Grant Shimmin BOWLS
If the World Bowls 2000 tournament, which draws to a close with the singles final at Marks Park, Johannesburg, tomorrow afternoon, has achieved one thing, it’s to dispel to the casual observer the image of the sport as “old man’s marbles”.
To the ardent follower, the presence of a healthy crop of youngsters in the ranks of the world’s best is not a new thing, but somehow the negative image has persisted beyond the fringes of the sport’s sizeable fraternity in our rugby- mad society. Anyone who had held that view prior to this event would have found a visit to Marks Park an eye-opener.
There, in the semi-finals of the men’s pairs, was 31-year-old Australian skip Mark Jacobsen virtually doing a victory dance, his peroxided hair shining in the sun, after drawing the shot with his final bowl of the 21st end. The teams had peeled at 17-all on the previous end and Jacobsen’s 25-year-old lead, Brett Duprez, sporting a matching bottle-blond hairdo, applauded and waited for the high-five. They seemed to have won a chance to add the World Bowls title to the Commonwealth Games crown won two years earlier.
Their joy was short-lived, however, as Scot Alex Marshall, a veritable veteran at 33, not only grabbed back the shot with his last bowl, but picked up a double for good measure. Marshall and 50- year-old lead George Sneddon went on to win gold medals in their game against South Africa.
“It’s a big lift for me, when people say they haven’t seen bowling like that in their lives,” said Marshall, whose pairs play drew regular exclamations of admiration.
“In 1992, I won the fours, the pairs and the overall title at Worthing in England, but I think I’ve played better here.”
The age spread of that semi-final indicates a potential for longevity of competitiveness only shared with golf, although Marshall, widely regarded at present as the world’s best bowler, reckons he may not be around for much longer.
“I basically go year by year; my wife and I are looking to start a family soon,” he said. “I’d like to play 2004,” he added, referring to the next tournament, to be held in Ayr, not all that far from his home in Tranent, outside Edinburgh.
It’s not a sport even the best can make a living off yet and time away from his job, conveniently with a bowls manufacturer, could become more difficult to get. “Even Tony Allcock and Richard Corsie haven’t been able to make a living from it,” Marshall said in reference to two of the game’s greats.
“I’ve got eight world titles [including last year’s world indoor singles] and I think the record is nine or 10. That’s my goal, to break that record.”