Taylor Bowls

Team Taylor

David Gourlay

David is quite simply the most consistent and professional player on the WBT bowls circuit and has rarely been out of the top three standings on the ranking list in the last decade. At 43 years of age he retains the reputation of being a rock solid performer on the world stage with his latest acquisition the Potters Holidays World Matchplay mixed pairs along with Welsh born Ceri Ann Davies who won a Commonwealth games silver medal representing Australia in the triples in Melbourne in 2006 and who now resides in Scotland.

David also saw off fierce competition in the inaugural 'bwin' Super Singles Series at Bristol. Over a four month period David secured enough points at the Somerset venue to qualify for the Grand final which he duly won against Wey Valley's Paul Coleman. Along with Lincoln's Billy Jackson, David has the distinction of winning the World Pairs titles twice in succession.

Andy Thomson

He may be the oldest player on the WBT Rankings at 53, but Anglo Scot Andy Thomson can certainly hold his own with the best of them ? no matter what age ? and is still a force to be reckoned with. Andy continues to perform at a consistently high level and confirmed his status as one of the top bowlers in the world yet again and enjoyed one of his most successful seasons for several years winning the Potters world pairs title along with friend Ian Bond and then beating off competition from the other top seven players on the WBT Ranking List to add the Co-operative Funeralcare Match Play singles.

Andy and fellow Taylor players Jonathan Ross and Darren Burnett are the only players to win back to back British Isles Singles titles, and Andy holds successive world indoor singles titles in the salubrious company of legends David Bryant, Tony Allcock and Alex Marshall. He is an integral part of the Taylor Bowls sales force and is a bowls commentator for the BBC.

Darren Burnett

Darren recently became a father for the first time, with wife Lindsey giving birth to daughter Isla Georgia. A world champion at every level of the game, both indoors and out, the Arbroath man was making the headlines again at the end of 2008 when he joined Les Gillett as only the second ever singles qualifier to win a World Bowls Tour event, beating Australian Brett Wilkie to take the International Open title at Burgess Hill.

That result climaxed a successful year for Darren, who was pipped into the silver position in the pairs by the host nation at the world championships in Christchurch along with Billy Mellors and then won the American Pairs in tandem with icon Willie Wood. Darren is a policeman and is a member of Scotland's elite squad.

Lynsey Armitage

Lynsey wrapped up her 2008 season in second spot on the Australian Ladies rankings, an amazing achievement for the 25 year old Helensvale player.

Born in Leeds in England in 1983, Lynsey first gravitated towards bowls at the age of 11 and won her first Novice Singles the following year. She joined the national squad in 2003 and in her short career she has secured a clutch of world, Commonwealth and Asia Pacific titles and has enjoyed numerous national and state successes. In 2008 she realised another of her ambitions at the quadrennial world championships when she returned as the fours title holder, finished with silver in the pairs with Karen Murphy and Australia took the Taylor Trophy as the best performed team. Lynsey is employed as a development officer with Bowls Queensland.

Karen Murphy

Karen has had an outstanding season by anyone's standards and has been rewarded by finishing 2008 as the top ranked ladies player in Australia. She began her bowling career as an aspiring 11 year old in 1985 and now at the age of 34 she is the face of Taylor Bowls and is already a recognised Australian legend.

She wrote herself into the record books in 2008 after contesting her third Australian indoor singles crown in a row. In 2006 she lost with the last bowl of the match to Judy Nardella but made it back to back wins over the next two years. Her latest achievement saw her claim her first ever outdoor gold medal when she skipped Aussie team mates Lynsey Armitage, Claire Duke and Julie Keegan to the fours title and finished with bronze along with Lynsey in the pairs in Christchurch.

She made her international debut in 1997 and has been a regular contributor in the Australian colours since, competing in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, Manchester and on home turf in Australia where she won pairs gold ? again with Lynsey, and has competed in the last three world championships at Moama in Australia, Royal Leamington Spa and Christchurch.

Mervyn King

Born in 1966 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk

Mervyn has represented England at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games where he won a silver medal with Stuart Airey in the men's pairs competitions

Achievements:-
World Singles 2006
Premier League 2010
Commonwealth Games Silver in Pairs

Graeme Wilson and Wayne Ditchfield

36 year old Graeme Wilson continues to court success on the crown green circuit winning the Champion of Champions for the second time in his career and the Wigan Subs for a fourth. He represents the Budenburgs club in Greater Manchester and the Lower Hopton Working Men's Club in Yorkshire and also secured the Joe Gatley Memorial, Grenville Arms titles, the BetFred and Brig House Classics.

Graeme is employed at Robert Crawshaw's bowls shop in Stockport and also walked off with the Premier Bowls Stockport Parks Classic, proving that he does know what he's talking about when you come to the shop to make a purchase. Earlier in the season, whilst he was knocked out in the first round of the televised Sky event at Bridlington, his wife Cathy kept the Wilson name to the fore, winning through to the final.

Eighteen year old Wayne has been strutting his stuff alongside some of the biggest names in the sport, after stepping up to the senior level. However, the North Lancs & Flyde District bowler leaves behind a trail of success that will be difficult to match. He holds the record of three successive Junior Waterloo crowns and back to back All England British Crown Green junior singles and is also a former winner of the BCGBA Junior Merit.