Hallett suffers singles Cliff fall (From Dorset Echo)

Hallett suffers singles Cliff fall

9:30am Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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Dorchester’S Annette Hallett was just four shots away from completing a remarkable national double after missing out on the Blue Rib-and national singles title at Kempston Indoor Bowls Club, Bedfordshire.

Hallett won the Champion of Champions event last year and spent months winning through regional qualifying events to get to the finals of the competition that all British-based women bowlers want to win, the Blue Riband singles.

She defeated some high-quality opposition to win through another three rounds, but just slipped to a narrow 21-17 loss at the hands of Bromsgrove’s Gillian Cliff.

Hallett began her campaign with a tough match against established international Katherine Hawes, from the Oxford & District Club, who is a regular qualifier for national finals events.

If Hawes thought she was in for a comfortable passage to the next round, she was very much mistaken as Hallett opened up a 4-0 lead, before increasing it to 14-5.

A count of four shots got Hawes back in the game, but Hallett found her rhythm again to cruise through to the last eight with a score of 21-13.

The county town bowler’s quarter-final clash with Hampshire under-25 international Claire Spreadbury, of Lodden Vale, started badly but quickly turned around as Hallett reversed a 3-0 scoreline to lead 10-5.

Spreadbury regained the lead with six unanswered shots, only for Hallett to steal the advantage straight back and score 11 of the last 14 shots to win 21-14.

Lorraine Kuhler, from the Adur Club in Sussex, had stormed into the semi-finals with blistering performances but it was all Hallett in the early stages as the Dorchester bowler stormed 8-0 in front.

However, Kuhler staged a remarkable comeback to level at 12-12 and then go in front at 16-13. But Hallett scored five answered shots to regain the lead, and one she did not surrender in scraping through, 21-17.

Anticipating another top-drawer performance in the final, the Dorset supporters were happy to see Hallett post an opening three shots in her usual unhurried style against a nervous-looking Cliff.

The Bromsgrove bowler had already eliminated some high calibre opponents – including internationals Jamie Lee Winch and Amy Stanton in the local stages – en-route to the final and showed her class by overcoming her nerves to lead 7-3.

Hallett managed a two to keep in contention, but Cliff began to impose herself on the game and looked strong at 16-10 as Hallett failed to reproduce her immaculate line and length of previous games.

Despite her below-par performance, Hallett’s sheer will to win took over and she forced herself back into the game, trailing 19-17.

But the Dorchester woman’s dream evaporated when the chance of a winning single for 19-18 disappeared agonisingly when a close measure gave the vital two shots to Cliff, whose 21-17 victory means she will now represent England in the British Isles Champ-ionships later in the season.