The World Bowls Series men’s ranking list has its third Number 1 ranked bowler – Scotland’s Stewart Anderson, the first leader from the Northern Hemisphere.
In the latest updated World Bowls Series rankings, the 39-year-old takes the top spot from Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple, Malaysia.
Anderson, holder of both the World Indoor Bowls Championship open singles and Scottish International Open, is the third bowler to hold the Number 1 ranking – the inaugural being Australia’s Aron Sherriff who is now third.
But it’s extremely close at the top of the leaderboard with players losing a number of previously accumulated points as the year nears its end. In fact, there are now only five points between Anderson and Dzukeple.
South African Wayne Roberts returns to the top 10 after claiming Gold at the African States Championships in both the singles and pairs events and now is in 4th position.
With the Scottish National Finals, European Championship pairs and Dubbo Fours – the richest fours tourney in the world – now included in the rankings, it’s European Championships pairs gold medallists, England’s Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens who are the biggest movers in the women’s rankings.
Rogers leaps 10 places from 14th to 4th, while Stevens sits just outside the top 10 in 11th place moving up from 23rd. Australian Indoor Championships women’s champion Kelsey Cottrell, who was also runner-up in this year’s Australian Open women’s singles, still maintains her leaderboard position in the female rankings, 31 points clear of second placed Nor Farah Ain Abdullah. New Zealand’s Tayla Bruce is third.
November is a busy and important month on the World Bowls calendar and the world rankings could see some significant changes with four gold events and one platinum event to be played.
November WBS events
- Scottish International Open 3rd – 5th West Lothian, Scotland – Gold
- Hong Kong International Bowls Classic 9th – 17th Hong Kong, China – Gold
- BPL Australia 10th – 15th Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Gold
- Oceania Bowls Challenge 21st – 24th Auckland, New Zealand – Gold
- World Bowls Champion of Champions 25th – 30th Auckland, New Zealand – Platinum
The race to year-end number 1 player in the world is well and truly on and we look forward to seeing the results over the coming months to see who ends up as the number 1 bowlers at the end of 2024.
In 2025, we plan to launch our inaugural World Para Bowler rankings as well and work is currently occurring on preparing the calendar of events that will be included in these rankings.
This is an exciting era for bowls globally and the WBS is an important element to help grow the profile of the sport.
World Bowls Series is the official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures. The sanctioned events occur across the globe and will feature a mixture of existing and new events.
WBS currently has 29 sanctioned events. Each WBS event will belong to a different tier having different ranking points based on the size, location, and stature it presents for the sport.
The purpose of WBS is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and launch world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.
For more information regarding the World Bowls Series, contact: Neil Dalrymple, CEO, World Bowls, [email protected]
Female Rankings List: HERE
Male Rankings List: HERE
Author: Ceris Hewlings, World Bowls media officer
Caption: Scotland’s Stewart Anderson is the new World Bowls Series number one ranked male player. Credit: World Bowls Tour
Caption: England’s Nicole Rogers and Harriet Stevens, European Championships gold medallists are the biggest movers in the women’s rankings. Credit: Bowls Scotland