Day 3 World Indoor Bowls Championships

COMMENTATOR: Has he got the plant?

He has!

Just got it away in time. There it

goes, and now where is the green

bowl? And look at the red bowl!

He has come here, the first round,

under difficult personal

circumstances, and he has won his

first match. What a week it has been

at Buchli Crow so far. Two trophies

already won. Two more up for grabs.

So far, the quarterfinalist that we

know of Art Darren Burnett, Mark

Dawes and Mark Royal. In the bottom

half, we were still waiting for our

first quarterfinalist, with the

likes of Stewart Anderson and Greg

Harlow still alive. Nicky Brett and

Mervyn King start our evening.

Commentary comes from John Price and

David Corkill.

COMMENTATOR: That is a loose one

from Nick.

Short of length.

APPLAUSE

14 ends played in this that so far,

hasn't had any more than a double.

Most players have benefited from two

of those, but all the rest of the

time, it has been singles. It really

reflects the standard of play.

Good

adjustment there.

Shot back.

He hasn't played too many bowls on

that backhand. The wait was good,

just inside the line. I think Mervyn

has got to play this again, if he

gets just inside the red, author

jack.

I can see why he is playing

it, there is danger on the other

side.

A good chance on that forehand

to use the red to come back into the

jack.

It is on the draw, John. He

will want to draw to the jack and

tuck it in if he can, put it in to

there. It will be a heavy shot

required not to waste one. I say

that, there is danger if he gets to

the outside red one and touches it

down, the other red will drop for

the shot.

But I think at this stage,

you've got to try it, he is running

out of ends now. What a tracking

this is, if he has got it, he is

very close. It needs to bend now,

and that is unfortunate.

He is, he

has pushed that Red Bull closer. --

that

that red bowl.

Nick looking for the outside green

one. Touching the jack to his bowls

would be good, he doesn't want it

the other way, though. That has cost

him an extra, I think. He could be

two down our.

It is small margins,

and if it is two, that has been a

costly bowl.

If Nicky doesn't tie up this set,

that could be a pivotal moment. One

down wasn't a big disaster, two

gives Mervyn a real chance now.

He

was making a double, and if he had

flopped down on the jack, maybe even

three, that really would have killed

off the set.

It was similar for both

players on that end, they will both

the little unlucky. Salt in the

wound. Right in Mervyn.

Looking for the trip just to move

the green bowl away, that is a

little better.

Good place, that, by Mervyn, he

needed a bowl past.

It gives him a chance. He needed a

bowl there to play anything on the

third and fourth.

The back red bowl

would be absolutely perfect.

would be absolutely perfect.

Just

inside the line. A little chance

from Nick if he can get onto that

jack and spring it.

The drop-off for

that one, Mervyn with a little shake

of the head, there is no value to

that.

He is playing heavy, he is

attacking this! I could see the

reason why. If he had got the side

of that jack, all the momentum would

have gone through it onto the green

bowl, and it is quite possible that

wouldn't have moved too far. And if

it had and been on the re-spot, he

would have been very happy with

that. Interesting choice of shot.

Mirfin, one, two shots, if he gets

two, he still has to win the last

end. So this shot really doesn't

matter too much. He has worked that

out, that is why he is running over

to try and cover.

That is sensible

play, put a deep bowl in.

A lot of

people saying, he is two down, but

if he gets two, it is 6-6, he still

has to win.

has to win. He still has to get one

shot in the last end anyway.

He has

gone deep because he thinks Nicky

might run again. Playing with a

little more control this time,

Nicky.

Hard to get back for those

shots, really difficult, even for

the best.

the best. Well, at one stage, 6-1,

it was very much looking like we

were heading towards a tie-break.

6-5.

Nicky Brett will have the last bowl

on this end, so you would say it was

slightly to his advantage, but

sometimes it is better to have it as

well, and Mervyn has been playing

very well in this direction, finding

it on his backhand. Come off that

fence and commit, what do you think?

I still have a feeling we are going

to end up with a tie-break. It has

been that sort of game. That sort of

match where you just feel that both

players have been playing so well.

This is the first bowl he has played

in this direction for awhile. Now,

seize the day, Nicky. He needs a

good one.

