Sam Tolchard moved smoothly towards a shot at the World Champion of Champions title by claiming two further wins on the fourth day of the Wellington-based event.
The top three in each section of the Men’s competition progress to the post-qualifying section, and Kings Torquay and Devon-based Sam is well placed to be involved in the closing stages.
He currently lies in second place in Section One behind home favourite Kelvin Scott after claiming seven wins from eight starts to date.
Sam’s day four opened with a tight win over Cypriut Billy Nicholls (13-3, 5-7, 2-1) in a contest which went to a tie-break end.
He followed this by storming through the second set while claiming an 8-8, 15-3 success against Cecil Alexander from the Falkland Isles.
Section Two is being dominated by Australia’s Lee Schraner and Kevin James of Wales who like Scott both remain unbeaten after eight outings.
The final stages which take place on Thursday and Friday are being broadcast on the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel.
Men:
Section 1:
Round 10: Kushal Pillay (FIJ) bt Edwin Nyoka (BOT) 7-7 11-4, Gordon White (SCO) bt Trevor Gow (NFI) 9-5 8.3, Matt Mercer (ZAM) bt Cecil Alexander (FLK) 11-5 8-9 5-0, Gary McCloy (IRE) bt Anthony Loh (SIN) 6-10 16-5 4-0.
Round 11: Sam Tolchard (ENG) bt Billy Nicholls (CYP) 13-3 5-7 2-1, Iva Lealaiauloto (SAM) bt Niksa Benguric (RSA) 11-5 10-7, McCloy bt Mercer 9-4 10-6, Kelvin Scott (NZL) bt Loh 7-5 8-4.
Round 12: Benguric bt Steve Williams (GUE) 8-5 14-5, Pillay bt Nicholls 6-7 12-5 4-2, Scott bt White 5-12 8-7 5-0, Lealaiauloto bt Nyoka 10-5 8-7, Tolchard bt Alexander 8-8 15-3.
Table: Scott 24 points +12 sets, Tolchard 21 +11, McCloy 18 +7, Gow 18 +4, White 15 +10, Benguric 15 +5, Pillay 15 Sq, Lealaiauloto 15 Sq, Loh 12 Sq, Alexander 6 Sq, Mercer 6 -6, Nicholls 6 -6, Williams 6 -10, Nyoka 3 -72.
Section 2:
Table: Schraner 24 points +12 sets, James 24 +9, Aperau 18 +6, Dzulkeple 15 +7, Davis 15 +5, Leong 15 +2, Cheung 12 +3, Herbert 12 +2, Tafatu 9 Sq, Waelti 9 -3, Pavelka 9 -4, Krahenbuhl 9 -6, Bäckgren 6 -7, Amar 3 -10.
Stef Branfield claimed an eye-catching win over title-chasing Aussie Carla Krizanic on Day Four, but after then suffering the tightest of defeats at the hands of Botswana’s Marea Modutlwa her qualification prospects are slim.
The top six go through to the final stages and Stef currently lies in joint tenth position with three wins from eight games.
The Clevedon and Somerset star claimed the prized scalp of previously-unbeaten Krizanic by winning the first set 10-9 then after trailing 0-8 in the second set recovered to 6-9 before a three left the set tied to deliver victory.
The first set of her clash with Modutlwa was also tied before the Botswanan turned the tables by clinching the match with an 8-7 success in the second.
Krizanic, who has two Commonwealth Games and two world championship gold medals in her bulging trophy cabinet, remains in pole position alongside New Zealand’s Tayla Bruce.
Women:
Round 10: Petal Jones (NFI) bt Anne Nunes (USA) 6-5 6-10 2-1, Mel Thomas (WAL) bt Ain Tarmizi (MAS) 10-3 2-14 5-0, Daphne Arthur-Almond (FLK) bt Nooroa Mataio (CKI) 7-7 8-8 5-0.
Round 11: Stef Branfield (ENG) bt Carla Krizanic (AUS) 10-9 9-9, Tarmizi bt Nunes 8-5 6-10 2-1, Esmé Haley (RSA) bt Elly Dolieslager (NED) 10-7 12-4, Tayla Bruce (NZL) bt Thomas 6-6 10-7, Marea Modutlwa (BOT) bt Jennifer McClure (IRE) 6-5 16-1, Diana Viljoen (NAM) bt Jones 12-2 6-7 5-0.
Round 12: McClure bt Dolieslager 11-7 6-8 6-0, Krizanic bt Mataio 7-5 8-8, Modutlwa bt Branfield 9-9 8-7.
Table: Krizanic 21 points +10 sets, Bruce 21 +9, Nunes 18 +8, Tarmizi 18 +5, Thomas 18 +5, Modutlwa 15 +3, Haley 15 -3, Jones 12 +4, Viljoen 12 -2, McClure 9 -2, Arthur-Almond 9 -2, Dolieslager 9 -2, Branfield 9 -4, Mataio 6 -3.