It was Cairns' debut at such a high level and prestigious event, which ended last Wednesday.Botswana Bowling Association (BBA) spokesperson, John Gaborutwe was proud as a peacock when he talked of the bowler's "remarkable performance" which saw him finishing ninth ahead of seasoned fellow campaigners from Africa in the likes of South African Gideon Vermeulen, who finished 19th, and Roy Garden of Zimbabwe, who got position 13.This notwithstanding the fact that Zimbabwe and South Africa are among Africa's experienced lawn bowlers, said Gaborutwe.
"Cairns had an impressive performance against Japan, China, Zimbabwe and Macao and walkovers against Gary McCloy of Ireland and Mark Casey of Australia who had to withdraw due to some unforeseen circumstances," Gaborutwe said.Jeremy Henry of Australia, who is currently sixth in the world, won the championship with Tony Grandtham of New Zealand as the runner-up. "Cairns has surpassed all previous records by Botswana at this level of the competition. "This was mainly due to his comprehensive preparation for the event which included regular exercise programmes, match practices and technical assessment activities. He is a dedicated athlete," said Gaborutwe.Gaborutwe said that Cairns is now billed to compete at the forthcoming World Champion of Champions Lawn Bowling Tournament from November 25 to December 1 at Burnside Bowls Club in Christchurch, New Zealand.To qualify for this event one must be a champion in his country to qualify for the World Singles Champion of Champions event. Gaborutwe noted that Cairns qualified to represent Botswana after winning the Botswana National Championships held at Jwaneng in May last year.
