19/12/2025
Somehow in the confusion of the closing days of the tournament we omitted to post our commentator and roving reporter Dom Picksley's Match day report on the Mixed Fours Final day.
Please accept our apologies for this omission but we thought it was still worth posting it for all those that took part!
MIXED FOURS FINALS DAY REPORT
Scotland B were left celebrating a second gold of the tournament after they proved too good for Australia A in a Mixed Cup final that lacked the wow factor that many people were expecting at the Constantinou Bros Athena Beach Hotel in Paphos.
A dominant display by the Scots – Mandy McFadzean, Margaret Armstrong, Alan Glendinning and Steven Lowther – had their opponents on the back foot from the off and the Chris Young-led Aussies never really landed a blow, always playing catch up after falling 5-0 behind early on.
Although they reduced the deficit to 6-4 after seven ends as they looked to claw their way back into the contest, the team in green – Young joined by Claire Sanders, Scott Chamberlain and Lisa Featherby – then only won another two ends as they eventually succumbed to a 14-8 defeat, with several Saltire flags being waved in celebration among the large contingent watching the action on rink 10.
Scotland B had earlier seen off Wales B 19-8 – with Wales A on the end of a 26-3 thumping by Australia A in the other semi-final, thus consigning both Welsh sides to a bronze medal. And for the Scots, what made their excellent achievement all the more remarkable is that the ladies in the winning four had never even met their male colleagues before the tournament, let alone played with them.
“I was not expecting a medal, definitely not,” admitted lead McFadzean. “We had never even met the guys before. We had only met Bobby (Jess) and Colin (Peacock), previously at Leamington Spa, but not Alan and Steven.
“Lorraine (Craig) picked the teams and they were fantastic to play with. They made you very relaxed.”
On the final itself, she added: “There were that many different roads on the rink and it was swinging quite a bit. They (the Australians) have got straighter bowls and I think it caught them out a bit.
“It’s been a great tournament – I have never experienced anything like this before.”
Australian skip Young was magnanimous in defeat adding: “It was the first game we had been put under pressure throughout the whole tournament and to be honest, apart from our leader, we all struggled with our weight on that green.
“All credit to the Scottish guys as the three and skip played some telling shots. When we built numbers they were clumped and when they tried to hit them, they hit very well. And we didn’t capitalise when presented with some opportunities.
“Scott and myself have played 18 games and only lost two, with one draw, and I thought we were very unlucky in those defeats. But we have really enjoyed ourselves.”
England D, made up of Des Sharp, Keith Wilson, Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden, saw off USA A 16-13 to land gold in the Mixed Plate competition after a final-end success in the rink 11 showpiece.
The American quartet of Martha Nilsen, Scottie Marzonie, Dee McSparran and Phil Dunn, had fought back from both 9-2 down and 13-6 behind – scoring seven shots across two ends – to tie the scores after 12 ends, but the English then scored three consecutive singles to bag the glory.
Earlier in the day, Holden’s team had seen off Norfolk Island B 18-14, while the USA had edged a thriller against a strong Ireland B side 14-13, although leading 14-10 going into the last end they very nearly dropped a four that would have seen the match go into a tie-break.
Last but not least, Isle of Man B claimed the spoils in the Mixed Bowl final, defeating Canada C 18-7 in a win they described as ‘our World Cup final’.
Manx lead Caroline Whitehead was joined by David Slack, Karen Slack and Clive McGreal, and there wasn’t a prouder team in Paphos as they gleefully celebrated a deserved gold medal after putting the Canadians to the sword in a one-sided final.
“We didn’t expect to win anything,” admitted Scottish-born David Slack. “Expectations were that if we could win half our games in the whole competition then that would be good. We went above and beyond that.
“I think quite importantly it will also give us some publicity back at home to try and advance the game a bit more.”
Karen Slack on there being three chances to win a medal in the Mixed Fours added: “It’s brilliant for the game as it encourages the little guys and give them something to aim for. “
Whitehead, who is also a crown green bowler, only played in the Mixed event, arriving halfway through the tournament and she said: “We played in the rain, the cold, but finally playing in the sunshine, I thought ‘yes, this is what it is all about’.”
Both the Isle of Man and Canada deprived locals of an all-Cyprus showpiece after the former beat Cyprus B 18-7 – scoring a seven along the way – and the latter defeated Cyprus A 17-8.
Dom Picksley
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