Scotland’s Paul Foster MBE is the new World Bowls Series Men’s No 1.
A stellar performance at the Ambassador Cruise Line 2026 World Indoor Bowls Championships sees the Scottish ace take the top spot following success winning the open pairs and runner-up in the open singles.
This follows his silver medal success at the inaugural World Cup in Malaysia and semi-final finish in the World Indoor Bowls Championships mixed pairs.
“The World Indoor Bowls Championships holds a special place in my heart and to win the pairs for a fifth time with Alex was indeed one of the highlights of playing in the championships – my 30th year playing in the event.
“It is an honour to be ranked No 1. The World Bowls Series rankings raise the profile of our sport making it more professional. It is great to see more events added and I hope more Northern Hemisphere tournaments will be included as the rankings develop.
“2026 is an important year for bowls with my home country of Scotland hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and to start the year at the top of the rankings is a proud moment.”
The new ranking list, which includes the World Bowls Tour’s World Indoor Championships at Potters Resorts, Norfolk, and the New Zealand Nationals singles and pairs, staged in Canterbury, New Zealand, sees Foster jump from previously 10th in the list to No 1 with 770 points.
Six countries feature in the Top 10 for the men – England lead the pack with three representatives, Scotland and Australia with two and Wales, Ireland and New Zealand with one. There’s 164 points between the No 1 and No 10 players.
There’s no change in the second, third and fourth places. Australia’s Corey Wedlock is the highest ranked Jackaroo at No 2, just four points adrift of Foster, followed by Wales’ Ross Owen and England’s Dominic McVittie in third and fourth spots on 690 and 687 points respectively.
Scotland’s Jason Banks who has lost his tenure at the top is now fifth, with inaugural World Bowls Series Finals winner Gary Kelly from Ireland in sixth. World Bowls Indoor Bowls Championship men’s singles champion, Aussie Jack McShane is seventh, and the youngest player in the top flight at just 20, with England’s Jamie Walker, moving up seven places as a result of his recent World Indoor Bowls Championships mixed pairs success. Aiden Takarua from New Zealand, Hong Kong International Bowls Classic’s men’s singles winner, and inaugural World Cup men’s singles gold medallist Sam Tolchard, of England, round up the Top 10 on 623 and 606 points each.
For the women, Australia’s Dawn Hayman maintains her No 1 place with 860 points – her tally boosted by her triumph becoming the first women’s WBS Finals champion.
Hayman now leads the Top 10, 59 points clear of her nearest rival – former No 1, England’s Emily Kernick, who was a bronze medallist in the WBS finals and runner-up in the World Indoor Bowls Championships mixed pairs at Potters.
World Cup women’s singles gold medallist, Malaysia’s Emma Firyana Saroji is third following her gold medal victory in the Tiger Bowls Invitational Fours.
New Zealand’s Selina Goddard is fourth, Alyani Jamil from Malaysia is fifth and another former No 1, Canada’s Kelly McKerihen is sixth.
England’s Nicole Rogers’s runner-up finish in the World Indoor Bowls Championships ladies’ matchplay, adds to her WBS Finals silver finish, sees her seventh, with winner of the ladies’ matchplay at Potters, her English colleague, Katherine Rednall, climbing from 16th to ninth.
Sandwiched between them is inaugural WBS women’s ranked No 1, Australia’s Kelsey Cottrell, while World Cup women’s pairs champion Cheryl Chan, who also scooped the Hong Kong International Classic women’s singles remains 10th.
Looking at the women’s rankings, six countries feature with 311 points separating the top 10 players.
The 2026 calendar continues with the South African Masters, 7 Nations Lawn Bowls Invitational in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 23rd edition of the Bowls Premier League in Moama, Australia, and the New Zealand National Fours and Mixed Pairs this month.
ABOUT THE WBS RANKINGS
The World Bowls Series, launched in 2024, 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.
The 2026 calendar has a record 38 sanctioned events. Each WBS event belonged 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 and increase their earnings potential, 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.
There have so far been five men’s No 1 ranked players – Aron Sherriff (Australia), Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (Malaysia), Paul Foster MBE, Stewart Anderson and Jason Banks for Scotland, while having enjoyed kudos as women’s No 1’s are Kelsey Cottrell (Australia), Kelly McKerihen (Canada), Nor Farah Ain Abdullah (Malaysia), Emily Kernick (England), Dawn Hayman (Australia) and Selina Goddard (New Zealand).
See World Bowls Series website www.worldbowlsseries.com for more information.
For more information regarding the World Bowls Series, contact: Neil Dalrymple, CEO, World Bowls, ceo@worldbowls.com
Media release compiled by Ceris Hewlings, World Bowls media officer, ceris.hewlings@keypublishing.com