Two former international cricketers have joined the Dunedin PBA branch and are expected to be dominant in events this winter.
Barry Milburn (73), who played test cricket for New Zealand in the late 1960s, started playing bowls in Queensland before returning to Dunedin last year.
Jan Hall (58), who captained Otago and played international cricket in the early 1980s, is in her third year of bowls and won her first Dunedin title in the open singles last summer.
They will both be making their PBA debut in the Scottish singles qualifying event at the Dunedin Bowls Stadium at the weekend.
They are two of the most prominent sportsmen to join the Dunedin PBA this winter.
Others include Dunedin’s Jonty Horwell (18), who won the New Zealand Kitty Hawk junior singles title this season, and Leo Brett (29), who won the same title 10 years ago.
Southland farmers Roger and Bronwyn Stevens, who played in the Southland events last year, have joined the Dunedin PBA this year.
The talented Ross Brown, who has won 12 Bowls Dunedin titles and was runner-up in the New Zealand singles in 1987, has rejoined the PBA.
The new PBA season starts this weekend with events at Pukekohe, New Plymouth, Hastings, Dunedin and Invercargill. There will be three regional events at the five venues this winter. The New Zealand PBA starts its 2017 domestic season with its highest membership since 2006. Dunedin’s Lawn Bowls Stadium will be at near maximum capacity when 55 bowlers battle to reach the national finals of the Scottish singles and the Shanghai singles.
The Scottish open singles qualifying event started last night and the final will be played tonight. It is followed by the Shanghai singles tomorrow and the ranking singles on Monday.
Six bowlers who have represented the New Zealand PBA in international events will be playing this weekend: Duane White, Ken Walker, Andy McLean, Andrew Kelly (Canterbury), Doug Thomas and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (Gore).Bagrie-Howley played for the New Zealand Development team in the Trans Tasman tests and missed the Scottish qualifying event but will be back for the Shanghai and ranking singles.
The big carrot is to win the national final in Wellington in September to qualify for the three big international events in the United Kingdom: the Scottish open at Perth in November, World Indoor Singles at Norfolk, England, in January 2018 and the International Open Singles at Blackpool, England, in February.
There is also the incentive to be ranked in the top five at the end of the year and be selected for next year’s Trans Tasman Challenge.
Key PBA eventsin 2017
• Scottish open singles qualifier and Shanghai singles (June 3-5).
• World indoor singles qualifier (July 29-30).
• International open singles qualifier (August 12-13).
• NZ finals, Wellington (September 8-10).
