Jamie Walker left chasing gold after another Commonwealth silver

JAMIE WALKER rued fine margins after narrowly missing out on Commonwealth gold.

The Northampton bowls star, 34, lost on a gut-wrenching tie-break alongside partner Nick Brett in the men’s pairs final in Glasgow.

Walker and Brett, 52, battled back from a sluggish start but were unable to scramble over the line in a nerve-jangling clash against Northern Ireland.

Gary Kelly nailed an inch-perfect shot on the SEC carpet to propel him and Andy McKeown to glory.

And silver medallist Walker, who also claimed the same colour medal in Birmingham four years ago, said: “We’re happy to put ourselves in a position to do one better [and win gold] – Birmingham was the same, just one or two bowls here or there.

“But that’s what our sport is at the top level – players are so good that it’s literally just a bowl or two here.

“You can not be doing a lot wrong in the game and still be put under pressure.

“Every time the sport gets coverage like this, you hear things from back home and people who don’t play the sport, it reaches wider people and it’s great for the sport.

“Being one of the main sports up here in Scotland widens the profile even more, so it’s been great to be involved in.”

Walker is one of 251 Team England athletes here in Glasgow, all of whom benefit from crucial National Lottery funding.

Him and Brett had beaten Canada in straight sets to propel themselves to within one win of a gold medal.

But in a repeat of Walker’s Birmingham pairs final alongside Sam Tolchard, he was unable to take that final step to victory.

Brett, a triples gold medallist in Birmingham, said: “It wasn’t a vintage performance from us.

“They got out of the traps quicker than we did and we had to battle back in the second set, which we did.

“We forced it to a tie-break but just couldn’t find that one killer bowl early enough to make it really hard for them.

“Silver is fine but right now we’d love to have played an extra good shot.

“We’re always proud to pull on the England shirt and there’s nothing better for anybody in any sport.

“The whole wider England team back in the hotel has been fantastic.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33m is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you that sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.