Birkbeck and Wakari clubmate Kieran Fleury won the New Zealand Pathways pairs title at the indoor green at Invercargill on Monday. It was the first national title won by a Wakari team since the club was formed in 1909.
They won four of their five games to finish with eight points and were followed by Mark and Dave Stevenson (Hawkes Bay) 6 (plus 28) and Dan Dickison and Shaun Haynes (Okaihau, Far North) 6 (plus 14).
Birkbeck had an operation on his right arm to remove a benign tumour six weeks ago and did not know if he would be able to play in the national final.
''I must thank my orthopaedic surgeon, Simon McMahon, who operated on my arm to get me to play in it,'' he said. He had surgery on his arm between the shoulder and the elbow to remove the tumour wrapped around the main nerve that made it difficult for him to play bowls.
''It was still quite dead underneath the arm and the surgeon said it would take time to recover,'' Birkbeck said.
''But it didn't affect my bowling action.''
He asked the surgeon if he could play in the nationals.
''He looked at me sideways and said it would be touch and go,'' Birkbeck said.
''I needed the operation and when I had a booking, I couldn't say no.''
The Wakari bowlers had to win their final game against Robin Minnoch and Ray Boffa (Paraparaumu Beach) to claim the title. They won 17-8.
''We got off to a flier in that game and were up 11-0 after just four ends,'' Birkbeck said.
''We then played the board to the end.''
The Paraparaumu pair fought back and closed the gap to 11-7 before Birkbeck and Fleury put the finishing touches on their game and won comfortably.
Their only loss was 19-14 to Kevin Maxfield and Graham Skellern (Tauranga South), in the third round.
Birkbeck (48), the owner of NJB Locksmiths, started playing bowls for the Roslyn Club as a 15-year-old, when he was a pupil at Otago Boys' High School. He has won eight Bowls Dunedin titles.
When he found himself getting stale he took a break from the game and came back refreshed four years ago and has added three more Dunedin centre titles to take his tally to eight.
''Everyone needs a break,'' Birkbeck said.
''Playing bowls for a number of years without a break is like working for years and not taking a holiday.''
Fleury (38), the manager of a plumbing business, has been playing bowls for 17 years and has won two Bowls Dunedin titles. The national title was special to both bowlers and to the Wakari club.
