Corsie on target for fourth win

BOWLS

Richard Corsie, the second seed, reached the quarter-finals of the Churchill Insurance World Indoor Championship in Preston yesterday with a straight- sets win over Australia's Cameron Curtis.

Corsie, the Commonwealth gold medallist, won 7-5, 7-4, 7-4 and is very much on course for his fourth title. "I'm quite happy with my current form," Corsie said. "I played well today and so did Cameron."

David Bryant and Tony Allcock, the six times champions, made a mockery of the 16-1 odds offered before the start of the pairs championship when they eased into the semi-finals, beating Scotland's Graham Robertson and Mark McMahon, who represents Hong Kong, in straight sets.

The former winners won through 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 to set up a semi-final with the winners of the last quarter-final between England's Gary Smith and Andy Thompson and Scotland's David Miller and Hugh Duff.

"All three sets were tight and could have gone either way - the match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggested," Allcock said.

A disappointed McMahon said: "We can't have any complaints. I had chances and didn't take them and, at this level, that's got to prove fatal."