2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships: Day Five wrap
Australia will contest for two gold medals on the final day of the 2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships at the Warilla Bowls and Recreational Club after an action packed Thursday.
Right at Home Jackaroo Aron Sherriff will be involved in both of those after yet another scintillating set of performances saw him progress to the men’s singles decider, as well as the mixed pairs gold medal match with his national teammate Kelsey Cottrell.
Sherriff’s singles campaign kicked off with a round of 16 matchup against Jersey’s Malcolm de Sousa who emerged with a 4-3 lead after a quartet of ends before the Queenslander wrestled back momentum to clinch a tight 7-5 6-4 win to progress to the quarterfinals.
Waiting for him was two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Wales’ Daniel Salmon, who stunned the Australian fans by securing the final three ends of the opening stanza to turn a 2-4 deficit into a 7-4 victory.
Sherriff clicked into gear in the second however, racing away with an 8-2 scoreline to force a one-end shootout for a place in the final four.
Salmon possessed control of the end, holding shot until the very last bowl of the match, which Sherriff used to trail the jack and score a monumental win, stirring the plethora of fans watching on the sidelines.
His foe in the semis would be England’s Martin Puckett to ensue in a battle that will go down as one of the finest of the entire tournament.
The Queenslander managed to clinch a trio of singles in the final three ends of the opener to take it 8-5, before taking a 3-2 lead in the second, seemingly in control.
Puckett then turned up the heat, going bowl-for-bowl with the Australian as he managed to claw his way back into the contest and clinch a pulsating set 5-4 to force a tiebreak.
He would gain the ascendancy early in the deciding end, holding two before Sherriff played a millimetre perfect forehand to nestle close to the jack, to which Puckett had no reply and seeing the Australian through to the final against New Zealand’s Andrew Kelly.
Kelly overcame Scotland’s defending champion Michael Stepney after coming from behind and claiming the tiebreak.
In the mixed pairs, Sherriff and Cottrell picked up where they left off from Monday’s quarterfinal by emerging victorious over Puckett and his English teammate Kirsty Hembrow with a ruthless 9-1 7-1 victory.
The Australians will take on Stepney and Julie Forrest after the Scottish duo overcame a mighty challenge from the husband-wife Guernsey combination of Ian and Alison Merrien MBE with a 4-3 3-8 1-0 salutation thanks to a brilliant final bowl from Stepney.
Meanwhile, Cottrell’s women’s singles campaign came to an end in the round of 16, falling 4-4 5-6 to Wales’ Amy Williams.
The women’s final will see New Zealand’s Katelyn Inch meet defending champion Forrest for gold.
View all of the results HERE
The World Bowls Indoor Championships runs until Friday, May 12, at the Warilla Bowls & Recreation Club, and the final day will be live streamed on World Bowls’ Facebook page from 10am AEST.
