England’s Commonwealth Games team finds themselves back at Desborough Bowling Club this weekend as their preparations for Glasgow 2026 continue in earnest with another test vs Wales.

In the two previous tests against the Welsh, England have come through victorious, 51-45 in the first and – more comfortably – 46-29 in the second.

Keeping the Run Going

Wales have proved to be extremely tough opponents in the preparation test matches so far, pushing the English players all the way which is providing them with a healthy dose of experience navigating tiebreaker situations.

A couple of weeks ago in Newport, the Men’s Pairs matchup provided the closest finish, Nick Brett and Jamie Walker winning their contest 11-10 on points after heading into the second day of competition 5-4 down.

The Women’s Pairs also had to show some mettle and ability to adapt as Katherine Rednall stepped into Sian Honnor’s shoes to partner Amy Pharaoh.

Honnor was in Australia competing with Tom Homes in the World Bowls Indoor Championship and returns in good form after making it to the Quarter-Finals of the Women’s Singles and winning a bronze medal with Holmes in the Mixed Pairs.

On this occasion, Rednall is the player unavailable for England, meaning the Women’s Singles will once again not be contested.

Men’s Singles star Sam Tolchard and the B2-B3 VI Mixed Pair of Ron Homer BEM and Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall will be aiming to keep their unbeaten runs going after the three won all of their matchups vs Ireland and Wales.

Homer will be playing for England for the first time since heading down to London to celebrate being honoured by the King.

Meet the Team

*Katherine Rednall is officially unavailable this weekend, therefore no Women’s Singles matches will be played

To see a detailed profile of each of our world class Commonwealth Games team, click here.

If you missed the initial announcement of the team and would like to find out more, click here.

The Format

The rules for this weekend and the remainder of the preparation tests dictate that matches replicate what is to come at Glasgow 26, which is unique to the tournaments that have come before.

Games will be played across two sets of seven ends for singles matches, five ends for pairs, with a one-end tiebreaker set in place to decide a winner if needed.

Avoiding lapses in concentration in this format is critical, as every shot carries more weight toward the outcome of the game, ensuring that every end matters.

There will also be a ‘shot clock’ set to 30 seconds, pushing players to play with pace and to make crucial decisions quickly.

Updates

Keen to know how the team are getting on? We’ll be sharing daily updates across our social media channels as the weekend progresses.

If you have been inspired by our England Team and want to get your club involved in English Bowls’ biggest summer yet, visit the Bowls’ Big Summer Home Page for more information.

*Image: Sporting Highlights