Benoni Lake Club bowlers finish nationals on a high

No one would have been more pleased with Benoni Lake Club veteran bowlers Wilma Richardson and Cherry-Anne Mills facing each other in the Bowls SA (BSA) masters veteran ladies final at Wingate Park in Pretoria on February 9, than the bowlers themselves.

“It would have been quite something. We’ve achieved so much together,” said Richardson.

Mills added, “We are friends, clubmates, pairs partners and are very competitive. It would have been great.”

In the end, it wasn’t to be as Richardson fell short in the last match of her section after losing to group winner Heather Pembroke 21-12 to end the competition with a bronze medal.

But Mills avenged Richardson when she humbled Pembroke with a dominant 21-13 in the final to end her fairytale run with her first national title.

Invincible

It was the third time lucky for the hardworking and consistent former Boksburg Bowling Club member whose collection only missed a national gold.

“It was very emotional. My friend came on the green and gave me a big hug. I just dropped down a little bit because I’ve a silver and bronze and now I’ve got a gold,” she said.

Reflecting on her undefeated run in the competition, Mills was delighted with how it panned out despite most of her matches being close encounters.

She defeated Pam Cole-Cook 21-20 in her opening match before outsmarting Lyn Lambert 21-17. She beat Linda Caspel 21-18 in another tight match and overcame Sue Tarr 21-17 in her fourth match.

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She made it a clean sweep with a 21-12 victory over Elmarè le Gras to top her section before overwhelming Pembroke in the final.

“I was happy in my heart that I managed to prove that I was worthy of being selected. It’s the top 12 ladies in the country and my record has been good over the years. In the final. I went bowl for bowl and tried my best. It worked out for me. I was emotional and proud that I eventually got a gold,” Mills said.

Happy return for Richardson

Disappointed after being left out of last year’s EKB team, Richardson, who has won the masters district title seven times and the national masters gold in 2020, went into the competition eager to make a mark and she did so from the onset.

She overwhelmed Nola Warner 21-12 before outsmarting Sandy Smart 21-19. She beat Jenny Jones 21-18 in her third match and overpowered Christine Marais 21-11 but the wheels came off when she lost to Pembroke in her final group game.

“It was extremely competitive. It’s the cream of the crop, the top players in the country. I was disappointed after being left out last year. I got a silver in last year’s provincials, which helped me to be selected this year,” she said.

Next up for the bowlers is the BSA Open Delivery Inter-districts in Cape Town next month.

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