CRANBOURNE bowlers began their finals campaign in great style, overcoming a determined Heathmont to win the quarter-final by 22 shots.
Torrential rain on Saturday washed out play after 33 ends with the Waverley Golf green flooded.
The match was re-scheduled for Sunday with Cranbourne leading overall by 17 shots.
On the resumption of play, Heathmont fought back on two rinks to give them a fighting chance as they cut the Cranbourne lead to seven shots after 55 ends.
The rink of Max Eames, Andrew Brock, Jim Konston and Mike Whittaker put down some brilliant bowls and went to a big lead on their rink to give Cranbourne the upper hand.
Ken McLeod’s rink with Des Conroy, Jesus Carretero and Wally Munroe took some time to settle, but they then took charge again to provide stability to the side and re-establish the Cranbourne lead to 20 shots after 80 ends.
Tom Bonney’s rink of Allan Dennis, George Morrow and Kev Eldridge fought back well with some excellent bowling to snatch a slender lead going into the final ends.
Dick St Ruth’s rink of Phil Bibby, Harold Andison and Kevin Gilhooly also finished well over the final ends to lose narrowly, but played their part in the overall win.
Cranbourne was well served by the splendid bowling of skips Max Eames and Ken McLeod with special mention for the consistent Jesus Carretero, but it took a special team effort from all players to achieve victory.
Scores: Cranbourne 101 d Heathmont 79. M. Eames 30-9, K. McLeod 30-22, T. Bonney 22-25, R. St Ruth 18-23.
This week’s semi-finals are – Division four: Cranbourne v Melbourne Cricket Club at Glen Waverley, 1pm start.
Division seven: Cranbourne v Glen Eira/McKinnon at a venue to be named. 1pm start.