Gold for Balerno bowler but quarter-final KO for beach volleyball duo

Balerno Bowling Club member Melanie Innes celebrated winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in the B2/B3 mixed pairs event at Leamington Spa.

The partially-sighted bowler took the medal with her lead director George Miller from Saltcoats who, at 75, becomes Scotland’s oldest ever Commonwealth Games representative and the oldest winner of a gold medal in the history of the games.

Robert Barr and his skip director Sarah Jane Ewing made up the other half of the pair who won 16-9 over a Welsh pairing after coming from behind.

They trailed 2-0 after the first end before levelling at 2-2 at the next and then they went 3-2 behind at the third and the Welsh pair of Julie Thomas (lead director Mark Adams) and Gordon Llewellyn (skip director John Wilson) added another for 4-2 at the fourth.

But singles in the next two ends brought the scores level and the Scots edged ahead 5-4 at the seventh and three at the next for 8-4 was a big blow to Welsh hopes.

The Welsh hit back with a two at the ninth but a single at the next steadied Scots nerves at 9-6 and a two at the 11th followed by a three at the 12th saw them move 14-6 in front.

Wales claimed three at the next for 14-9 before the Scots took the 14th with a two to seal the win. Innes said: “I couldn’t do it without George who gives me the information so I can visualise the shot.”

The pair won with an end to spare and they reached the final winning matches against Australia, Wales, England, South Africa and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Games journey ended for beach volleyball pair of Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts from Edinburgh in the packed open-air arena at Smithfield in Birmingham.

They lost 21-11, 21-11 to Australia in a match dominated by the pair from Down Under. The Scots were 11-11 at one stage in the opening set before the Aussie pair of Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar pulled away.

And the Scots were 5-4 ahead in the second before the strong pair from Australia capitalised on errors from the Scots who play their volleyball at Portobello.