:19.King and friends, all on their feet. Standing ovation for the man.
:32:20. > :32:24.So, Mervyn King, champion here in 2006, back in the final for the
:32:25. > :32:29.first time in seven years after a sensational performance against the
:32:30. > :32:37.man of Paul Foster's class. So, who will Mervyn play in the final? Will
:32:38. > :32:43.it be Darren Burnett much Scotland or Robert Paxton of England? We're
:32:44. > :32:50.joining it in the third set. Paxton is 4-1 ahead.
:32:51. > :32:56.Commentary from John Price alongside Corky.
:32:57. > :33:06.Asking the question of Robert now. He loves hisbounder.
:33:07. > :33:13.-- his backhander. First loose end of the match for Robert Paxton.
:33:14. > :33:18.Yeah. So, it's been a little bit typical of Robert. He's played
:33:19. > :33:23.really well against Andy Thomson. If we remember, he had two or three
:33:24. > :33:27.loose ends but gotta himself out of trouble in the last bowl. Great at
:33:28. > :33:28.recovering position. That's why he hasn't dropped anything, really. A
:33:29. > :33:53.little bit of pressure now. He's lining up on the forehand side.
:33:54. > :33:58.If he's pushed it out, he will stay wide.
:33:59. > :34:03.Just cannot push it out there, John. It will hold all day. Yeah. And
:34:04. > :34:06.Darren's gonna do some damage to that scoreboard. Pops this one in
:34:07. > :34:33.for a full count. Just pulled up short. Well, a good
:34:34. > :34:36.end for Darren Burnett, but he would be annoyed at himself for not making
:34:37. > :35:05.the last shot. Levels the scores. This is a relatively loose end for
:35:06. > :35:18.these two players. They started so well in this game.
:35:19. > :35:26.The wheels have come off a little bit with Robert here. Yes. He's
:35:27. > :35:31.suddenly starting to drop short. It can be very difficult to correct
:35:32. > :35:49.on occasions. If you overcorrect, normally.
:35:50. > :36:00.That's a lot better. Robert has gotta focus, get his
:36:01. > :36:14.concentration back and play a good bowl here.
:36:15. > :36:22.Second shot, it's not the worst. He's locked the red in as well, so
:36:23. > :36:24.that's good for Darren. But Robert will be quite happy to get the
:36:25. > :36:48.second there. Good line. Jufrt needs to drop back
:36:49. > :36:54.-- just needs to drop back. He's got a good bias on it. Here it
:36:55. > :36:58.comes. He's just overplayed it. Both these players are sensibly using a
:36:59. > :37:08.strong bias bowl, which is what you need out there.
:37:09. > :37:15.When you see the debris right at the front, you can understand why.
:37:16. > :37:21.These bowls, given the opportunity to draw around the short stuff.
:37:22. > :37:27.APPLAUSE Stays up. It's good.
:37:28. > :37:37.Got the watch on it. There's a 30-second rule. Forward motion.
:37:38. > :37:40.If it drops away within 30 seconds...
:37:41. > :37:47.UMPIRE: One shot to Darren Burnett. And it dropped out, it did.
:37:48. > :37:52.Unlucky was Robert Paxton. He played it well.
:37:53. > :37:57.Always useful for the players to know the rules.
:37:58. > :38:06.I feel that people can get away with not knowing. But the umpires are
:38:07. > :38:09.always there to help out. Having said that. If the player had
:38:10. > :38:14.declared it, John, that was it. Yes. I mean, it looked like it was on the
:38:15. > :38:22.fall. Most players these days will give that 30 seconds.
:38:23. > :38:28.That's another good start for Darren. He's just picking his game
:38:29. > :38:36.up slowly here now. APPLAUSE
:38:37. > :38:52.It's very warm out there. He's carrying a cloth as well.
:38:53. > :38:59.It's new bowls, I think. It would be the same type and the same profile
:39:00. > :39:07.they normally use, but new bowls are very slippery.
:39:08. > :39:14.Well, in the first couple of ends, everything was falling into the
:39:15. > :39:17.jack. It's just started to fall out the other way, Dave. Small margins
:39:18. > :39:31.in the semifinals. This is good. This is very good.
:39:32. > :39:37.Sits back a little bit, away from the green bowl.
:39:38. > :39:43.I have known a few characters to take very mild sand paper to the
:39:44. > :39:50.bowls, just to rough them up a bit. Totally illegal, of course, because
:39:51. > :39:59.it ruins the consistent bias of the bowls.
