Best pals Natalie Chestney, Sian Honnor and Jamie-Lea Winch are England's latest golden girls after claiming the Commonwealth Games women's triples bowls title.

They held their nerve in a tetchy final encounter against Malaysia to secure England's second gold at Leamington Spa, following a win for their men's triples team.

For Chestney, 33, it is a second Commonwealth gold, she also has two silvers, but a first since her victory in the singles in 2010.

Honnor, 34, also has a triples gold from Glasgow eight years ago - and two bronzes, but Winch, 31, has a silver and bronze, meaning she finally complete her set.

"It means so much more to win with my friends," she said.

"We're playing for a country but we are also really playing for each other.

"We've been together on this team since Delhi and we've come such a long way and to cap that journey off with a gold medal is fantastic.

"I've already got a silver and a bronze so this was the one that I really wanted and I couldn't ask for any more.


"This has been the moment I've been dreaming of, I always believed it would happen at some point and we've finally got over the line."

England took the lead early on but were soon pegged back and needed to win five ends on the spin to secure a 17-9 win as the evening shadows fell over Victoria Park.

"That game was a hard slog, the bowls were pinging all over the place and I kept catching edges, it was close but no cigar far too often," said Honnor.

"It would have been easy to get frustrated but we just stayed with our plan and kept talking.

"It doesn't always have to be pretty, we just threw ourselves over the line. We changed our tactics, won five consecutive ends, and that finished them off."

Chestney was left downbeat four years ago on the Gold Coast after failing to progress out the group stages of the fours and losing in the quarter-finals of the pairs.

And she admitted the emotion of the moment was heightened by her daughter watching in the crowd.

"I only noticed her after 14 ends and I thought I was going to start crying," she said.


"Having our families here has just made it even more special. This just means more winning at home. We've played games all around the world with a few token family members but having the whole crowd with you, just makes such a huge difference.

“You can feel how much they want it for you."

And earlier, former cricketer Chris Turnbull finally found a sporting thrill better than skittling batsman as he claimed Commonwealth Games lawn bowls bronze.

The 74-year old Ryedale bowler became one of England's oldest medallists in Games history, joining forces with Alison Yearling as England beat Australia to claim a podium place in the visually-impaired mixed pairs event at Leamington Spa.

The retired teacher has a sight condition called bilateral myopic macular degeneration and at 30 years of age, was told him he had the eyes of an 80-year-old.

But as a keen sportsman, he didn’t let his sight loss stop him.

"It's fantastic. It feels unreal – I have to keep touching the medal to remember it's there," he said.

"We've worked hard: it's been a two-year process through the trials to get selected, and you don't want to let anybody down.

"Taking wickets and getting hat-tricks, it's the same buzz! I got a hat-trick in cricket: three balls, all clean bowled but it's not better than a bronze medal."


Turnbull and Yearling are assisted by sighted directors Mark and Sue Wherry, a grandson and grandmother combination from Truro.

"They are essential," said Yearling. "They give us the information we can't see. They are calm and lovely people, and we couldn't have done it without them."

And Turnbull has another assistant - with guide dog James arguably one of the most popular members of Team England in Birmingham.

"The sighted bowlers in the team have loved him," added Turnbull.

"He's been a calming influence and a good addition – everybody loves him. He's going to get some carrots tonight - he loves them."