Home Nations Preview
Scotland’s High Performance players are set for another busy month as the National Centre for Bowling, Ayr will host two Home Nations events over the next two weekends.
Our para bowls performance players will be looking to follow up last month's Home Nations triumph with more success on home soil. Mary Wilson is the only new addition to the squad, after the former international badminton player impressed at training sessions. Both visually impaired and physically disabled players will face England and Wales from Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th September.
The mainstream squad will take on England, Ireland, and Wales the following weekend from Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th September. To ensure all performance players are competing, Scotland will be entering two teams into both men’s and women’s disciplines for this event. Alex Marshall MBE has had to withdraw from the men’s team due to family circumstances, so the selectors have added three established young talents to the squad for this fixture in Jason Banks, John Fleming Jnr and Darren Weir. With an intense schedule across the weekend, the selectors have also added Natalie McWilliams to the women’s squad for the four-day event.
Both events will be Scotland’s last competitive international games before the final team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games is selected. To gain ratification for both events to go ahead, the Scottish Government’s Resumption of Performance Sport guidelines unfortunately stipulate that no spectators can attend as all competing countries will be following strict COVID-19 protocols.
Excited about another competitive fixture, Bowls Scotland’s Performance Operations Manager, Craig Bolan, said: “After a really challenging 18 months it’s great to be able to host both of these events. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Northfield and seeing some outstanding performances from the players as we continue our preparations for Birmingham 2022”.
Score updates and daily reports will be published on our website and social media pages across both weekends. The players selected for the Home Nations are listed below:-
Para Bowls:
Robert Barr (Jordanhill BC – Visually Impaired)
John Fox (Spateson BC – Visually Impaired)
Melanie Inness (Coltbridge BC – Visually Impaired)
Mary Stevenson (Shanks BC – Visually Impaired)
Garry Brown (Blackwood Victoria BC – Physically Disabled)
Garry Hood (Ayr Craigie BC – Physically Disabled)
Rosemary Lenton – (Chrichton BC – Physcially Disabled)
Kevin Wallace (Clackmannan BC – Physically Disabled)
John Wardrope (Ayr Seafield BC – Physically Disabled)
Mary Wilson (Trinity BC – Physically Disabled)
Pauline Wilson (Willowbank BC – Physically Disabled)
Sarah Ewing (Abbeyview BC - Director)
John Hannah (Ballieston BC - Director)
George Miller (Saltcoats BC - Director)
Chris Morrow (Willowbank BC – Director)
Nigel Walker (Inverkeithing BC – Director)
Men:
Stewart Anderson (Eddlewood BC)
Jason Banks (Inverurie BC)
Darren Burnett (Arbroath BC)
Ronnie Duncan (Bonnyrigg BC)
John Fleming Jnr (Port Glasgow BC)
Paul Foster MBE (Troon BC)
Iain McLean (Blackwood Victoria BC)
Derek Oliver (Cockenzie & Port Seton BC)
Martyn Rice (Marchmount BC)
Darren Weir (Troon BC)
Women:
Claire Anderson (Eddlewood BC)
Carla Banks (Inverurie BC)
Caroline Brown (Motherwell BC)
Lauren Baillie-Whyte (Cockenzie & Port Seton BC)
Lesley Doig (Strathmiglo BC)
Megan Grantham (East Lothian Co-Op BC)
Dee Hoggan (Tranent BC)
Claire Johnston (Auchinleck BC)
Stacey McDougall (Dalkeith BC)
Natalie McWilliams (Crookston BC)
Hannah Smith (Auchinleck BC)