2023 World Bowls Championships - Day Three Round Up

Scotland continued their strong progress at the 2023 World Bowls Championships, with five of the seven disciplines qualifying for tomorrow’s knockout stages after recording nine wins from 11 matches on day three.

Our Para Women’s Pairs team of Rosemary Lenton and Pauline Wilson had already secured their qualification for the semi-finals before their last group match against Australia. Despite a spirited display, they narrowly lost out 11-15 to the home nation and finished third in their section. They now take on the Aussies once again in tomorrow’s last four encounter and will be looking to avenge today’s defeat.

Danny Porter and Garry Brown agonisingly missed out on qualification in the Para Men’s Pairs despite defeating New Zealand in their final group match. The Scots were on top form throughout the contest and Garry Brown played a heroic last bowl to win the match but unfortunately to no avail as they missed out on qualifying by 6 shots. A great effort from both players to bounce back and win their final three group games after losing their opening two matches.

Melanie Inness (with Director, George Miller) and Robert Barr (with Director, Sarah Jane Ewing) had the pressure of a must win final group match against England to secure their qualification. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallists used all their experience and came up trumps with an 11-7 victory when it mattered most. Scotland now face Australia in the Para Visually Impaired Mixed Pairs semi-final tomorrow which has the makings of a thrilling contest.

In the Women’s Singles, Emma McIntyre unfortunately bowed out at the group stage despite winning seven of her nine matches in Section 2. Her day began with a resilient 21-19 win over Cook Islands and then a narrow 15-21 defeat to current Women’s World Indoor Singles champion, Katherine Rednall from England. Emma bounced back in the right manner and produced one of her best performances to beat Gloria Ha of Hong Kong 21-8. There are a lot of positives to take from Emma’s group matches into the Women’s Pairs next week when she teams up with Claire Anderson.

Carla Banks, Claire Anderson, Stacey McDougall and Caroline Brown faced a tough assignment in Cook Islands in their final must win group match. The Cook Islands put up a stubborn display but thankfully it was the Scottish quartet that prevailed as 13-9 victors. This crucial win was enough to ensure the Scots finished top of Section 4 in the Women’s Fours and they now take on Canada in their quarter-final tomorrow.

The pairing of Jason Banks and Iain McLean finished off their group matches in style by delivering yet another three victories on day three to advance from Section 4 of the Men’s Pairs with a 100% record. Banks and McLean now come up against the Australian pair of Aaron Teys and Aaron Wilson in what is sure to be a mouth-watering quarter-final.

Paul Foster MBE, Derek Oliver and Alex Marshall MBE had the luxury of already qualifying for the knockout stages as section winners before their final group match against Macao. However, the trio kept up their impressive form and recorded yet another commanding 22-10 victory. The Scots will now take on Thailand in their quarter-final tomorrow.

A full breakdown of Scotland’s scores from day three can be found below. Keep up to date with all the results from the 2023 World Bowls Championships here: https://results.bowlslink.com.au/event/676867aa-a209-4339-a5c4-0b50eab54ae2

Session 1 – 11.30pm (BST):

• Group Match 7/9: Women’s Singles – Emma McIntyre beat Cook Islands 21-19
• Group Match 7/7: Women’s Fours – Carla Banks, Claire Anderson, Stacey McDougall & Caroline Brown beat Cook Islands 13-9
• Group Match 7/9: Men’s Pairs – Jason Banks & Iain McLean beat Falkland Islands 39-11
• Group Match 7/7: Men’s Triples – Paul Foster MBE, Derek Oliver & Alex Marshall MBE beat Macao 22-10

Session 2 – 2.30am (BST):

• Group Match 5/5: Para Men’s Pairs – Danny Porter & Garry Brown beat New Zealand 18-17
• Group Match 8/9: Women’s Singles – Emma McIntyre lost to England 15-21
• Group Match 8/9: Men’s Pairs – Jason Banks & Iain McLean beat Israel 23-12

Session 3 – 5.45am (BST):

• Group Match 5/5: Para Women’s Pairs – Rosemary Lenton & Pauline Wilson lost to Australia 11-15
• Group Match 5/5: Para Visually Impaired Mixed Pairs - Melanie Inness (with Director, George Miller) & Robert Barr (with Director, Sarah Jane Ewing) beat England 11-7
• Group Match 9/9: Women’s Singles – Emma McIntyre beat Hong Kong 21-8
• Group Match 9/9: Men’s Pairs – Jason Banks & Iain McLean beat Niue 22-12