Bowls: Brassey to lead experienced team in national fours final

Veteran bowler Rowan Brassey will lead an experienced outfit against Andrew Kelly's youthful team in the final of the Hyundai National Open Championships fours final in Taranaki tomorrow.

Kelly, the defending champion from Canterbury, will be joined on the Paritutu Bowling Club green by former Black Jack Danny Delany, New Zealand Gold Star bowler Chris Le Lievre and 2010 NZ Open singles champion Raika Gregory.

Kelly's side was in superb form today (Tues) as they accounted for Graham Skellern 19-17 in their quarter-final and put on a dominating display against Taranaki favourite Brian Baldwin in the semi-final to win 16-8.

The final against six-time national fours champion Rowan Brassey is bound to be a lot more difficult, as was shown by the defeat of both Ali Forsyth's composite team (fours champions in 2011) and Richard Girvan's crack squad of fellow Black Jack Shannon McIlroy, multiple national title-holder Kevin Robinson and rising talent Lance Pascoe.

Skip Brassey, Beau Prideaux, Rodger Hassall and Brett Hassall bundled out Forsyth in the quarter-finals 20-7, dropping just five ends in a 16-end game, and then delivered a similarly definitive blow to Girvan's chances of a trophy shot, winning 16-9.

Both men's and women's fours finals will start at 9am.