He hasn't really taken advantage,

still there. Whoever gets to the

jack first here will have the

advantage. Pressure building on both

players. This is a lot better.

players. This is a lot better. And

no mistakes.

Correction made. Close,

but maybe not close enough.

He is not quite getting back, I just

wonder whether Nicky might be

tempted with the next bowl to chase

this, open it up.

I reckon he

thought that was good.

Mervyn think

so, he is going deep to gather the

spot.

The trouble is, you can

overcome so easily. The advantage of

getting the jack out in the open is

that Nicky has the last bowl, but

look at that re-spot position, only

six inches away from it.

That is the

problem now, he doesn't want to hit

it if he goes out on that side.

May be sticking with the draw. He is

going to play the forehand roar.

He

just wants to skirt past the front

green one, and he is very close with

this. Is he getting back? Man, that

was so close! And he has locked the

green bowl in. That is an absolutely

horrible results.

You can see this

length, just not quite getting the

drop, he is just overweight and not

getting the pool at the end. I would

have thought he would have bent,

even with a couple of feet of

weight.

Mervyn King is using the

time-out. Is he prepared to use it

again for the match lie?

He could

use the drawing line.

But then he

will go back for the shot, you

think, why on earth did I do that?

He is thinking, I will be feeling

exactly the same thing, if I go into

this, I could offer something easier

for Nick.

He is playing with the forehand,

which suggests he is trying to play

a block of.

He wants to be about a

foot wide of his previous short

bowl. That is pretty good. That is

really on the channel that Nick

would have been looking to come

down.

Probably still there. That is

the tension of the moment.

It is,

because Nick Brett is a big scalp to

take. And he is trying it again,

trying to come around the short

bowls.

He is trying it.

I don't

think he will get back around

Berrer. Once he did that, it was

never going to happen.

What a match,

what an absolutely brilliant game,

and Nick Brett, world number two,

eases his way out of this, and a

fantastic game, it really was.

Couldn't ask for anything better in

terms of the quality of play, Mervyn

King was in top form. We all thought

Mervyn King would come back every,

it didn't happen.

It was a great match Russell to

watch. Were you feeling good going

into it that you were able to

produce this high-quality

performance?

Probably not, to be

honest. It wasn't so enjoyable to be

out there! I know I have to play

well when I play Nick, because he

plays all the shots, and he showed

today, it is all about getting the

draw and going on, and hopefully

that works out.

So, Mervyn King,

winner in 2006 is through to the

quarterfinals once more. Up next,

the match between the defending

champion, Paul Foster, and Jason

Greenslade, who has failed to get

past the second round here at what

is in the last five years.

COMMENTATOR: A hard first round for

him, he got through it and I think

you will benefit from that. It is a

big task for Jason, but he is a very

talented guy himself, and we expect

a good match here.

APPLAUSE

Jason wearing the cap, most unusual,

but we have had a chat with him

about it, and he feels it is a

useful aid to his psychology of

playing the game at the moment.

Quite interesting, early in the game

he has gone fairly short with the

jack, something he didn't do in the

early stages of the last round.

But

he knows Jason, Jason likes the long

jack links, and usually Jason will

go automatically to 29 metres. Paul

usually waits to see how the set is

developing for he moves on to the

short jacks, but there is a certain

predictability when it comes to

Jason, where he wants to play,

especially at the start.

That is a great start by Paul.

Jason

quite often would try to drive that,

it is a single bowl target. Most

players just try and draw a very

good third bowl, or a close second.

Didn't go very quick at that, it was

a difficult weight to use.

It would

have been lucky if he had got the

short one into it. People who have

been in the game quite a while will

remember that these two had a

magnificent match at Preston Guild

the first year that Paul won the

championship. He drew to the jack,

Jason driving the jack of the rink.

Yes, back in 1998, it was. I then

had the pleasure of playing Paul in

November of that year and once

again, January, a couple of monthly

to.

He has slightly widened it. I

think he will go again?

It is a

wider target and he will go stiffer

this time.

He has got something.

Once again, we

have had a few of these jacks going

up the rink, but this one looks like

it has gone off the confines.

It he

could be lying three on the re-spot.

It is well off, so we will see

whether re-spot is. This is going to

take a rope. They go, Jason is going

to have a look.