:40:00. > :40:02.Yeah, they don't have much bowl tampering - is that what you call
:40:03. > :40:06.it, Dave? I don't think it makes much difference. The top guys
:40:07. > :40:15.wouldn't dream of doing things like that!
:40:16. > :40:22.This is good again from Darren. Filled the gap.
:40:23. > :40:27.Well, I don't think there's any choice here for Robert Paxton. He
:40:28. > :40:33.has to come into this. He could draw it, but it's a very difficult shot.
:40:34. > :40:35.Trying to make sure you're arriving, and you just go past.
:40:36. > :40:55.Yeah, I think he will attack this. Oh! It was bad enough getting the
:40:56. > :41:02.short bowl. But to come off it and take his own away!
:41:03. > :41:10.How's your choices here? I mean, he could go in, try and put a fourth
:41:11. > :41:14.bowl in there t alter the position slightly, or he could cover the
:41:15. > :41:19.back, the green bowl at the back. I'm not sure I would worry too much.
:41:20. > :41:25.He's got the spots covered, just pop another one in.
:41:26. > :41:31.The same forehand, Richard, he's going to go past the jack. A nice
:41:32. > :41:37.wide line, but his weight looks like it's closer to the jack.
:41:38. > :41:43.Now, he wants to be tight in beside it. Oh, no. Oh, dear. Well, you can
:41:44. > :41:48.see his reaction there. He's not happy, jack happy, Darren, with that
:41:49. > :41:53.one. Yes. I think he was just short of weight, to be truthful, John.
:41:54. > :41:57.He's left it as a wing bowl. He's now almost doubled the size of the
:41:58. > :42:05.target. It's just a little gap there, I feel. You know, I expect
:42:06. > :42:13.Robert to be closer than this. Down the line, he hasn't got the...
:42:14. > :42:16.He has. He used that wing bowl. The one that Darren Burnett left there
:42:17. > :42:25.and he's come out of it pretty well, by the looks of it.
:42:26. > :42:29.Two shots. All because Darren Burnett made a
:42:30. > :42:38.mistake with the last bowl. He will be kicking himself.
:42:39. > :42:46.Fine margins, indeed. Could easily have been an 8-4
:42:47. > :42:53.position, and now it's 6-5. Yeah. Massive turnover. It's also
:42:54. > :42:59.shrolingcal. I thought Robert was just starting -- psychological. I
:43:00. > :43:06.thought Robert was just starting to struggle a bit. He says, "Why did I
:43:07. > :43:12.play that" Short of weight, that was all. A slight mistake.
:43:13. > :43:17.But pu can't afford slight mistakes at this level.
:43:18. > :43:29.They will be punished. A big change of ends by Robert here.
:43:30. > :43:33.Not a good opener. He was sparkling, wasn't he, Robert,
:43:34. > :43:37.the first three ends. But he's sort of blown himself out a little bit.
:43:38. > :43:40.And Darren is certainly coming strongly with the first opening
:43:41. > :43:43.deliveries. Once again he's right in there with his first bowl.
:43:44. > :45:23.APPLAUSE It's just drifting past again.
:45:24. > :45:29.I don't think Robert will like this drive in the forehand. No back
:45:30. > :45:35.position. Try and draw it, keep it tight. Seventh end. He's one in
:45:36. > :45:40.front. Doesn't want to lose a big count.
:45:41. > :45:47.He's laid into this as well, I think, running through. Heavier than
:45:48. > :45:51.his last bowl. That yuans certainly not what he was
:45:52. > :45:55.playing. A chance here for Darren. It has to go down as a big spare
:45:56. > :46:09.shot opportunity. He's probably got a food all-rounder
:46:10. > :46:17.jack, so he's got a target of two feet to draw in to.
:46:18. > :46:25.No mistake with the last bowl. APPLAUSE
:46:26. > :46:31.Well, he's fallen back against the jack. It's still two. Two to Darren
:46:32. > :46:34.Burnett. Great last bowl, this. Nestles in against the jack. Good
:46:35. > :47:07.double. Robert started very well. Darren had
:47:08. > :47:09.the better of the second half. It's still anybody's game here, anybody's
:47:10. > :47:21.set. Well, as soon as Darren played that
:47:22. > :47:29.ball, he turned his back on it and walked away. I can understand why.
