BILLY Mellors has clinched the final qualifying spot for the World Indoor Bowls Championships, to be held in January at the Potters Resort, Norfolk, writes Matt Osborne.
Mellors, of Aberlady, was competing at West of Scotland Bowling Club at the weekend in the hope of grabbing the last remaining place in the 2024 championships.
He opened his qualifying campaign with a straight-sets win over world champion of champions bronze medallist Ryan Gualtieri.
Former Scotland captain Mellors, who announced his international retirement earlier this year, then dismissed Jamie Freeman via a tie-break before facing former world top-16 and home favourite Jonathan Ross.
Another straight-sets victory saw him into the semi-finals, where he faced Jamie Houston.
An impressive first-set performance looked like Mellors had one foot in the final; however, a string of one-bowl ends saw Houston claim the second set and force a tie-break.
After winning the toss, Mellors opted to keep the jack and set his preferred length.
It was a tactic that paid dividends as he delivered exceptional leading bowls to win 2-0 in the tie-break.
He advanced to the final to play another home player (Sam O’Donnell) for a place in the World Championships and the right to play top-16 player Jason Greenslade in the opening round on January 9.
A disastrous opening end saw Mellors lose a full count of four, an often-set-defining score in just a seven-end format.
But the experienced Mellors showed all his tactical nous to win the set 9-6 on the tricky rink.
The second set saw both players exchange single shots, with Mellors holding a one-shot advantage at the last end.
O’Donnell needed a trio to force the match into a tie-breaker, his second and third bowl effort falling agonisingly through the smallest of gaps.
He did make contact with his final effort but saw the jack roll towards a tactically placed Mellors cover bowl to see the match conclude in a 6-4 second-set win for the county man.
Mellors said: “To qualify at the first time of asking after a 20-year hiatus is extremely pleasing,
“Hopefully previous experience at both the event and venue can give me a chance to progress in the competition.’’
Alex Marshall has also been included in the draw for the Championships.
The six-time former winner features via a sponsors’ invite and will play a familiar opponent in Greg Harlow. The first-round tie takes place on January 11.
Meanwhile, it was success all round in the Scottish senior playdowns last week.
Both the ladies’ pairs and gents’ senior fours made full use of the home advantage as they qualified for the next stage in their respective competitions.
Mags Thomson and Janet Fairnie enjoyed an early-morning win over Bainfield (19-10) and they now take on Abbeyview for a place in the quarter-finals.
Lessel Middler, Dougie Berwick, Andy Burt and Tommy Young enjoyed a comfortable 24-10 win over Headwell before facing East Fife in the afternoon session.
The tie looked as if it would be a short-lived affair, with East Fife racing out to a 9-0 lead over the opening ends.
A crucial three got the East Lothian side motivated as they looked to mount a comeback.
The East Fife lead looked to have the better of Middler, giving the away side the platform to build end after end.
The end looked near as East Lothian slipped to 18-8 behind with three ends to play.
But a huge count of five gave the home side belief as they halved the deficit with two to play.
An unbelievable finish would ensue as they claimed a single followed by a four to force the game into an extra end (18-18) to the utter disbelief of the East Fife rink.
A nervy end resulted in the jack being moved to the ditch, skip Tommy Young drawing to the edge of the rink to win the game 19-18.
They now progress to play Bainfield for a place in the quarter-finals.
West Lothian Indoor Bowling Club hosts the next stage on January 21.
The focus now switches to the gents’ fours playdowns this weekend.
Jamie Higgins, Scott Kennedy, Billy Mellors and Derek Oliver will head to Midlothian in the gents’ national fours. They take on Balbardie in the opening session from 9.30am on Saturday.
Finally, the East Lothian ladies’ squad brought their league form into the Scottish Cup at the weekend.
A 7-3 win over Tweedbank was their latest result in an unbeaten start to the season.
Wins for Janet Fairnie, Beth Riva and a draw for Lauren Baillie-Whyte on the day were enough to see them progress to the second round, where they will meet Perth in January.
Venues are to be decided nearer the time.
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