HK Lawn Bowls 2-4-2 Pairs Semi-Final Completed Amid Poor Weather

A late surge in the last four ends in their Semi-final earned Hong Kong International Mercredi Yeung and her Kowloon Cricket Club team-mate Anna Hamet a place in the Final of the National 2-4-2 pairs.
HK Lawn Bowls 2-4-2 Pairs Semi-Final Completed Amid Poor Weather
4/2/2014
Updated:
4/2/2014

A late surge in the last four ends in their Semi-final earned Hong Kong International Mercredi Yeung and her Kowloon Cricket Club team-mate Anna Hamet a place in the Final of the National 2-4-2 pairs.

The competition, which is the last time that it will be considered as one of the ranking games for the Hong Kong team selection process, attracted 99 teams.

Yeung was originally partnered with ex-Hong Kong International Elizabeth Cormack, but she was replaced by Hamet at the resumed Quarter Finals due to a schedule conflict.

The duo played SF Chung and Daisy Yu from City Lawn Bowls Club in the Semi-final, which was lucky to go ahead as rainstorm was over Hong Kong throughout the weekend.

In a mostly overcast afternoon with the sunshine breaking through spontaneously, Chung and Yu started the game quite well, opened up a lead of 7:1 after just five ends and extended it to 16:4 on the 11th end.

Despite holding a commanding advantage, CLBC’s lead improperly delivered the jack and gifted the chance to Yeung, who moved the mat up to the middle of the rink and delivered a jack close to the edge of the ditch. The CLBC team was unable to adjust to the change of distance and lost six shots in this end.

With four ends to go and CLBC still leading 18:11. Yeung and Hamet started a fight-back and took six shots again in this end and cut the deficit to a single shot only.

Nerves bit into the CLBC team and they never recovered from the shock. Yeung’s team took the following three ends by three shots apiece and won the game 26:18.

Yeung attributed their success to the Hong Kong team training camp in Australia in February.

“When we were trailing in the game I just stayed focussed and repeated those drills I practised during the training,” she said. “I also used the tactics learned to change the game-plan and I am just delighted that it worked in our favour.”

The win finds Yeung and Hamet matched up in the Final against Anna Chan and Tiffany Law from Seabird Sports Club – both will be fighting for their first-ever National 2-4-2 title. The Final will be played at Craigengower Cricket Club in the afternoon of April 12.

An hour after the completion of the Semi-final on Sunday (March 30), thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind whipped through the territory. Hailstones the size of golfballs struck various parts of Hong Kong, shattering windows of major shopping malls, but luckily no casualties were recorded.

Meanwhile, for lawn bowls—which has been impacted by bad weather throughout the season – there were no reports of greens being damaged by the hailstorm.

Claudius Lam is an Officer with the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association.