On the first day of the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic, our Aviva England squad showcased competitive performances in the singles. Matches were straight-knockout comprising two sets of seven ends with a three end tiebreak, if required.

In the Men’s Singles, Harry Goodwin had a challenging start in the first round but managed to secure a victory against Brandon Szeto. However, he faced defeat in the second round, losing to Lee Ka Ho. Tom McGuinness started his campaign with a convincing 2-0 win against Liu Guo Qiang but encountered a challenging second round, losing 0.5-1.5 to Gary Prunty.

In the Women’s Singles, Nicole Rogers faced a tight match in the first round but lost 1-2 to Ada Lam in a close encounter. Harriet had a positive start, securing a 2-0 victory against Sharon Kuok in the first round. However, her run in the competition was halted after losing to Helen Cheung in the second round.

Men’s Singles

Harry Goodwin

Round One | Won 2-1 versus Brandon Szeto (HKCC) | 6-7, 10-4, 4-0
Round Two | Lost 0-2 versus Lee Ka Ho (LBA) | 4-8, 6-7

Tom McGuinness

Round One | Won 2-0 versus Liu Guo Qiang (ZGMBC) | 11-1, 10-5
Round Two | Lost 0.5-1.5 versus Gary Prunty (Scotland) | 4-4, 5-8

Women’s Singles

Nicole Rogers

Round One | Lost 1-2 versus Ada Lam (CLBC) | 4-7, 6-3, 1-4

Harriet Stevens

Round One | Won 2-0 versus Sharon Kuok (ILBC)| 6-5, 7-1
Round Two | Lost 0-2 versus Helen Cheung (CCC) | 3-6, 4-7

Our Aviva England squad were back in action with the first set of matches in the Classic Pairs event.

In the Men’s Pairs, Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin bounced back to win the second set against New Zealand to claim 2 points in their first match. They followed that up with a 4-2 win on points against Ireland, helped by a strong score in the first set. They currently sit ninth in Group A.

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens enjoyed two wins as they began their Women’s Pairs campaign. The pair beat New Zealand in scintillating style before coming out on top against Wales in their second match. Those results put them second behind leaders Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC).

Tomorrow, both sets of pairs will play three more group matches.

Men’s Pairs

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin

Lost 2-4 (points) / 15-21 (shots) versus Craig Tinker and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (New Zealand) | 6-13, 9-8
Won 4-2 (points) / 17-15 (shots) versus Adam McKeown and Mark Wilson (Ireland) | 13-5, 4-10

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Won 6-0 (points) / 23-13 (shots) versus Selina Goddard and Briar Atkinson (New Zealand)| 12-5, 11-8
Won 4-2 (points) / 17-13 (shots) versus Hannah Williams and Alis Butten (Wales) | 7-8, 10-5

The Classic Pairs event continued in Hong Kong. Our Men’s and Women’s pairings had a busy day with three matches each.

In the Men’s Pairs, three brilliant victories have seen Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin surge to the top of Group A. They came through today’s matches without conceding a set to claim top spot, just ahead of New Zealand.

It was a narrow defeat for Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens in their first game of the day. However, they soon found their rhythm and secured two important wins to maintain second place in Group C. They are now just one point behind leaders Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC).

Action at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic will resume on Thursday as competitors enjoy a rest day tomorrow.

Men’s Pairs

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin

Won 6-0 (points) / 23-12 (shots) versus Wilbert Leung and Vincent Chow (CdeR) | 13-7, 10-5
Won 6-0 (points) / 24-14 (shots) versus James Cheng and George Law (TKOBC) | 12-7, 12-7
Won 6-0 (points) / 19-10 (shots) versus Ye Sui Ying and Zhang Xing Yang (ZGMBC) | 10-6, 9-4

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Lost 1-5 (points) / 10-14 (shots) versus Jenny Miu and Audrey Han (TKOBC) | 6-6, 4-8
Won 6-0 (points) / 17-14 (shots) versus Joanne Leung and Eva Kwok (ILBC) | 7-6, 10-8
Won 6-0 (points) / 23-8 (shots) versus Andrea Leung and Sindy Lee (KBGC) | 11-4, 12-4

Our Men’s and Women’s pairings returned refreshed after a rest day and keen to continue their strong starts to the Classic Pairs.

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin picked up a resounding win in their first game of the day. They then faced a heavy loss in the final set of their second match. The result means they have dropped to second in the table, behind New Zealand, but remain in a good position to reach the semi-finals on Saturday.

In the Women’s Pairs, Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens claimed impressive wins in both of their matches. That has helped climb to the top spot in Group C and are seven points ahead of The Philippines in second.

The push for semi-finals spots continues with three matches in the Classic Pairs tomorrow.

Men’s Pairs

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin

Won 6-0 (points) / 28-5 (shots) versus Sean Chan and Milo Lai  (HKPBC) | 17-2, 11-3
Lost 2-4 (points) / 9-19 (shots) versus Jordi Lo and Imen Tang (CCC) | 6-3, 3-16

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Won 6-0 (points) / 19-14 (shots) versus Candy Ng and Shandy Yu (CdeR) | 9-7, 10-7
Won 6-0 (points) / 24-8 (shots) versus Amy Chan and Ada Lam (CLBC) | 9-5, 15-3

It was into the business end of the Classic Pairs for our Aviva England players. Results at this stage were vital in ensuring progress to tomorrow’s semi-finals and play-offs. The top teams of each group will qualify for the semi-finals while the second and third placed teams will be drawn into the play-offs.

