England win a World Tournament

England win a World Tournament, our friends at World Bowls Tour report on Ian Bonds victory last night. Not one single 007 joke in that link - but the temptation was great.

England's Ian Bond, the world No7 from Devon, tonight turned the seedings of The Co-operative Funeralcare World Matchplay Championship on their head by winning the prestigious World Bowls Tour title at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield in his maiden appearance in the event for the world's top eight players.

The 37-year-old from Crediton recovered from a dramatic fightback by Welsh wizard Jason Greenslade, the sixth seed from Pontypridd, to win 9-5, 5-6, 2-0.

Bond became the third successive eighth seed in the event to defeat the title-holder in the first round and go on to clinch the title.

The 'Devon Destroyer' began his maiden World Matchplay campaign by beating defending champion and fellow Englishman Mervyn King in the first round – in an encounter judged by many to the standout game of the tournament.

After overcoming compatriot Mark Royal, the world No3 from Suffolk, in straight sets in today's first semi-final, Bond found himself facing Welshman Greenslade for the title.

After a lacklustre set and half, the match came alive in the seventh end of the second set when, at a set and 2-4 down, Greenslade delivered a wonder bowl which tied the end – a positive result for the 40-year-old who had earlier dislodged his own winning bowl following a reckless shot.

With a straight sets win for Bond looking like a certainty, Greenslade then conjured up an incredible full house four shots in the final end to win the set – and take the match into a best-of-three-ends tie-break.

But Bond maintained his composure and clinched the first two ends to claim a popular 9-5, 5-6, 2-0 title victory – and the winner's cheque for £8,000.

"Bond is back," said the delighted Devonian when asked how it felt to win his first WBT singles title for over four years.

Success also made Bond only the fourth player in history to win a fifth WBT title.

In addition to this, the Exeter Exonia club stalwart also became the sixth and final player to earn a place in the 2010 Premier League Bowls event, which will take place for the first time this year in Cyprus, in September.

"Qualifying for the Premier League event makes tonight's win even sweeter," said Bond. "Maybe this additional element put added pressure on my opponents?"

"But it's always nice to win a title," added the new champion.

Greenslade, who led only once – at 5-4 – in the first set and not again until the end of the second set, was disappointed with his performance: "I feel I let myself down.

"I wasn’t so consistent as I was in my first two games, and I handed Ian the initiative on more than one occasion. That’s the third or fourth final that I’ve lost in that way, but in those I hadn’t prepared so thoroughly.

"This time, I took time off from outdoor bowls for the past two weeks - which didn’t go down too well at club and county level. But they should understand that doing well at his level is important."

On the remarkable four shots he secured to win the second set, Greenslade explained: "Normally, if you need to score a four to win a set, you will never do it, but when Ian went through with his second bowl, I knew I was in with a chance. I knew he was going to have a go at the head to take one of my bowls out, because that’s his game.

"When he missed, the pressure switched to me, because I didn’t want to fail to draw the fourth shot – but all was well.

"Ian was certainly more consistent than I was – and he deserved to win – but if I had won the first end of the tie-break, it could have been totally different."

Co-operative Funeralcare World Matchplay Championship, Sheffield, England

Semi-finals:

[8] Ian Bond (ENG) bt [4] Mark Royal (ENG) 9-3, 8-4

[6] Jason Greenslade (WAL) bt [7] Simon Skelton (ENG) 8-3, 6-5

Final:

[8] Ian Bond (ENG) bt [6] Jason Greenslade (WAL) 9-5, 5-6, 2-0