Day 5 report

The final day of action at West Denton saw six top class singles matches with the Gents and Ladies Championship titles being decided

Gents Singles
The first semi final of the Gents Singles was a surprisingly one-sided affair with Connor Cinato (England) defeating Jack Breen (Wales) in straight sets.

Connor started strongly and scored a 2 and a 3 in the first two ends to take control of the set. Jack scored a 2 to try and wrestle some control back but two ends later Connor put the set out of Jack’s reach with a full house count of 4 to lead 11—2. A late fightback from Jack only made the final score look better with Connor winning 12-6.

Any hope the Welsh player had of Connor relenting in the second set was short lived as the current British Isles Champion ran six consecutive ends to lead 8-0 and be on the verge of the semi final. An attacking score of 2 for Jack in the seventh end gave him a glimmer of a chance but the two he scored in the eighth end was not enough for the match to continue.

The other semi final saw an all Scottish contest with Bradley Buchan playing Jason Banks. Bradley had been selected for the event from Bowls Scotland to represent the outdoor association and Jason qualified to represent the SIBA as the runner up in the Indoor National competition.

The semi final was a hugely close contest in the first set of the match and could have went any way.

Bradley competed well with John and was drawing as well as Jason. In the early part of the contest. Five singles for Bradley and a 3 and a 2 for Jason saw the match level at 5 shots all after 7 ends. Jason then secured two doubles to edge the first set and put himself in the driving seat.

The first end of the second set proved crucial and with a good result for a running bowl for Jason and a fail from Bradley as he drew to the edge of the ditch, Jason secured a full house count of four. He managed to maintain the lead and when he scored a three to take a 10-1 lead after six ends it was only a matter of time before Jason would take his rightful place in the final.

The final of the Gents Singles saw the auld enemy clash with Scotland and England battling for glory.

Jason scored a one at the first end before Connor scored a 2 to take the lead. This though was to be the only time he was ahead in the whole match. Jason scored three singles to lead 4-2 and Connor narrowed the gap to 3-4 after 6 ends. A crucial score of three in the seventh end saw Jason take a four shot lead into the eight end and he scored a one to secure the set with an end to spare.

The second set started brilliantly for Jason scoring a 1, 2 and 4 to lead by 7 shots to nil after three ends. A 3 for Connor gave him some hope but three ends later Jason had built up a 10-5 lead after seven ends. Connor tired to secure the score in the next end to keep the match alive but only managed a one to lose the set by 10 shots to 6 and see Jason take the title by 2 sets to nil.

This is the 10th time Scotland has won the World Under 25 Gents Singles title and Jason joins the record books with Darren Burnett (4 times), Stewart Anderson (2 times), Wayne Hogg, Steven Allan and Martin Williamson as Scottish winners.

Ladies Singles
Both ladies semi finals went to a Tie Break with the winner of the second set in each match also winning the Tie Break.

Tongan player Paris Baker has been causing revelations all week with the way she has adapted to the West Denton carpet. In the semi final she played defending champion Nicole Rogers from England. The first set was evenly poised at three shots all after six ends before a 2 and a 1 for Nicole saw her lead 6-3 with two ends to play. Paris scored a one to force the set to a deciding end but Nicole managed to keep the score to one and win the set 6-4.

The second set saw Pairs start strongly as she scored a 2, 1, 1 to lead 4-0 and then then built up a 6-1 lead after 7 ends of. The next end saw Nicole take advantage of an unusually poor end from Paris to score a three and bring the score to 6-4. With Paris lying two excellent bowls Nicole tucked the jack to lie one. However Paris played a brilliant last bowl to score a one and lead 7-4 after 8 ends. She managed to complete the set with a score of 2 to win by 9 sets to 4 and push the match to a tiebreak.

Paris played two strong bowls to lie the shot in the Tiebreak end and forced Nicole into attacking with her third and fourth bowls. When her final drive on the backhand slipped tight it was the Tongan player who celebrated and booked her countries first ever World final in either the IIBC or World Bowls codes.

The other Ladies semi final was a brilliant match with almost nothing between the competitors.

Left hander Lauren Gowen has played some wonderful bowls all week and she started on fire in the semi final scoring a three in the very first end against Jessica Srisamruaybai (Australia). Scoring on two of next three ends saw the Welsh player lead 7-1 after 4 which she controlled to 9-3 after 7 ends. Jessica scored two doubles in the remaining ends of the set but it was only enough to lose the set 7-9.

The Welsh player started the second set well also and was 5-2 ahead after four ends. However the Australian looking for their first title since 2000 saw a chance when she scored three singles to level the set 5-5. A slightly fortunate bowl from Lauren took a one in the eighth end meaning Jessica required to score a two in the last end to force the match to a Tiebreak. Jessica played a strong final end and scored the two required without playing her last bowl.

In the Tiebreak end Jessica played two excellent lead bowls near the jack to force the pressure on Lauren and when the Welsh player remained high with her last bowl it was a win for Australia and another World Bowls final for one of the powerhouse nations of the World.

The Ladies final saw the two form players of the wek meet in the final with Paris Baker (Tonga) and Jessica Srisamruaybai (Australia) meeting for the title.

Jessica had a great start to the first set and scored a 3 and a 1 to lead 4-0 after two ends before Paris scored a three to get a foot hold in the match. A four for Jessica pushed her clear in the first set and she led by 9 shots to 5 playing the eight end. A one for Jessica was enough to win the set and put her in the controlling position.

The second set was close after four ends with Paris ;eading 3-2 after four ends. A two for Paris in the fifth end saw her build a lead that she managed to hold onto leading 6-3 after seven ends and then exchanging ones to see out the set by 7 shots to 4 and force the match into a tiebreak.

The tiebreak end saw Paris take the jack and throw a near full length jack and then put her first bowl within eighteen inches of the jack. Her second bowl was even better and put Paris in the driving set to win the title. Jessica then tried to move the jack through to her back bowls with both her third bowls and fourth bowls. Her third bowl was fractionally high and her fourth bowl drifted tight.

The victory for Paris was very special and for a Development nation of World Bowls it is their first ever World Champion and helped lift Tonga to the top of the medal table.

Gents Singles -
Semi Final Results
Connor Cinato (England) beat Jack Breen (Wales) 12-6, 8-4
Jason Banks (Scotland) beat Bradley Buchan (Scotland) 9-5, 11-1

Final Result
Jason Banks (Scotland) beat Connor Cinato (England) 8-3, 10-6

Ladies Singles
Semi Final Results
Jessica Srisamruaybai (Australia) beat Lauren Gowen (Wales) 7-9, 7-6, 1-0
Paris Baker (Tonga) beat Nicole Rogers (England) 4-6, 9-4, 1-0

Final Result
Paris Baker (Tonga) beat Jessica Srisamruaybai (Australia) 5-10, 7-4, 1-0


Medal Table
Tonga – 1 Gold, 1 Silver
Scotland - 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
Ireland - 1 Gold
Wales - 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Australia – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
England - 1 Silver, 1 Bronze


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