Natasha in Oz CWG lawn bowls squad

Natasha van Eldik was today included in the Australian lawn bowls pairs squad for the Commonwealth Games to be held here in October. According to a statement by the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, the 19-year-old will become the youngest lawn bowler to wear Australian colours in a Commonwealth Games competition. She will line up alongside reigning gold medallist, 26-year-old Lynsey Armitage. The pair won the silver medal at the eight-nation tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium lawn bowls facility here in April. That convinced Australian coach Rex Johnston that Van Eldik was ready.

''I got the call at 6.45 this morning...they said we would get a call whether we had made the Commonwealth Games team or not so I didn't know what to expect,'' she was quoted as saying in the Australian media. ''It's a bit overwhelming really. In 12 months I have debuted for my country, played about 14 or 15 games for Australia and now I'm going to a Commonwealth Games. It's a dream come true,'' she added.

Twenty-year-old Kelsey Cottrell, a reserve four years ago, will make her debut in the women's singles, while Sharyn Renshaw (NSW), Claire Duke (NSW) and Julie Keegan (NSW) have been selected to play in the triples.

In the men's disciplines, world number two Leif Selby has secured the coveted singles role while Mark Berghofer and Aron Sherriff will play in the pairs and Brett Wilkie will partner defending Games champions Wayne Turley (NSW) and Mark Casey (QLD) in the triples.

Australia topped the medal count in Melbourne four years ago with three gold, one silver and one bronze. National coach Rex Johnston believes it is possible to replicate that performance in Delhi.

''We're extremely happy with the final 12 that has been selected,'' he said, preparing for his sixth successive Commonwealth Games campaign as a player or a coach.

''We have a strong mix of youth and experience, with the likes of Armitage, Turley and Casey being given the chance to defend their respective gold medals from Melbourne, while we've also invested our faith in the likes of Cottrell and Selby who have proven to be world class players over the past couple of years,'' he added.

The team: Men: Singles: Leif Selby; Pairs: Mark Berghofer and Aron Sherriff; Triples: Brett Wilkie, Wayne Turley and Mark Casey. Women: Singles: Kelsey Cottrell: Pairs: Lynsey Armitage and Natasha Van Eldik; Triples: Sharyn Renshaw, Claire Duke and Julie Keegan.