The final of the World Indoor Singles promises to be a cracker on Sunday when fifth seed
GREG HARLOW tackles Scottish sensation Stewart Anderson on the hallowed blue rink at Potters.
Anderson was a massive 40-1 shot before the tournament started, but those odds were quickly snaffled up by in-the-know punters, mainly north of the border, and he is now as short as 8-13 with Ladbrokes to complete his fairytale rise to the top of the bowling tree.
The 24-year-old has been utterly brilliant from the off, overcoming every obstacle that lay in his way, obstacles that included Potters legend Alex Marshall, a winner of five world titles, and veteran John Price, the 1990 champion, who he dispatched with consummate ease in the semi-final.
Price was a man in form heading into Friday's quarter-final after beating 10th seed Robert Weale and seventh seed Jason Greenslade and was expecting to give Anderson a decent match. But the 49-year-old, a massive Swansea City fan, just had no answer to the sublime talents of the Scot, going down 13-0 in the first set, the first whitewash of the event. He rallied in the second, well for three ends, before Anderson went into overdrive again sealing a comfortable win.
And Anderson, who has been getting cosy with Ladies World Matchplay semi-finalist Kerry Packwood – they have already been dubbed the Posh and Becks of bowls – produced another two sets of brilliance against Nick Brett in Saturday's semi-final, with the Cambridgeshire man admitting there was nothing he could do to stem the tide.
The young Scot, from Cumnock, who is an interviewer's nightmare, says he's not bothered about picking up his biggest ever pay cheque, for £28,000, as he just wants to play bowls and enjoy himself and with an attitude like that he certainly won't be fazed by the big occasion.
Harlow, meanwhile, has steadily gone about his business, round-by-round and his run has included the scalp of the in-form Paul Foster, who was a lot of people's choice to win the crown for a fourth time. Harlow admitted after his defeat of the Ayr man that that was the best he had ever played on the portable rink at Potters. He wasn't as good against Robert Paxton in the semi, but he did what he had to do and nailed the ends when it really mattered.
The Ely ace has won most events on the World Bowls Tour, but is yet to claim the big one, the one he really wants and this year could be his time to finally achieve his goal. He has already reached one world final, back in 2006 when losing to local lad Mervyn King, and the experience of that occasion, plus numerous other ranking final appearances will hold him in good stead against Anderson.
There appear to be no chinks in Anderson's armour, although he admitted after his defeat of Brett that he was starting to tire of a relentless stream of interviews and TV appearances, and there is the chance that his steely exterior may be losing its invincibility and this could be what gives Harlow the edge and I'm backing him at 5-4 with Betfred to just edge out the Scot in what should be a cracking match.
