The Northern Cape Bowls (NCB) Mixed Pairs Championship was contested this past weekend at the Kimberley Town Bowling Club, with 16 top teams from across the province’s four sub-districts vying for the title and a coveted spot at the Bowls South Africa (BSA) Mixed Pairs, set to take place in Polokwane later this year.
After an intense round-robin format on Saturday, 14 June, four teams emerged as section winners to secure their places in the semifinals: CP Mathewson and Annelie Mathewson (Beaconsfield Park Bowling Green Club), Driaan van Niekerk and Letticia Sterley (Beaconsfield Park), Wihan and Orsiela Smit (Bloemhof), and Jurg and Louise Oosthuizen (Ammosal).
Driaan and Letticia, still riding high after their recent form in the Kimberley Sub-District Mixed Pairs, were clinical in their semifinal, dispatching the Oosthuizen team with relative ease to secure the first spot in the final.
The second semifinal proved to be a thrilling and emotional encounter. In a match filled with momentum shifts and brilliant play, the Mathewsons went head-to-head with the Smits in a tense mother-and-son showdown. With the score locked at 14-all after 20 ends, it was Wihan who played a brilliant shot to rest Annelie’s bowl out for the shot. CP narrowly missed reclaiming it, missing by just inches. With that, the defending champions were edged out, and Wihan and Orsiela advanced to the final.
The championship match did not disappoint. Wihan and Orsiela came out strong, building an early 8 – 2 lead. Driaan and Letticia slowly clawed their way back and at one point led 12 – 8. However, Wihan and Orsiela remained composed, delivering accurate and consistent bowls when it mattered most. In the end, they held on for a narrow 19 – 17 victory to be crowned Northern Cape Mixed Pairs Champions.
In the third and fourth place playoff, Jurg and Louise got the better of CP and Annelie, rounding off a competitive weekend of bowls.
Wihan and Orsiela will represent the NCB at the BSA Mixed Pairs later this year.
‘Bowling of high standard witnessed’
Braam van der Westhuizen, president of the NCB, says he witnessed bowling of a high standard. The teams were so close in the sections that it could have gone either way. The semis and finals were a close battle and with the quality of play on offer, the Northern Cape did not have to fall behind any province.
He says he does not know if this has happened in the past, but the four teams that went through to the play-off rounds consisted of two mothers and their sons – Osiela and Wihan Smit from Bloemhof and Annelie and CP Mathewson from Beaconsfield, and also the couple Jurg and Louise Oosthuizen from Ammasol.
Van der Westhuizen expresses his thanks and appreciation to everyone who worked hard to make it a success, especially the management and members of the Kimtown Club who officiated the tournament and all officials. He says the spectators showed up in numbers, which made it that much more enjoyable.
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