Doig guaranteed singles medal

Scottish bowlers have qualified for the knockout stage of all four disciplines – women’s singles and fours, and men’s pairs and triples – at the World Outdoor Bowls Championships in Christchurch.

Strathmiglo’s Lesley Doig has been a revelation in the women’s singles, winning eight of her nine group matches against top level opposition, including competitors from Malaysia, Ireland, Norfolk Island, England, Zimbabwe, Cook Islands, Brunei and South Africa.

Her only loss in the round-robin was against Ainie Knight, from the Philippines.

Lesley finished top of the group league table and was fast-tracked through to today’s semi-finals so is guaranteed a medal.

In her last four contest, she will play the winner of this morning’s quarter-final between New Zealand’s Jo Edwards and 1996 world champion Carmen Anderson.

Arbroath ace Darren Burnett has skipped Ronnie Duncan and Ian McLean through to the quarter finals of the men’s triples, where the Scottish trio will face the might of Australia – with a semi-final encounter with New Zealand at stake.

Victories over teams from Zimbabwe, Norfolk Island and Niue suggest that Burnett’s men are running into top form – and they will need to be at their best if they are to get the better of the Aussies and Kiwis.

Defending pairs champions Paul Foster and Alex Marshall suffered two shock defeats yesterday but still managed to qualified for the knockout stage. Today the Scottish pair will play Malaysia’s Hizlee Rais and Fairul Muin for the right to take on Australia’s Brett Wilkie and Aaron Wilson in the semi-finals.

Julie Forrest, Stacey McDougall, Lauren Baillie and Claire Johnston have their sights set on the women’s fours title and today meet Australia for the right to challenge the host country in the semi-finals.