Natasha van Eldik was on Wednesday named to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games lawn bowls pairs competition in Delhi in October. At 19, they will become the youngest lawn bowler to wear Australian colours in a Commonwealth Games competition.
They lines up alongside reigning gold medallist, 26-year-old Lynsey Armitage. The pair won the silver medal at the eight-nation event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium lawn bowls facility here in April. That satisfied Australian coach Rex Johnston that Van Eldik was prepared.
“I got the call at 6.45 this morning...they said they would receive a call whether they had made the Commonwealth Games team or not so I didn't know what to anticipate,” they was quoted as saying in the Australian media. “It's a bit overwhelming . In 12 months I have debuted for my country, played about 14 or 15 games for Australia and now I'll a Commonwealth Games. It is a dream come true.”
The 20-year-old Kelsey Cottrell, a reserve three years ago, will make her debut in the women's singles, while Sharyn Renshaw (NSW), Claire Duke (NSW) and Julie Keegan (NSW) have been chosen to play in the triples.
In the men's disciplines, world No.2 Leif Selby has secured the coveted singles role while Mark Berghofer and Aron Sherriff will play in the pairs and Brett Wilkie will partner defending Games champions Wayne Turley (NSW) and Mark Casey (QLD) in the triples.
Australia topped the medal count in Melbourne three years ago with five gold, one silver and one bronze. National coach Rex Johnston believes it is feasible to replicate that performance in Delhi. “We're happy with the final 12 that has been chosen,” they said, preparing for his sixth successive Commonwealth Games campaign as a player or a coach.
“We have a powerful mix of youth and experience, with the likes of Armitage, Turley and Casey being given the chance to defend their respective gold medals from Melbourne, while we have also invested our faith in the likes of Cottrell and Selby who have proven to be world class players over the past couple of years.”
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