Well, if the jack had stayed in, it

was two to Paul, the jack going out

on the re-spot, three to Jason.

Nine end sets, of course, three in

tie-break if needed. And the shot

clock is in play, 30 seconds after

the first bowl for a player to play

his bowl, with a number of time-outs

available.

That is a nice start, using the long

jack links, as predicted.

jack links, as predicted. Although

Jason is not using the straight

bowls that he is renowned for, he is

using the swinging bowl.

APPLAUSE

REFEREE:

Shot bowl is touching.

Dropping over the line, and that is

the seam line of the carpet. They

come in strips and are sewn

together. Of course, it has to be

horizontal. You couldn't have a

vertical line down the middle of the

rink, that wouldn't work.

He is on the wrong side, he doesn't

want to tap that too much. That is

OK.

OK.

Centre of the rink again,

picking the line-out on the longer

length.

Just that extra bit of weight

holding it. Probably would have got

back for second.

No reason to change, Jason, he has

got the good line on this side of

the rink.

APPLAUSE

That is in again. So, a bit of

pressure on Paul Foster here.

He is

going to take a look at this, see

where the bowl is positioned.

Well, the problem for Paul is, and

this is where the difficulty is, if

he does get into the jack and moves

it, and sticks on the green bowl,

even if he moves the jack into this

position, he will still be two or

three down. He might just have to

draw for the second shot. I don't

think there is any hit that is

guaranteed to make contact at the

front. There is a 3-way plant, but

he is playing the seam shot, only on

the backhand as a draw. He doesn't

want to get to the jack.

He would

like to sit off the side bowl, get

second.

He is close with this, it is

all on connections now. He doesn't

want the jack. That is what I was

saying about them doing it on the

forehand, he didn't want the jack,

he wanted the bowl, and as soon as

he hit it, he was going to lose

three, anyway.

He was very

unfortunate with this, nice weight,

a little bit of a wet at the end,

and that was the worst result he

could have had.

STUDIO: So Jason Greenslade went on

to take the first set and the

defending champion looked in

trouble. Widgery join the match in

the second set, -- we rejoin the

match in the second set, 4-4.

COMMENTATOR: Short jack length, and

he didn't look too happy about that

one.

APPLAUSE

That was decent.

Paul Foster playing a running bowl.

Two down, he's got it. It bounced

out. It is going to be on the

re-spot. That means there will be

some room all around it.

Francis Fletcher will look after

that.

Slight advantage to Jason. He has

two bowls. Paul will only have one.

That will not be close enough. It

depends where Paul puts this one.

It dropped out. It was a shot, and

then it twisted round. Paul Foster

would have expected to lose one.

That was unfortunate for him.

Interesting match. A lot of

conversion shots being played. A lot

of very good draws as well. Jason is

playing the best I have seen him

play for some time.

Probably for a

couple of years on this portable

rink.

I would say so.

Paul will be

disappointed. It wasn't a great

final delivery.

I get the impression that if Paul

Foster does manage to get over the

line in this match, he still has

some distance to go to get that

position, but he will build on it.

And there have not been too many

weaknesses for Jason in this game.

Jason has played some really good

bowls. Just needs to see it out now.

Those two bowls are so important.

Yes, there is a positivity about

Jason's game.

Jason's game. Is it going to touch

it? It nearly did. Imagine if it

had. That would have been a foot

away. Was he lucky or unlucky?

Well,

he hit the target. You deserve a bit

of luck when you strike well. Needed

just a feather on the jack. He would

have been in a good position in the

ditch. Now, as it stands, it's wide

open.

open.

You can hear the crowd murmur.

That's probably about seven feet

away.

Paul needs to make this. No

mistakes on this occasion.

mistakes on this occasion.

He has

got the shot.

got the shot. He has to be careful,

because he doesn't want to fall into

the ditch and give away a two.

Lead foot off the mat, still legal.

That is to hold the ball up as long

as possible before they start taking

the bend. He is there.

Very good.

It's so close to the red bowl. He is

going to have to draw it. Green is

third, which is dangerous.

He will

definitely have to draw this.

He has to give it a chance, John.

Hope to get the shot or rest the

jack. Can't afford to be short. It

is the line Trophy they are all

playing for. -- in the Langham

trophy.

