Winner Ellen wants to be a golden girl ELLEN Falkner secured her second successive World Matchplay Championship title – and has her sights on a Commonwealth Games gold medal. England international Falkner, 26, defeated compatriot Jo Morris 11-2, 11-5 at P

Winner Ellen wants to be a golden girl

ELLEN Falkner secured her second successive World Matchplay Championship title - and has her sights on a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

England international Falkner, 26, defeated compatriot Jo Morris 11-2, 11-5 at Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk.

Strong starts in both sets enabled Falkner to dictate the pace in the televised match. She went 11-0 ahead in the first set and 6-0 in the second, a factor she was quick to acknowledge as being crucial to her success.

"It's always nice to get off to a good start in an event of that stature," said Ellen, who bowls at the City of Ely club.

"But winning the first set only guarantees a tie-break - the next set is a new start. Again, I was up 6-0 in that set but Jo battled back, as I knew she would, to bring it to 6-5."

Kent's Morris held shot in the next end but Falkner produced one of her specials to draw shot and go ahead 7-5. From there, she did not look back.

"That was the key bowl in the game," said Falkner. "I was able to go on from there."

Falkner had special praise for the Hopton venue, where she enjoys competing. "It's a unique, special place," she said.

Now Falkner is getting ready for Melbourne next month, where she is looking to add to the gold medal she won in the fours at Manchester in 2002.

She said: "We've got a great team going there and to win again would be out of this world. I hope that I can make my dream of a gold medal come true."

Falkner admitted that playing at City of Ely, where a number of England internationals ply their trade, was a huge help to her own game.

"My advice to anyone coming into the game is to play with and against as many better bowlers as possible. I'm fortunate to have that at Ely."

Falkner also competed in the mixed pairs, but was defeated in the semi-final. Partnering David Gourlay, they were beaten 5-9, 8-6, 2-1 by Robert Weale and Amy Monkhouse.