Commonwealth Games: Bowls pair get 12th Scots gold

Alex Marshall, left, and Paul Foster celebrate winning the gold agtainst Malaysia. Picture: SNS

Marshall and Foster romped to a 20-3 victory, winning end-after-end, holding their opponents at zero points right up until the last five minutes.

• Catch up with all our Commonwealth Games coverage

But with the score line showing 19-0, when they appeared to ease up, allowing the Malaysians to pull three points back, narrowly avoiding making Commonwealth history, before seizing final victory.

But unlike Sunday’s win, Marshall’s celebration was relatively sedate. Watched by his wife Diane, he shook hands with the Malaysian side and embraced Foster before applauding the cheering spectators.

• Read our interview with Alex Marshall back in January looking ahead to the Games

The Scot become an internet sensation on at the weekend when, after their win against England’s pair, he celebrated with a gesture that was widely interpreted as meaning ‘get it right up you’.

It was initially unclear who it was meant for, though it later emerged that it was aimed at a heckler among the spectators.

The triumph is Marshall’s third Commonwealth title after pairs victories in 2002 and 2006 but he said winning in front of a home crowd was his biggest achievement to date.

He said: “This is just fantastic. I have won two golds before but this one tops the lot. Playing in your own back yard, in front of your own fans - you just can’t beat it. Simply the best.

“It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career. That is our 12th gold medal of the games for Team Scotland, so that is another record broken, which is fantastic.

“We got off to a good start. Paul was phenomenal from start to finish and that makes my job a lot easier.

“But even so, there was still a lot of pressure on us. We just had to keep going and that’s what we did.”

Foster, who won a Commonwealth pairs gold in Melbourne eight years ago, feared his chances of landing a second had been ruined just a fortnight before the game when his prize bowls were stolen.

However, they were soon returned to the Troon taxi driver and he lapped up his latest triumph, saying: “I didn’t think anything would beat 2006 but this tops everything. To win a gold on home soil is a feeling that will live with me forever.”

The pair have another chance of glory in the Games, as they will form part of Scotland’s bowling fours team.