Cardigan bowler Kevin James came out of the World Bowls Champion of Champions tournament in Australia with great credit despite failing to reach the semi-final stage.
The 39-year-old postman and Cardigan Bowling Club member qualified for the event by lifting the Welsh title at Llandrindod Wells last year.
It is widely accepted that the southern hemisphere greens are considerably faster than ours, but James adapted over five days of stiff competition at Adelaide Bowling Club in South Australia where the tournament was split into two sections.
In finishing fifth he overcame the challenges of Guernsey, Fiji, Botswana, Israel, Norfolk Island, Singapore, Turkey and Japan, ending on a high with a win hat-trick.
James, who was accompanied Down Under by wife Louise, children Dean, Holly and Alex and elder brother Colin and wife Enfys, said afterwards: “It was extremely tough on the fast greens but I was quite pleased with the way things went and would like to thank everyone who supported me.”
The championship was won by Lee Schraner of Australia who beat Terry Cheung of Hong Kong in the final.
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