No1

ANDY THOMSON (England) 

DOB: 26 November 1955

Season 2004/05 saw the veteran Scots-born Londoner reclaim his place as world number one for the first time in a decade. Andy, who turned 50 during the current WBT campaign, has twice been crowned world indoor singles champion, in 1994 and 1995, and has also won the world indoor pairs, partnering Gary Smith to victory in 1993. He triumphed in the International Open in 2003 and a string of impressive performances and results last season saw him restored to top place on the WBT ranking list. Andy is married to Lyn with two teenage sons, Eddie and David, and is employed as a sales representative with a leading firm of bowls manufacturers. He loves watching football, in particular Charlton Athletic, and his favourite food is Indian. Indoors Andy bowls at the Cyphers club in Beckenham and outdoors at Blackheath and Greenwich.

No2

DAVID GOURLAY (Australia)

DOB: 22 April 1966

Until recently the Scots-born star, who now resides in Sydney, Australia, was world number one having been one of the dominant forces in bowls for over a decade. The 39 year old from Annbank in Ayrshire won the world indoor singles title in 1996 when a 100/1 outsider and a wild card entry. Since then he has appeared in seven International Open finals, winning three, and also claimed a Scottish Masters title. David has won every prize at national level indoors in Scotland – singles, junior singles, pairs, triples and fours – and maintains a business interest in his homeland where he owns a bowls shop. David hails from a famous sporting family with his father David snr, and mother Sarah both Commonwealth Games medallists.

No3

ALEX MARSHALL (Scotland)

DOB: 8 February 1967

Affectionately known as ‘Tattie’ in the world of bowls, Alex was number one on the WBT ranking list until overtaken by Andy Thomson earlier in 2005. Three times a winner of the  World Indoor Singles title, in 1999, 2003 and 2004, many believe only a mystery knee injury in January 2005, which saw him hospitalised in Norfolk, prevented Alex making history by becoming the first person to win the most important prize in the sport on four occasions. The Edinburgh-born star, who is employed with a leading bowls manufacturer, has won the world pairs with both Richard Corsie and David Gourlay as well as the world mixed pairs with England’s Amy Monkhouse. He also boasts gold medals from Commonwealth Games and World Outdoor Championships and is acknowledged as one of the most successful Scots bowlers of all time. Away from the sport Alex enjoys football, supporting Heart of Midlothian FC, and relaxes by watching The Bill on television!

No4

PAUL FOSTER (Scotland)

DOB: 13 March 1973

Last season saw the 32-year-old Scot from Troon join an elite band of bowlers who have won three world indoor singles titles. Paul triumphed in the most important competition in the sport in 1998, 2001 and 2005. Ironically his top 16 place looked in jeopardy after early exits in the opening two ranking events of the last campaign. However, he fought back to win at Potters in January and then reached the semi-final of the Welsh Masters in February to secure his current ranking position. Paul has won a host of national and international titles, both indoors and outdoors, in his career, and is a partner in a taxi firm in his native Ayrshire. A fervent supporter of Glasgow Rangers FC, he enjoys playing five-a-side football as well as golf and listening to all kinds of music. In common with his good friend Alex Marshall, Paul’s aim in 2005/06 is to become the first bowler to win four World Indoor singles titles!

No5

KELVIN KERKOW (Australia)

DOB: 22 April 1969

Affectionately known as ‘Spike’, Kelvin has soared up the WBT ranking list in recent times thanks to first class performances and results in the major events. Earlier this year he retained the Welsh Masters title in Llanelli, winning for the third year in a row at a venue where he has never been beaten. In January, the 36-year-old bar attendant from Queensland had captured the world indoor pairs crown with England’s Mervyn King, some nine years after winning with his fellow Australian Ian Schuback. One of the most popular players on the WBT circuit, Kelvin is married with two children and enjoys fishing, swimming and most sports. He also admits to listening to motivation music before major bowling competitions!

