The final of the Central Highlands men’s triples was alive until the very last bowl was played on the Kyneton green last Wednesday.
Two unbeaten sectional winners from Kyneton and Lancefield contested the final, and as anticipated the contest over 18 ends was close throughout.
On their home green, Jimmy Cooper, Darren Edmondson and Mark Smoljo (s) led 6-2 early, before Lancefield’s Phil Shaw, Michael Linehan and Aaron Young (s) fought back to lead narrowly.
After 14 ends it was still anyone’s game, with the standard of bowls going up. Successive dead ends by the respective skippers prolonged proceedings. The Kyneton trio held multiple shots only to see Young draw shot on the 17th end, and then play the shot of the match when two down to drag the jack 2.5 metres to end up close to Shaw’s first bowl.
Smoljo’s final bowl was brave and on line but just rolled through, with Lancefield securing a 15-13 victory.
Congratulating both teams before medal presentations, CHBD director Sue Holmes described the match as “a very riveting game of bowls”.
