Bowls ace back on beat for hat-trick

Angus bowling ace Darren Burnett insists he can piece together a golden hat-trick at next summer’s Commonwealth Games despite the horrific fall that left him shattered and his lawn bowls career on the floor.

The 45-year-old was among five medallists from Gold Coast 2018 named in a 10-strong Scotland team for Birmingham 2022 including fellow goliaths Tattie Marshall and Paul Foster.

But it’s been a race against time for Burnett who has had to bounce back from hitting the deck on the streets of Arbroath last December while pursuing a suspect in his day job as a police officer.

“It didn’t end the way I had hoped, and I hit the deck and fractured my arm, thankfully, it was my left arm,” he said.

“But by the time I got back in the summer, I felt pretty good.

I was fortunate that it was my left side. In our sport, it still has a bearing, because it’s part of your delivery and your set-up and stuff.

“But you know, it really was back at the point that summer, where I felt pretty good about it. The first few months were difficult but as the experts and physio started to work, the improvement came.”

It hands him a shot at matching his golden hour in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park in 2014 when he won the singles title and the city was bowled over.

Birmingham, just a quick flight away, will feel like another home Games, he believes.

“I still remember my first one in Manchester and remember the support we had down there, so I don’t see it any differently.

“Scotland have great support, and I’m pretty sure many folk, Covid permitting, will make that journey.”

But Brum could also be the farewell for the Commonwealths as sporting events evolve and the tarnished brand of the British Empire is quietly shunted into history.

That would be simply devastating, Burnett argues, for sports like bowls who are not in the Olympics and who have just one major Games in their diary.

“It would be a major loss,” he said.

“Certainly in my time, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of going to. I was lucky enough to achieve that dream. And then finally, down the line I achieved gold medals in two different Games.

“The singles gold in Glasgow will forever be etched in my mind as probably my biggest victory – and what a place to do it at Kelvingrove.

“So if we ever lost that, it would be a massive, massive blow.”

Four-time world indoor champion Stewart Anderson and 2016 World Championship medallist Iain Mclean, along with Dee Hoggan and Hannah Smith, will all make their Games debuts for Scotland in Birmingham.

Past medallists Caroline Brown and Claire Johnston are retained while Lauren Baillie-whyte returns after coming fourth at Glasgow 2014.