Jack sigh… / Marshall misses out in history bid
● Bowler misses first chance to surpass Wells’ record by netting fifth Commonwealth Games gold
Alex Marshall missed the chance of becoming Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete when Wales won the bowls men’s pairs.
Daniel Salmon and Marc Wyatt beat Marshall and Paul Foster, the defending champions, 12-10 in the final.
Marshall, 51, pictured at the end of the final with Foster, left, could still make it five gold medals, surpassing Allan Wells’ record. should he be successful in the men’s fours.
Marshall said: “It was always at the back of my mind... but we’ll bounce back from that.”
The Scottish pair’s silver was one of only two medals yesterday. The other was a bronze, won by gymnast Frank Baines on the parallel bars.
Few expected anything other than a trauma-free landing of a pairs gold into the trusted hands of Scotland’s Alex Marshall and Paul Foster yesterday. Twice victors before at the Commonwealth Games, the assurance of a third – when the unheralded Wales duo Dan Salmon and Marc Wyatt stood in their path – appeared to be a safe bet.
Yet the veteran Scots saw their chances disappear at the close of a tense and pulsating final as they suffered a 12-10 defeat that brought silver, not pre-destined supremacy. For Marshall, defeat represented a further blow – gold would have meant he surpassed Allan Wells as Scotland’s greatest competitor at the Commonwealth Games with a fifth gold. Marshall could still achieve that accolade should he be successful in the men’s fours.
Yesterday should have been so different. Ahead 6-3 early on, the reigning champions looked assured and confident. “Paul was playing lead, playing great bowls, and I was making some conversions at the same time,” Marshall said. “We could have easily been 13, 14, 15-1 up.”
Profligacy cost dearly, however, as the tide turned. Single scores against, then doubles, mounted up. Unusually, neither of Scotland’s gifted geniuses of the crown greens could rescue their hopes. Wyatt, who claimed a bronze at Glasgow 2014, was steadfast and his partner was potent in support and their pressure appeared to unnerve.
And, although 51-year-old Marshall steeled himself for the very last shot of the 18th and final end, then took aim at a two-point score he hoped might provide salvation, he was left the disappointed as their rivals celebrated joyously.
“My last bowl, I couldn’t have played it better,” Wyatt beamed. “It was probably one of the best bowls of my life.”
This was Goliath slain by David. Tom devouring Jerry.
In the ambulant world of bowls, the Caledonian conquerors of all who go before them are not supposed to lose, not when the stakes are this high and they had the momentum in their favour.
“We allowed them to gain confidence and bravado, said Foster, when what was required was turning the screw.
“And they started playing better than we did and we had to hang in. It came down to the last bowl. We still fancied our chances but it was unlucky. We’re very disappointed not to defend our title. It’s hard to take.”
There was little time to mourn or
‘HARD TO TAKE’ “It came down to the last bowl. We still fancied our chances but it was unlucky. We’re very disappointed not to defend our title. It’s hard to take”
PAUL FOSTER
dwell. Energies and attention rapidly turned to the fours, with the duo – plus triples gold medallists Derek Oliver and Ronnie Duncan – going straight into the sectional stage of the fours and securing a redemptive 25-9 win over Brunei.
“I’ll be stronger than ever,” Marshall vowed.
“I wasn’t putting any extra pressure on myself,” he said . “But it [historic fifth Commonwealth gold] was always at the back of my mind. There is extra tough competition out here and we’ll bounce back from that.”
Elsewhere, the other member of the triples champions, Darren Burnett, began the defence of his singles title in the strongest possible manner, thrashing Dalton Tagelagi from the tiny Pacific island of Niue 21-3 before an equally ferocious 21-2 win over Samoa’s Edward Bell.
Australia won the women’s fours title by holding off the South Africa rink 18-16.