He is chasing this match.

He needs to win, so he has to get

four shots to defend his title in

the next two ends.

That is not bad, John, but Jason

doesn't like short bowls. The get

out of jail card of the running bowl

just makes it more difficult for

him.

Good first delivery by Paul. Jason

is looking for one really good bowl

here.

Major problems now.

Still just about

possible for Paul to turn that away.

He has to play over the weight.

He has to play over the weight. What

does Jason do, play the backhand to

try and hide his own bowl with the

red bowl is? That is probably as

good a shot as any. Doesn't want to

leave a shoulder on the forehand.

I think Paul is going to have to

play a deliberate shot here. He is

going to have to try and shave

things on the forehand. He must make

a change. Even if he moves the green

bowl, the problem is that this bowl

is a nightmare for him. That is

blocking off the shot to get to the

jack to make the double that he

needs. But he is aware of the fact

that the match is lying against him

at the moment, so there is nothing

easy about this. I think he has to

take a risk and try and shave it. If

he gets to the edge and pushes it

out, he has got a chance.

On paper, that sounds good, what you

just said, Dave. But knowing the

hand, I feel it is more of a draw

shot to lift the green. If you can

get back to the jack, that is

brilliant.

The problem is that if he

plays just a draw shot, it is only

one and you have four in the last

end and that is really a no go.

end and that is really a no go. You

might as well shake hands in a game

like this. That is pretty good. That

is a very good position. I still

think he needs to try and play for

the edge of the bowl.

the edge of the bowl. He is going

underneath to try and get the edge.

Wow, this is a hard shot.

Needs a

bit of luck now.

It's off. It's all

over. That was a tough one for Paul

Foster. Just very difficult to get

out of that situation.

out of that situation. Obviously not

vintage Paul Foster, but my goodness

me, Jason Greenslade played very

well. Positivity about him today,

good body language, really good draw

shots, the occasional hits. But he

played very well. Like everything

else, it's not easy to defend your

title.

Paul, I guess that might be a

part of you that is glad it is over

and you can put this week behind

you?

Yes and no. I was feeling

focused today. To be honest, I

didn't have the best of starts, but

I thought I was unlucky. It

ricocheted about. That gave Jason

the momentum. I didn't think I

played that bad, to be honest. It

just wasn't for me today.

STUDIO: So

congratulations to Jason Greenslade,

who can at last look forward to a

quarterfinal at Potters. Now we

switch our attention to the ladies'

singles on the first of the

semifinals featured the defending

champion and two-time winner of this

title, Catherine read no and Leslie

Doig, who was part of the mixed

pairs winning team on Tuesday. We

doing this in the sixth end.

REFEREE: your last bowl was 18

inches.

Katherine will be looking to nail it

here.

Just not close enough. Lesley

has not really settled into a game

plan here.

I am not sure either of

them have. Katherine has had the

edge so far with the scoreline, but

it's not Katherine we know yet.

Lesley has played well in the mixed

pairs. She had a lot of consistency

in her play, but it has been a

struggle so far in the singles.

There have been occasional glimpses,

but it's been sporadic.

She's

shaking her head.

I think the

problem is, you know when you think

a bowl is close and ends up a yard

away, that is a concern.

It is

certainly disappointing when you

think it's a winner. This is better.

It's a loose three. It would be

difficult for Lesley to get back

from that position.

I don't think she is sure about

this. She grimaced when she let the

ball go. She knew she was heavy.

ball go. She knew she was heavy.

You

don't want to be dropping short on

ends like that. Got to give it a

chance, whatever happens.

STUDIO: So Katherine Rednall is in

control of the second, leading as we

rejoin it in the seventh end.

It's a brilliant start again. I feel

like I am running out of adjectives.

Well, you think about white flags

and those sorts of things. Custer 's

last stand.

She has just kept piling

the pressure on. The first set, she

played better than Lesley, but by

her standard, she was a bit scrappy,

Katherine. But she is like a

machine. Once she gets going, she is

mechanical.

There is not a lot Lesley can do

about this except soldier on.

about this except soldier on. There

is an inevitability about the

outcome.

Lesley has played some good

bowls, but unfortunately, Katherine

has just been a lot more consistent

overall.

