“What a hero”

They say the man will be given the freedom of “Bont”. That was the reaction on social media to the final bowl that Gilbert Miles drew in to claim a Bronze medal against Scotland.

Partnering former school headteacher Julie Thomas, from Bridgend in the B2/B3 Mixed Pairs, the Pontarddulais veteran held his nerve on the extra end of an excellent bronze medal match which was streamed live on the BBC Sport website.

Their Scottish opponents Irene Edgar & Rob Bull had forced an extra end, clawing back a 7-3 and 9-4 deficit early in the match before the dramatic finish, features of many close matches at Broadbeach this week.

The Bronze medal capping a memorable week for “Gilly” and partner Julie, who took up the game only 4 years ago after losing her sight. Delight was also clear to viewers for directors Byron John & John Wilson who have supported both players incredibly, both in the build up and during the Commonwealth Games.

They can take huge satisfaction in the bronze medal also, doing sterling work to promote visually impaired and para bowls in Wales in recent years.

The third medal of the games for Team Wales’ bowlers concluded a busy day on the greens at Broadbeach as the competition reaches its climax over the next two days.

In the balance

Starting the day, current World Pairs champions Laura Daniels & Jess Sims knew that two wins against Northern Ireland and South Africa would secure safe passage through to the Quarter Finals.

Part one of the job was complete with an 18-13 win over their Irish counterparts. However with India possessing a superior shot difference, a second victory of the day was needed.

In their lunchtime game, Laura & Jess put in a huge effort to overturn an 11-7 deficit into a 17-13 lead with five ends remaining. However a strong finish by the Proteas pair of Nicolene Neal and the experienced Colleen Piketh saw them win the last five ends to bring their campaign to an end.

Crunch time

Over to the Ladies Triples, Emma Woodcock, Caroline Taylor and the vastly experienced Anwen Butten were already through to the knockout stages. A late afternoon game against New Zealand a distraction before their evening Quarter-Final with England.

Unfortunately, the result did not go in favour of Wales, with a disastrous start winning two of the opening twelve ends proving too much of a mountain to climb. A valiant comeback turned a 14-3 deficit into a final score of 16-11 in England’s favour with our triple running out of ends.

Remaining hopes

Our final combination left in the competition, our Men’s Fours had one game on Day Seven. Ross Owen, Steve Harris, Marc Wyatt & Jonathan Tomlinson cruising to a 14-4 win against the Cook Islands to secure a Quarter-Final spot.

A final group game against New Zealand (12am BST) lies in wait tomorrow morning, before a Quarter-Final and hopefully a further Semi-Final later in what could prove a busy day.

With the Men still in contention, hopes are high for another medal, which will round off a successful games for our bowlers.