Bruce and Denise Lidbury continued their dominance of the Tuross Head Mixed Pairs Championship taking out their fourth consecutive final! In the final they played Fran O’Connell and Marcel Kors who went into the match full of confidence on the back of a couple of excellent wins while the Lidbury’s had not been at their best.
Above: Mixed Pairs Champions Denise and Bruce Lidbury
The early ends of the game proved a struggle for all four players as they found the conditions tricky. A combination of a swirling wind and a green that had been affected by rare overnight frost, made it very hard for the players to adjust. However, the pattern for the game was established in this period with Bruce Lidbury quickly into his stride and he was able to continually put pressure on his opponents.
By the 10th end the Lidbury’s had established a good 12 – 4 lead. Unfortunately, O’Connell and Kors could not reproduce their form of the previous matches. They were a little off the mark and found that even good shots did not reap the rewards they were hoping for. As always, Denise Lidbury played a couple of crucial bowls when they were needed. On the 11th end she played one where she trailed the jack to turn a 2 shot deficit into 3 shots for her team. Another 4 shots on the 13th end virtually sealed the win when the margin stretched to 19 – 4. O’Connell and Kors plugged away but it was not their day. The final score saw the Lidburys win b 26 – 8.
The win is a credit to both Bruce and Denise who consistently play well and combine well together. In this particular game Bruce was the chief destroyer. He put on a master class of lead bowling and always had bowls in the head. Well done to O’Connell and Kors who had a great Championship but just found the final hurdle to tough!