No6

ROBERT WEALE (Wales)

DOB: 3 April 1963

Robert's career-best performance came in 2000, when he won the world indoor singles title at Potters, but he has also won a world outdoor title - the fours, also in Millennium Year - and he boasts an impressive collection of world outdoor and Commonwealth Games medals.  After making his international debut in 1982, Robert, sometimes known as Booby, was the youngest competitor in the world outdoor championships in Aberdeen in 1984, but his biggest claim to fame is skipping the Weale family quartet to the Welsh outdoor fours title - on five occasions.  In August, 2005, he created a record by adding the Welsh outdoor singles title to the indoor title he won last February - and became the only man to hold both titles simultaneously.  In the opening event of the current WBT season, Robert reached the final of the International Open for the first time.  Next March, he will carry Welsh singles hopes in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.  Back home in Clehonger, Herefordshire, Robert is a key member of a high-flying (nine-pin) skittles team called the Tattibogoes.

No7

JOHN PRICE (Wales)

DOB: 14 September 1960

John first played for Wales when he was only 17, way back in 1979, and he won the British Isles outdoor pairs and triples titles with his dad, Harry, in 1982 and 1983.  He partnered Steve Rees to the world pairs title in 1986, and won the world indoor singles title in 1990, beating charismatic Aussie Ian Schuback in the final, since when he has reached the final four more times, without repeating that first success.  John has won the Welsh indoor singles title eight times (never once losing in the final), the pairs twice, the triples three times and fours four times, and has won medals in the world outdoor championships and Commonwealth Games.  Formerly a civil servant, John is married to Anne, and lives in Port Talbot.  He works as a part-time marketing manager for Potters Leisure, and recently launched his own bowls shop.

No8

JASON GREENSLADE (Wales)

DOB: 6 March 1970

Both Jason's parents - Roy and Marilyn - have played for Wales, and he was first selected to do so when he was only 16 - though by the time the series started in Prestwick in 1986, he had actually celebrated his 17th birthday.  2004 was an important year for him, as he won the Welsh indoor singles title for the first time (having lost 21-20 to John Price in the 1994 final), and chalked up his first World Bowls Tour title, beating David Gourlay in the Scottish Masters final.  Jason, who has a mischievous sense of humour, is looking forward to visiting Australia in March, when he will skip the Welsh pair in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He has promised not to mention the cricket.  Married to Ruth, Jason lives in Barry, and plays for the Sully club indoors and for the famous Barry Athletic club outdoors.

No9

MARK MCMAHON (Australia)

DOB: 25 March 1969

Mark is unique in world bowls circles in that he was born in Scotland but has represented both Hong Kong and England at international level though now lives in Australia! The 36-year-old, who is a cabin supervisor with a leading airline, first came to prominence as a teenager winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986. Since then he has established himself as a major force in the sport, claiming the International Open title in Preston in 1994 before reaching the final of the World Indoor singles championship in 2004 where he lost to Alex Marshall. In 2001 Mark partnered England’s Les Gillett when they won the World Indoor Pairs title. He enjoys tennis, swimming and working out in the gym and his favourite food is Thai. Mark’s parents, Bill and Rosemary, also represented Hong Kong at international level.

No10

IAN BOND (England)

DOB: 8 June 1973

'Bondy', aka 'The Devon Destroyer', is one of the most exciting players on the circuit. A swashbuckling character, with a cavalier attitude, he was one of the first players to embrace the new tactics needed to be successful at the sets game.  After winning the Open in 2001, he quickly added the one-off PBA Players title in County Antrim in 2002, and the one-off Welsh Matchplay title the same year. His attacking style was well suited to the sudden nature of the tiebreak situation, and he went on to win the Scottish Masters in 2004.  England's indoor singles champion in 1995, Ian's best performances in the world indoor singles championship were in 2002 and 2005, when he reached the semi finals - and he missed out at the quarter final stage in 2004.  Married with two daughters, Katie and Courtney, Ian lives and works in Crediton, where he plays for the local outdoor bowls club. Indoors, he is a member of the famous Exonia club in Exeter.

No11

JONATHAN ROSS (Ireland)

DOB: 28 December 1973

The Irish ace, from Belfast, hopes season 2005-06 will see him finally break through by winning a major WBT ranking event. In recent years Jonathan, who turns 30 during the campaign ahead, has proved to be the ‘nearly man’ of world bowls, reaching the quarter finals of no fewer than three world championships as well as the same stage of the 2005 Welsh Masters. However he has proved a prolific winner of other titles in the sport having won the British Isles indoor singles in 2002 and 2003 as well as a gold medal for Ireland in the fours at the 2004 World Outdoor Championships. However as a new WBT season commences the popular Irishman freely admits his goal in life is to win a first World Bowls Tour event.

