Bowling

Bowling

Jason GreensladeWALES have five men ranked in the world's top 25. But can you name them? Thought not.

But there are thousands of people in Wales who can - because bowls is one of the nation's biggest participation sports.

Barry bowler Jason Greenslade - winner of his first World Bowls Tour event in 2004 - is the highest ranked Welshman, second only to England's Greg Harlow in the world.

The 35-year-old, who won the Scottish International Masters and became the first home player in eight years to win the Welsh International Open in Llanelli, started the season in eighth place but collected 161 points to move into second spot - six places ahead of our No 2, former Welsh title holder Robert Weale, who carried the nation's hopes in the Commonwealth Games singles in Melbourne.

Port Talbot-based current Welsh champion John Price is down from seven to 11, while Swansea postman Stephen Rees slips one place from 20 to 21 despite some success in the world championships.

And finally there's Richard Morgan, also from Barry, who is up from 32nd to 23rd.

Presteigne-bowler Weale did the nation proud at the Commonwealth Games, taking a silver medal to add to bronze he won in Manchester four years ago, after an epic 7-4 2-9 2-1 tie-break defeat by Australian Kelvin Kerkow.

"It's disappointing to lose a tie-break," said 43-year-old Weale, a member of the quartet who won Wales' last bowls gold 20 years ago. "But it was very satisfying to play in a game as high quality as that and to contribute to a match like that.

"My record is something I'm proud of - five medals in six Games - but I really thought I was going to make it gold. I was so close and I might be back again. I've played twice in the singles, winning bronze in Manchester and silver here. So maybe the signs are good for Delhi."

Weale, who also has two pairs silver medals to his name, ensured he would strengthen his hold as the most celebrated Welsh bowler in Commonwealth Games history by beating Canadian Ryan Bester 9-9 9-8 in a thrilling semi-final.

Welsh Bowling Association

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Lawn bowls world rankings
Rank
(Previous)
Name
Country
Points

1

(14)

Greg Harlow

England

165

2

(8)

JASON GREENSLADE

WALES

161

2

(2)

David Gourlay

Australia

159

4

(1)

Andy Thomson

England

154

5

(4)

Paul Foster

Scotland

151

6

(3)

Alex Marshall

Scotland

142

7

(10)

Ian Bond

England

127

8

(6)

ROBERT WEALE

WALES

126

9

(5)

Kelvin Kerkow

Australia

123

10

(15)

Mark Royal

England

121

11

(7)

JOHN PRICE

WALES

114

12

(11)

Jonathan Ross

Ireland

113

13

(9)

Mark McMahon

Australia

108

14

(13)

Billy Jackson

England

86

15

(22)

Mervyn King

England

85

16

(12)

Les Gillett

England

82

17

(18)

Graham Smith

England

75

18

(17)

Simon Skelton

England

75

19

(16)

Noel Kennedy

Hong Kong

64

20

(63)

Jamie Hill

New Zealand

56

21

(20)

STEPHEN REES

WALES

55

22

(24)

Danny Denison

England

48

23

(32)

RICHARD MORGAN

WALES

47

24

(19)

Stuart Airey

England

43

25

 

Robert Paxton

England

40

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