Des Cann takes game Indoors
Jindalee’s Des Cann jnr hopes to add improved Indoor skills to his already considerable repertoire.The Queensland U25 rep player has already polished his outdoor game, proved himself as a District Sides skip for Cunningham, and won an Australian title in pairs. Now the focus is his Indoor game. Jindalee’s Des Cann jnr is hoping to add improved Indoor skills to his already considerable repertoire.
The Queensland U25 rep player has already polished his outdoor game to gleaming, proved himself as a District Sides skip for Cunningham, and won an Australian title in pairs.
But it’s his Indoor game that’s in his immediate sights.
“I’m used to playing on grass outdoors, it’s taken a while to get used to the carpet, I don’t play much Indoor, but hopefully all that’s about to change,” Cann jr said.
The 24-year-old hit the jackpot on Sunday (June 22) at Paradise Point, where he beat a quality field of 12 for the one remaining Australian Indoor qualifying spot available through the Queensland qualifying rounds.
The other three men to go through at the weekend were Cann jnr’s fellow state U25 team mate Eric Copeland, 22, from Caloundra; the man every bowler tries to beat, world star Brett Wilkie, who’s just celebrated his 40th birthday; and a Gold Coaster who straddles the Queensland-NSW comp and is always a tough competitor, 55-year-old Steve Halmai.
It was a battle of the young guns in the final at Paradise Point, with Cann jnr up against fellow Jindalee bowler Cohen Litfin, 17, playing in his last tournament as a junior, since he’ll be celebrating his 18th birthday on June 28.
The final went to a tie-break, which Cann jnr was very relieved to win 3-2.
Also going through at Paradise Point (Saturday June 21) was Brett Wilkie, who won his spot in a tie-break against Springwood’s Frank Vella, 5-10, 9-7, 4-1.
Host club bowler Ken Roberts from Paradise Point didn’t get to play against Wilkie in this year’s qualifying rounds, but he well remembers the experience from last year.
“I’ll get through one of these years, I was beaten by Cohen Litfin this year by a shot in an extremely close match, and Brett Wilkie in the final last year, he was just too good, a machine, and he’s gone through again this year,” Roberts said.
In the Australian Indoor qualifying rounds played at Tweed Heads, Eric Copeland won his spot by defeating in-form country bowler Craig Ziebell from Laidley in a tie-break, 3-2.
Also, Steve Halmai, playing on his home turf, strong-armed Bribie’s Richard Strawbridge to win another of the four qualifying places for men, made available by Bowls Australia for the Queensland qualifying rounds, and hotly contested by 48 bowlers.
The full list of qualifiers for the Australian Indoor Championships, to be played at Tweed Heads August 18-21, will be available on the BA website in due course.
