It was a relieved Mark Dawes who managed to get over the finishing line against 21 year old Scottish young gun Darren Weir to take his berth in the 2nd Round of the ‘Just’ World Indoor Singles Championship earlier today.
Blackpool based Dawes, who won this title in 2018 didn’t get things easy against the his North of the Border counterpart who was making his debut in this event, and there was very little to separate both players.
Indeed the Englishman took advantage of a slack last bowl from Weir on the last end of the opening set where he counted a double to tie the set at 7-7.
Perhaps that slip up was preying on Weir’s mind in the early exchanges in the second set which saw him fall behind 6-0 after just three ends. However to his credit, he rolled in a treble and a double to cut the deficit to 6-5 to keep himself in contention and although the players both scored on two of the remaining four ends, Weir’s were single counts whilst Dawes got home with a single and double to seal the result
“I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. I know Darren from the International Series and have watched him play, so knew what to expect. I never doubted that he would cause me some troubles.
“My first bowls are usually my strength but I know that I haven’t been nailing it in my last few games and that left me in a bit of trouble at times.
“I managed to pinch a draw in the first set ’cause Darren’s last bowl was short and that was a massive bonus for me”.
While a dejected Weir said “We both played well – both drawing and running shots. Being a former holder of this title Mark showed his experience. Of course I’m disappointed about my last bowl in the first set. I came up short and he took his chance but overall I was more than happy with my performance and learned from the experience”.
Mark now lines up in his 2nd Round match against Mervyn King on Tuesday 19th January.
“JUST” WORLD OPEN SINGLES
RESULTS
Mark Dawes (Eng) bt Darren Weir (Scot) 7-7, 9-7
Reported by Anne Dunwoodie (WBT Press Officer)