January 25, 2012
ANTHONY PROVOST def STEVE WITHERS 25- 22
L/R: Steve Withers and Anthony Provost celebrating together after a brilliant display in the 2012 final of the State Singles
--------------------
The State Single final played at Sorrento was won by Anthony Provost who defeated Steve Withers 25 - 22 in a high standard game. The win delivered Anthony Provost his 4th State Singles win at the age of 28
A strong fishtailing breeze was blowing across the ground
and at times gusting making it hard for both players to bowl to a consistent line, not withstanding the temperature which was around 40 degrees
Anthony Provost was the favourite to win this game but no doubt the previous performances of Steve Withers was
so good that it was enough to cast doubt as to what the final result would be
Steve Withers was very fast out of the blocks picking the line and the pace of the green much quicker than Anthony Provost to establish a 7 - 0 lead.
It had AP on the back foot and it was his drives that got him out of trouble often as he started to reel in the deficit to level the scores at around 10-10 all
AP preferred long ends when he had the jack, while Steve Withers preferred medium length end. The game was played at a cracking pace and must say it is delight to watch a game when played in the manner these two played the game, no time wasting, no walking up and back to examine the head, (maybe twice in the whole game)
The game was all quality and the result remained in doubt all the way thru the contest.
When ever AP was in bother and that was often, he resorted to his drive power which was awesome, he rarely missed
and got some great results
Steve Wither was drawing better the AP over the course of the game but never achieved the results with his drives as AP had.
There was one bad end for Steve Withers, I am sure that if could have had that end back again he would have played it differently when he drove with three of his four bowls and missed with the all of them. That result of that end saw the scores level at 13-13.
The game came down to 23-22 in favour of AP who for the most part of the game relied heavily on his drive to keep him in the contest had finally found touch with his draw and this was what won him the game over the last few ends.
All in all it was a credit to Steve Withers to have come so close to winning the State Singles title with wonderful brand of bowls, his skill and determination in the extreme weather conditions showed he is made of the right stuff and a State berth could be his consolation prize for this performance.
Anthony Provost displayed once again that his class and skill are unmatched in singles play here in the West and was the deserved winner of the State Singles for 2012.
The Semi finals
Anthony Provost defeated Russell Bates 21-13 in a game that he dominated with better draw power and more efficient drive power.
Full credit to Russell Bates for the way he refused to give in when all seemed lost with some magnificent
get of jail bowls when AP seemingly was going to win the game. Russell kept hanging in there and made it hard for AP to get the one shot required for victory for a few ends near the end of the match.
Well done Russell Bates on your performance to have made it to the semi-final of the 2012 State Singles
Semi-final two
Steve Withers defeated Neil Stevens 21-20 in an outstanding game where both players were locked together for the whole match. Neither was able to establish a match winning break and they went bowl for bowl, tho at one stage Neville might have enjoyed a 4 shot advantage midway thru the game. Neville held game on a couple of occasions only to be thwarted by some great under severe pressure bowls from Steve Withers
Neville Stevens who is a previous Country Week Singles Champion had done a great job to make the semi- final after defeating John Goddard in a last 8 game.
I am sure Neville who is enjoying a very good pennant season would have been gutted to have lost the semi final by one shot. But the very high standard he displayed in this game will see him well in contention for the 2013 title
Ladies Final
The Ladies final was won by Bev Baker who defeated Liz West 25-20 in a very exciting game