:47:30. > :47:39.Robert Paxton all the way for the first three ends. Darren Burnett was
:47:40. > :47:43.hanging in. Now it's changed, the last three or four rounds, towards
:47:44. > :47:47.Darren Burnett. APPLAUSE
:47:48. > :48:07.And it's been Robert hanging in. So, a topsy Turvey first set.
:48:08. > :48:14.Well, they played quite a short jack the last end. And then Darren's gone
:48:15. > :48:20.longer this end and he's not really adapted to it.
:48:21. > :48:29.Always a risk when you change at this stage in the set, David, alter
:48:30. > :48:33.the length. Just picked up a double. Two good first bowls. A little bit
:48:34. > :48:39.of a shoulder for Darren to reach to.
:48:40. > :48:43.Now, the big question here is just to push the bowl an extra metre or
:48:44. > :48:56.so, doesn't want to overcorrect. It will slide under. He doesn't want
:48:57. > :49:01.the jack. Just a slight touch. No damage done
:49:02. > :49:04.there. Was gonna push it between the green bowls. His own bowl has
:49:05. > :49:21.managed to stay up. Relieved to get that bowl in,
:49:22. > :49:29.Darren. Still a big chance for Robert, though. Time out.
:49:30. > :49:36.It's a critical part of the set. An important bowl.
:49:37. > :49:45.It's the sort of bowl you don't want to hurry.
:49:46. > :49:49.The right idea was to wait. I think Darren is gonna play the
:49:50. > :49:54.same bowl. He's gotta take that risk on the back position. He's gotta try
:49:55. > :50:01.and draw another one in the end. He could sit off one of those greens.
:50:02. > :50:05.Just noticed Brian going in and marking the bowl. He didn't want to
:50:06. > :50:08.go in before that, just in case anyone's watching. He would have
:50:09. > :50:13.declared that bowl a toucher when it was at the angle, and didn't want to
:50:14. > :50:20.go near it. Sometimes when you step close to a
:50:21. > :50:23.bowl it can just drop away. A good line in by Darren. Needs to
:50:24. > :50:27.run. Wants to get past the jack, doesn't
:50:28. > :50:30.want to touch it on that side. Again, it was will you please...oh,
:50:31. > :50:36.he got the double touch. Pushed it onto the green bowl and back to his
:50:37. > :50:42.own. Just got away with it. Could have easily have won, if not
:50:43. > :50:47.two, down then. Just stuck there. Hasn't fallen back, has it, Dave?
:50:48. > :50:52.So, that's a bonus. There's a smile from Darren Burnett. But he realised
:50:53. > :50:56.just how close that was. Had to play it, though. Even though it was
:50:57. > :51:00.dangerous, he had to play it, Dave. It's improved for him. It's a better
:51:01. > :51:04.end now than it was. It's a bit more difficult for Robert
:51:05. > :51:07.Paxton. He has to drop the weight he had with the third bowl and just try
:51:08. > :51:22.and drop in off his own. He's just over it. That was the
:51:23. > :51:27.problem. Perfect line. Well, Darren Burnett... ..for the first time,
:51:28. > :51:37.he's got a nice little gap of two shots into the last end.
:51:38. > :51:42.It will be interesting to see how they play this last end. Darren
:51:43. > :51:50.Burnett will be consolidating. He will try and close it out.
:51:51. > :51:56.A big, big crowd here at Potters Leisure Resort. They love the
:51:57. > :51:59.semifinals. Well, having said that, John, on
:52:00. > :52:04.Friday, quarterfinal day, it's always the one we enjoy the most, in
:52:05. > :52:09.many ways. But having... You know, when you look at the whole
:52:10. > :52:13.programme, 2.5 weeks, this place has been jammed. Yeah. They know they're
:52:14. > :52:17.getting value for money. A lot of very, very good matches during the
:52:18. > :52:22.whole period, even during the earl yerp rounds we had some crackers --
:52:23. > :52:27.earlier rounds we had some crackers. So, it's a great championship. These
:52:28. > :52:32.two players have never won this. They would certainly love to get it
:52:33. > :52:38.on their CV. It's the biggest tournament of the year.
:52:39. > :52:40.Robert needs this good opener. He's delivered.
