Commonwealth Games: Alex Marshall denied record fifth gold in bowls thriller

ALEX Marshall's hopes of becoming Scotland's most successful Commonwealth Games athlete were dashed as he and partner Paul Foster suffered a surprise defeat to Wales in the lawn bowls men's pairs final.Marshall, 51, was aiming for a fifth gold of his career, which would have taken him beyond Allan Wells and Neil Fachie but had to settle for silver as the Weslh pair of Daniel Salmon and Marc Wyatt scored a dramatic 12-10 victory.The Welsh went into the 18th and final end 11-10 up having coming back from 5-1 down in the fifth, and their triumph was sealed when four-time Commonwealth gold-medallist Marshall failed to nail his last shot after Wyatt brilliantly nailed the jack.Marshall has another chance to win a fifth gold as he goes in the men's fours this week.Elsewhere overnight at the Gold Coast, there was a bronze for gymnast Frank Baines in the parallel bars.At the athletics, Zoey Clark is safely through to the women's 400m, while Allan Smith and David Smith both qualified for the men's high jump final.Scotland's women's hockey team thrashed Ghana 5-0 but their hopes of reaching the semi-finals remain slim.