Needs to be just a bit wider.

Close.

That is demoralising.

It's

hard work. You sort of know that

even when you hit it, the chances

are that you will be shot down. She

has been fighting a losing battle

for the last few ends. She is better

than what the scoreline shows, no

doubt about that.

Absolutely. But

the four from the first end set the

tone for this set.

A portable rink

really does take time and you have

to be here a lot of the time to know

how to play it.

how to play it. You need to come

back year after year in reality.

Some people play on this almost

every year for umpteen years and

still haven't grasped that.

Katherine is one of the ones that

has.

Come on, Lesley, get into this. Very

close this time.

close this time. Sometimes if you

lose a match by one shot, you can be

extremely disappointed. It just

wasn't Lesley Doig's day today. And

Katherine played well, particularly

in the second set. Turned up the

gears, picked up big counts on three

ends and it was always going to be a

situation of, could Lesley stay with

her? And it wasn't the case. So the

scoreline is going to look pretty

rough. But Lesley was chasing the

game in the second set.

You were on

the sort of form that makes you hard

to beat. How would you describe how

well you think you play today?

My

first bowl was really good. So I was

comfortable with any sort of length

I played going that way. I knew if I

could get there first, that gave me

a good chance of winning the end.

But I have played Lesley so many

times and it's always been so close.

I would go so far as to say she is

the best lead that I know. So she

outlived me in the mixed players

yesterday, so I knew I had to come

up with something special.

Katherine

Rednall through to the final for a

fourth time. Here is what happened

in the second semifinal.

It is all about correction here,

doesn't want to be too heavy. Needs

to drop.

to drop. Just in.

Close again.

She knew she was close. The bowl was

bending. Want to get onto the green

one. Any touch would have been

enough.

Now, has that dropped out? And it is

on the flat. That helps.

It's a strong fence. A lot of people

sit on the fence.

Well, if you're not 100% sure, just

say it's close.

say it's close. She has already

played an almost perfect bowl in the

previous delivery.

It didn't drift too much. Another

couple of inches, and it would have

been peeling away from the jack. I

still favour green.

I thought you

favoured red.

favoured red.

Well, the marker

favours the green. I still favour

the red. The more we do this, the

more I think I'm at home. You do

realise that, don't you?

Dangerous enough, this. No matter

what way you look at it, any touch

of a dead end is coming to the red

bowl. Any touch on the red bowl is a

problem.

Also, she can't afford to

measure... Oh, she has overplayed.

The marker's opinion is only that,

just an opinion.

I think we have all

made that mistake, but you just have

to play it how you see it.

I just

thought she would try and sneak up

with good weight, maybe drop a foot

short, even to get in the way of

something. Janice can afford to play

this.

She has played a good weight

on this end.

She could draw this.

Seemed to pick out a flatter line

there.

there. That touch is enough to make

a difference. When you get a touch

like that, it slides it across by a

quarter of an inch.

She had a lot of

weight on that bowl.

A lot more.

weight on that bowl.

A lot more. She

only had to hit its solid or half,

and it would have been enough.

That green bowl has definitely

moved, no doubt about it.

The markers are very good at these

events.

You did say you fancied both, so you

have covered yourself.

Well, you

have to cover yourself, but it is

one red.

It is very deceiving.

Janice played as if the shot was

against her. This is massive,

because one player then things,

well, I have got away with it. Well,

there you go. Hard to tell, but

that's the way it works. Rebecca

Field takes it 2-0. It must have

been very close on that measure.

Because he did check the other green

one as well. A good game, an

interesting game.

So it was the back

one that was the shot.

It appeared

to be. 11-4 on the first set. It was

Rebecca Field all the way.

She makes

her way to the final. STUDIO: So

Thursday's final will be between the

defending champion picture and

Rebecca Field, a repeat of the 2014

final. Join us on the red button

from 10am on Thursday for Les

Gillett against Robert Paxton. Then

we will be on BBC Two at 1pm for the

ladies' final and Scott Edwards

against Greg Harlow. It's been a

dramatic day here at Potters. One

defending champion, Paul Foster, is

out at the open singles, but

another, Katherine Rednall, is

through to the final of the ladies'

singles. From all of us here at

Potters, I buy. -- bye-bye.