In their first game of the day, Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin were held to a draw and shared the points with Singapore. Despite drawing the first set against Thailand, the pair stormed to victory in the second set against Thailand. They then navigated their way to taking the majority of the points against the Philippines. Tom and Harry remain in second place in Group A, four points behind new leaders Ireland and two points ahead of New Zealand in third.

Up against Singapore, Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens faced a narrow defeat in their first game of the day. They then secured two emphatic wins against India and the Philippines. Nicole and Harriet are now six points clear at the top of Group C and in a very good position to qualify for the semi-finals tomorrow.

The penultimate day of the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic sees one final group match, before play-offs and semi-finals. Finals of the Classic Pairs take place on Sunday.

Men’s Pairs

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin

Drew 3-3 (points) / 19-19 (shots) versus Bernard Foo and Anthony Loh (Singapore) | 17-7, 2-12
Won 5-1 (points) / 17-9 (shots) versus Wattana Kadkhunthod and Thanakrit Thammasam (Thailand) | 6-6, 11-3
Won 4-2 (points) / 14-12 (shots) versus Rodel Labayo and Elmer Abatayo (Philippines) | 11-3, 3-9

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Lost 2-4 (points) / 13-16 (shots) versus Ai Lin Cheo and Sarah Ho (Singapore) | 4-8, 9-8
Won 6-0 (points) / 37-8 (shots) versus Manu Pal and Bongita Hajarika (India) | 13-2, 24-6
Won 6-0 (points) / 26-7 (shots) versus Marisa Baronda and Rosita Bradborn (Philippines) | 16-3, 10-4

Our Aviva England played out their final group matches today before heading into play-off and semi-final action.

In the Men’s Pairs, Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin took their eighth round-robin victory in their last group match. They finished second in Group A on 50 points with Ireland first (54 points) and New Zealand third (44 points).

The second place finish saw Tom and Harry progress to the play-offs where they were drawn against New Zealand.

Their captivating campaign in the Men’s Pairs came to an end in the play-offs as the pair were defeated in straight sets against New Zealand duo Craig Tinker and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley.

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens were up against Hong Kong Football Club in their final group match. They struck back from losing the first set to win 4-2 on points and seal top spot in Group C, where they finished eight points clear on 53. Second place went to Hong Kong Football Club (45 points) and New Zealand finished third (42 points).

Finishing in first meant that Nicole and Harriet qualified straight through to the semi-finals. South Africa progressed from the play-offs to face the English pair.

In a thrilling contest, the first set went to Nicole and Harriet by four shots. Desmarie Rosenblatt and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg clawed back into the game though by taking the second set by one shot, taking the game to a tiebreak.

The English pair held their nerve in the tiebreak set, pipping South Africa by two shots to one and claim a brilliant victory. They now proceed to tomorrow’s final where they will face Scotland. They are represented by Rachel Sinclair and Dee Hogan, who beat Wales in the other semi-final.

The final day of the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic concludes with the Women’s and Men’s Classic Pairs finals. Both matches will be livestreamed by the Lawn Bowls Association of Hong Kong, China – details can be found here.

Women’s Classic Pairs final – England v Scotland (2.00am GMT)

Men’s Classic Pairs final – New Zealand v Malaysia (6.00am GMT)

Men’s Pairs

Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin

Won 6-0 (points) / 21-8 (shots) versus Benson Fung and Calvin Chan (IRC) | 13-4, 8-4
Play-off | Lost 0-2 (sets) versus Craig Tinker and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (New Zealand) | 4-13, 6-16

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Won 4-2 (points) / 19-14 (shots) versus Rita Shek and Eva Yu (HKFC) | 8-10, 11-4
Semi-final | Won 2-1 (sets) versus Desmarie Rosenblatt and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg (South Africa) | 8-4, 5-6, 2-1

It was the final day of the 2023 Hong Kong International Bowls Classic with England in the final of the Classic Women’s Pairs.

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens faced Scotland’s Dee Hoggan and Rachel Sinclair, battling to be crowned Classic Pairs champions.

The initial five ends of the match saw England assert their mark on the match, establishing a commanding 6-1 lead. Scotland displayed resilience and narrowed the gap to 7-3 after eight ends.

The turning point occurred in the final end of the first set when England faced a challenging moment, dropping six shots and ultimately losing the set 9-7 to Scotland.

The second set witnessed Scotland seizing the early advantage and leading 6-3 after five ends.

Nicole and Harriet, determined to make amends, rallied and scored three crucial shots, levelling the set at 6-6.

The battle continued as Scotland regained the lead, reaching a 9-7 advantage heading into the last end.

In a thrilling conclusion, Nicole and Harriet had both drawn a shot each. Harriet’s final bowl almost secured three shots to take the final to a tie-break set but it narrowly missed out on a measure.

They settled for two shots, resulting in a 9-9 draw for the set and Dee Hoggan and Rachel Sinclair becoming the Women’s Pairs champions.

It was not the ending that Nicole and Harriet were hoping for but they can be proud of the amazing run that they had in the competition.

In the Men’s Pairs final, Malaysia beat New Zealand in straight sets to become the victors in the men’s event.

Women’s Pairs

Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens

Final | Lost 0.5-1.5 (sets) versus Dee Hoggan and Rachel Sinclair (Scotland) | 8-4, 7-9, 9-9