Tipped for Wimbledon glory at just 12 years old, Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall will finally grace the sporting spotlight when she makes her Commonwealth Games debut at 52 this summer.

A benign brain tumour left the lawn bowler with a field of vision just three yards long and a thumb-width wide, meaning she competes in the B3 classification alongside her director, Elizabeth Shipley.

In November, the pair scooped their first major title at the World Cup in Malaysia and they will hope that is a positive omen ahead of their trip to Glasgow in July.

Lewis-Wall said: “As the week went on, we got stronger and stronger - the stars aligned and it was amazing."

“To stand on that podium with Elizabeth explaining to me that the England flag was being raised and the national anthem being played, it was very emotional."

“I always say let your bowls do the talking. Keep your head down and just play every wood as if it were your first.”

Hailing from Hinckley, Lewis-Wall’s elite sporting background gives her a firm foundation on which she has built her success. Having reached number four in the country and played international tournaments, British tennis legends Jo Durie and Alan Jones tipped the youngster for Wimbledon.

Lewis-Wall said: “The support that my family gave me and the coaches that I had at the time stood me in good stead with this environment that I now find myself in."

“I can't pronounce half the names that are on the circuit now."

“But I think the characters of the game that I loved like Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe don't really exist anymore. People are looking for different characters and I'm still one of the old ones.”

Lewis-Wall visited Malmesbury Bowls Club, which recently had its all-weather surface repaired after flooding thanks to Sport England support.

It is a crucial upgrade which Lewis-Wall believes is key to ensuring bowls is kept accessible to as many people as possible, especially ahead of its big platform at the Commonwealth Games.

She said: “This all-weather surface is brilliant. I know they've had their problems over the last few years, but with this artificial surface, it's actually an all-weather, all-year-round environment."

“Bowls clubs are closing because of the cost of maintaining the equipment and the environment that you need to play the game."

“I believe a bowls club should always be open for people to experience, even if it's to come along and watch to have the social side of it. A bowls club is the community of any town or village. "

“It's a sport that takes minutes to learn but a lifetime is not enough to master it. It is a sport for all.”

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