2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships: Finals wrap
It was a golden day for Australia with the nation earning two gold medals on the concluding day of the 2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships at the Warilla Bowls and Recreational Club.
The morning commenced with Right at Home Jackaroos duo of Kelsey Cottrell and Aron Sherriff clinched a tight 5-4 6-5 victory over Scotland’s Julie Forrest and Michael Stepney in the mixed pairs decider, with Sherriff returning in the final session to claim the men’s singles title with a win over New Zealand’s Andrew Kelly.
Australia were on song from the outset and only trailed for a combined two ends for the entirety of the contest, winning six of their eight ends with scores of one.
Sherriff managed to get the better of Stepney in the battle of the skips in the opening stanza, with the battle of the leads proving tantalising as both Cottrell and Forrest set up each end to perfection.
The second saw Cottrell gain the ascendancy at the front end to see Australia claim a 6-3 buffer with and end to play, meaning that Scotland’s double on the final end would be inconsequential and the home nation would salute.
It was duo’s maiden World Bowls Indoor Championship gold medal, and the country’s first title in the mixed pairs discipline, while Cottrell made history becoming the first Australian female to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, World Bowls Championships and World Bowls Indoor Championships.
In the immediacy of her mixed defeat, Forrest was back on the green to become just the second woman to defend her singles title at the event by defeating New Zealand’s Katelyn Inch 6-5 2-8 1-0 in a pulsating encounter.
Sherriff would step onto the green for the concluding contest of the tournament, and both he and Andrew Kelly claimed scores of two to open proceedings before the Blackjack went on a rampage, racing out to an 8-3 lead with three ends to play.
Somehow, the Australian managed to find a way back, scoring seven from the final trio of ends to take the opening stanza 10-8, sending a huge body blow to his opponent.
Matters became worse for Kelly at the commencement of the second set, as the 37-year-old Queenslander secured a triple in the first end.
The New Zealander was undeterred however, storming home to again hold an 8-3 buffer with two to play, and this time holding on to force a shootout for the title.
Patterns established that holding the mat was vital throughout the pair of sets, but Kelly backed himself in the tiebreak after winning the toss, allowing Sherriff to set the length.
The Australian managed to gain control, with his opponent’s final delivery missing wide and Sherriff saluting with the gold medal, becoming the first player in the tournament’s history to emerge with gold in both singles and mixed pairs.
See below for the final medal positions at the 2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships:
Men’s singles:
Gold – Aron Sherriff (Australia)
Silver – Andrew Kelly (New Zealand)
Bronze – Martin Puckett (England) & Michael Stepney (Scotland)
Women’s singles:
Gold – Julie Forrest (Scotland)
Silver – Katelyn Inch (New Zealand)
Bronze – Amy Williams (Wales) & Nurul Alyani Jamil (Malaysia)
Mixed Pairs:
Gold – Kelsey Cottrell & Aron Sherriff (Australia)
Silver – Julie Forrest & Michael Stepney (Scotland)
Bronze – Kirsty Hembrow & Martin Puckett (England) – Alison Merrien MBE & Ian Merrien (Guernsey)