:52:41. > :53:05.APPLAUSE Some courage in this bowl. But it
:53:06. > :53:08.looks good. APPLAUSE
:53:09. > :53:24.No sign of nerves yet. He's a calm guy. No stress on a
:53:25. > :53:28.Saturday night, playing a semifinal here. This is easy for him. Well,
:53:29. > :53:32.he's gone chasing Robert with that bowl. You can see, once you miss
:53:33. > :53:35.your line - it stayed on the green, though. By staying on, it's actually
:53:36. > :53:58.quite useful. Oh, he's very wide. He's going for
:53:59. > :54:03.recovery. I'm a little bit surprised at this. It looks to me like that
:54:04. > :54:08.red bowl can be pushed out. He must think that Robert's gonna
:54:09. > :54:13.play with a bit more weight and dispush it on to the spot, where
:54:14. > :54:18.he's -- disturb it on to the spot, where he's very good. I think Robert
:54:19. > :54:23.will go with it. If he gets the red clean, solid, hopefully he will
:54:24. > :54:29.stay. The other option is to get the jack right through to the back of
:54:30. > :54:36.the rink. Controlled weight. He's certainly close with this. A
:54:37. > :54:40.lot better. It's all on the angles. If he gets off the red bowl, he's
:54:41. > :54:43.good. Yep. That brought him back into the jack again. A little bit
:54:44. > :54:45.lucky. APPLAUSE
:54:46. > :54:48.I don't know about that. I think that was always there. A little shot
:54:49. > :54:52.back off with that controlled weight. I think he played it well.
:54:53. > :54:55.You can see it coming down. He knew he went under, he always had the
:54:56. > :54:59.chance of that, David, and set up a good position. Darren's got a few
:55:00. > :55:02.problems here now. It's a percentage shot, John, I think it's fair to
:55:03. > :55:09.say. But a very good result in the end, because he was looking for the
:55:10. > :55:13.bowl clean. But wisely didn't go too wide out
:55:14. > :55:17.and played with good weight. He's in a bit of bother here, Darren. Looks
:55:18. > :55:25.like drawing a forehand, to me, on to the green bowl to the left side.
:55:26. > :55:30.Well, I'm not sure again. He likes this backhand in this direction. I
:55:31. > :55:39.would be tempted to try and draw a very good second on the backhand.
:55:40. > :55:43.The backhand, if he touches his own bowl...
:55:44. > :55:48.If he's on the backhand, he has to be very careful with this.
:55:49. > :55:55.It's a good line. Just about the weight now. He's in the area.
:55:56. > :55:59.This is a good bowl. This is a very good bowl. Oh, that's well played.
:56:00. > :56:03.That's really well played. Yep. Got the touch on the bowl and stayed
:56:04. > :56:10.there. As you say, John, it's all down to personal choice in the end.
:56:11. > :56:13.That does make it difficult for Robert, because he's gotta play this
:56:14. > :56:28.with a very controlled weight. Can't afford to move the jack too far.
:56:29. > :56:32.Yes. But it is on. Look - he's got to back-bowl very deep. He has to
:56:33. > :56:36.judge the bowl on the jack to run all the way through. But if he just
:56:37. > :56:42.touches it - the other option - he brings this bowl into play. If he
:56:43. > :56:46.can move the jack down to this sort of position. Not easy, I have to
:56:47. > :56:50.say. He's got different options available. But to be truthful with
:56:51. > :56:54.you, John, actually, the deep option looks good to me. Of the problem is,
:56:55. > :56:58.he's gotta gamble. If he hit the green solid into the jack, push it
:56:59. > :57:01.all the way through, he's gotta hope his bowl will run the way through
:57:02. > :57:05.it. The other shot is such a delicate shot to control, he's gotta
:57:06. > :57:08.strike on the forehand. He could get the two reds as well with this
:57:09. > :57:14.strike. Yes. He's looking at the two reds. In the area. He's close,
:57:15. > :57:20.David. Very close. Well, it's gonna go through. There's the deep green
:57:21. > :57:26.bowl, but will this one stay on? No. Unlucky. That was the other option -
:57:27. > :57:34.go deep. He's gonna get a single on this.
:57:35. > :57:38.Darren Burnett gets a single. And Darren Burnett never let go of
:57:39. > :57:41.his grip of the match and took the second set comfortably to seal his
:57:42. > :57:45.spot in the final for the first time.
:57:46. > :57:48.So, here's the line-up of the 2014 World inn doors Bowls Open
:57:49. > :57:51.Championship - Darren Burnett against a man who produced a
:57:52. > :57:57.stunning performance in the semifinal today, Mervyn King.
:57:58. > :58:01.Tomorrow, BBC 2 at 2-thirty. We're nearly there. Just one more match
:58:02. > :58:06.before we find out who will be crowned king of the blue rink in
:58:07. > :58:10.2014. From all of us here at Potters, bye-bye.