A Silloth bowler has just completed the best performance of his career alongside a Carlisle clubmate.
Paul Wallace reached the quarter finals of the Pairs competition at the World Bowls Championships held at Potters Resorts near Great Yarmouth.
He and Kenny Johnstone are both members of the Cumbria Indoor Bowls Club in Carlisle and began by beating a USA pair before defeating an English pairing who were individually ranked two and eight in the world.
“We weren’t particularly good against the Americans and just scraped through actually. Kenny won it with the very last bowl of the game.
“But we played really well to beat Les Gillett and Wayne Wilgress who are a high-ranking pairing from England.
“That was really the highlight because we lost in the quarter finals but it was a really great experience,” says Paul.
In their first match they beat Rachel Marcuson and Jesse May (USA) 2 – 1 (11-4, 4-10, 2-1) before defeating Les Gillett and Wayne Willgress (England) 1½ – ½ (10-6, 7-7).
In the quarter final they were beaten by Robert Paxton and Jamie Walker 0 – 2 (6-9, 5-7).
Their conquerors were then beaten by Jason Banks and Paul Foster who in turn lost in the final to Stewart Anderson and Darren Burnett.
The Cumbrian pairing were among 16 qualifiers in the competition along with eight seeded couples.
Although Paul and Kenny have known each other for a while it was the first time they had played together in pairs bowls.
“I was a bit late in getting my name down for qualifying and looking for a partner when Kenny just said he would play with me.
“He’s been a good player for years. He was a Scottish Under-25s player and on the fringes of the Scotland senior team.
“Actually qualifying at Carlisle was quite tough because some good players come down from Scotland and the North East for it – and there isn’t a bad player among them.
“I’ve won the Denny Cup with the Cumbria club once before and have a few county titles over the years. I’ve also played in the Scottish Open but reaching the World quarter finals has to be up there as the highlight,” he says.
Paul has just turned 48 and bowled his first wood outdoors at Kirkbride when he was 10 or 11 as his grandparents were keen bowlers.
He played a bit of golf when he was young but more or less settled on bowls as his chosen sport from when he was 25.
“Cumbria Indoor Bowling Club has some really talented bowlers and I try to practice there a couple of times a week, four or five if I can.
“After this year’s World Championships I will be trying to get back again in 2025 and qualifying will start in around September,” he says.
