Viggers Duo Toast of Hawkes Bay after claiming National Mixed Pairs Crown

The husband and wife duo of Paul and Sheryl Viggers have claimed the National 2x4x2 Mixed Pairs crown, rounding out an unblemished record on the Browns Bay greens in thrilling style.

Hosted in the North Harbour, the top six teams in the country converged to represent their zone in a fiercely contested battle for national glory – a curtain raiser for the National Club Championships to follow in the coming days.

Following a mixed bag of results on day one, the tournament remained wide open – and heading in to the final round – all eyes remained fixed to one match-up.

Paul, a former New Zealand squash representative, and Sheryl, herself a former multiple national teams champion, were in impressive form throughout securing three wins and a draw heading into the final round opposite Blackjack Tony Grantham and partner Trish Croot.

With the Bay of Plenty composite of Mary Campbell and Dan Dickison falling to the might of Southlander’s Bruce Ross and Shona Klemick in round four – it was clear the title was all to play for in the Grantham and Viggers showdown.

Getting out of the blocks early, the Hawkes Bay pairing edged out to a 9-7 lead after 11 ends, before a determined charge from the local hopes leveled the scoring at 16-all after 14 ends.

A single to the Viggers on the 15th end and a two on the final end closed out proceedings and gifted the title to the zone three representatives – flying the flag high for the infamous Taradale Club in Napier.

Grantham and Croot’s loss saw them drop to third place, with Campbell and Dickison once again finding their form to beat the Beckenham duo of David Milne and Pauline Smith in comfortable fashion, 19-8.

An unbeaten day on the greens saw Ross and Klemick finish fourth on differential behind Grantham and Croot, while Wellington’s Judy Howat and Brent Stubbins finished fifth respectively – a single point ahead of Milne and Smith on differential.

Next up is the Men’s and Women’s Singles, with all attention now on 12 of the most in-form players throughout the Pathways’ circuit.

Results at a Glance
National 2x4x2 Mixed Pairs, Browns Bay Bowling Club

Champions: Paul & Sheryl Viggers (Hawkes Bay)
Runner-up: Dan Dickison, Mary Campbell (Bay of Plenty)
Third: Tony Grantham, Trish Croot (North Harbour)
Fourth: Bruce Ross, Shona Klemick (Southland)
Fifth: Brent Stubbins, Judy Howat (Wellington)
Sixth: David Milne, Pauline Smith (Canterbury)