No12

LES GILLETT (England)

DOB: 17 November 1970

Les, known as Razor, made his mark in 1997, when he joined the Professional Bowls Association in August, came through the qualifiers in September, and, as a 100/1 outsider, swept past four world champions on his way to the Open title at the Preston Guild Hall.  He is one of a very small band of players who have qualified for the EBA (outdoor) championships at Worthing in all four events in the same season, and he has won the national junior singles and fours outdoors and the singles and pairs indoors.  In the 2001 EIBA singles final, Les met Robert Paxton, who has qualified for a crack at the world indoor singles championship this winter, and he looked destined for defeat when he trailed 6-20 - but a magnificent fight-back saw him edge over the line, 21-20.  It was also in the 2001 that he won the world indoor pairs title - with Scots-born Hong Kong international Mark McMahon, who lives in Australia. Married to Sadie, Les has two daughters, Millie and Eliza.

No13

BILLY JACKSON (England)

DOB: 2 March 1970

Billy may be looking for his first World Bowls Tour ranking title, but it would surprise no-one if he managed to achieve this ambition during this winter season.  His greatest skill lies in drawing to the jack, and he has a fine touch that is perfectly suited to fast greens. A sequence of good performances has enabled him to rise through the ranks, and he has particularly good memories of his battles with Alex "Tattie" Marshall.  After winning the English Bowls Players Association title in 1996, he repeated the achievement in 2003. In 2001, he won his first national title - the pairs - and he followed that up by winning the EIBA singles title in 2003.  A warehouseman, he lives in Lincolnshire with his wife and two sons, Ryan and Benjamin.

No14

GREG HARLOW (England)

DOB: 6 July 1968

Greg, who lives in Ely in Cambridgeshire, and plays for the City of Ely club, is one of the most naturally talented bowlers on the circuit, and has an impressive collection of titles to prove the point.  Concentrating on the indoor game, Greg has made few appearances outdoors, but was spotted by the England selectors at an early age, and made his international debut in 1993.  Since then, he has won the Irish Masters once, the Welsh Masters twice, and was runner up in the Scottish Masters in 2003. He lost in the final of the world indoor pairs championship with Graham Robertson in 2002, and started this winter's campaign as the holder of the Open title.  Indeed, within a few days of the start of the season, Greg successfully defended the title at Ponds Forge, thereby becoming the first player to retain the trophy in the event's nine-year history.  The last few years have proved particularly fruitful for Greg in England, where he won the indoor singles title in 2002, and the fours twice (2004 and 2005).

No15

MARK ROYAL (England)

DOB: 18 January 1975

Mark, from Stowmarket, is a consistent drawing player who is hard to beat, but who makes little fuss on or off the rink. A self-effacing character, he is popular with his fellow-players, who have the utmost respect for his ability.  One of the few players to have won the England Champion of Champions title indoors and out, Mark raised a few eyebrows when he made his debut on the portable rink in the Open in 2002.  Last winter, he ruffled a few feathers as he got past Mervyn King and Alex Marshall at Sheffield, then accounted for Robert Weale in Perth, before adding to Marshall's woes in the second round at Llanelli.  Mark, an England international indoors and out, was introduced to bowls while still at school by his music teacher, John Rednall, the 2004 EIBA singles champion, who is also a double international.

No16

NOEL KENNEDY (Hong Kong)

DOB: 23 December 1964

Hong Kong’s colourful ‘bandanna man’ is firmly established as one of the foremost personalities on the World Bowls Tour with his distinctive headgear recognised all around the globe! Noel, who celebrates his 41st birthday during the current season, has won a host of major prizes in the sport over the past two decades, appearing at both World Championships and Commonwealth Games. Fine performances in WBT ranking events, including reaching the semi-final stage on more than one occasion, have seen him established in the top 16. Noel, who is married with a young son, works as a sales manager for a construction firm and bowls out of the Kowloon club in Hong Kong. He lists his hobbies as watching most major sports and enjoys eating European food.