LEGENDARY Troon bowler Paul Foster MBE admits he hasn’t picked up a bowl in over six months.

But the famous Scots internationalist says his hunger, desire and attitude to win has never been greater.

Foster, a four-time gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games, has been included in the Scotland squad for next year’s rescheduled World Bowls Championships.

The tournament was due to take place in May this year, but was called off because of COVID-19 until September 2021 on the Gold Coast, Australia.

He has been selected by the national committee alongside Ronnie Duncan, Derek Oliver, Darren Burnett and Alex Marshall.

And while preparations until now haven’t been ideal due to the coronavirus pandemic, Foster, 47, says he’ll be confident for the majors next season.

He told the Advertiser: “I’m delighted that the selection panel have gone with the same squad that was initially picked for this year.

“To be honest I’ve not picked up a bowl since March.

“There’s been no competitive bowling at all. Indoors stopped playing and although the outdoors is back up and running there’s no competitive edge within the clubs at the minute.

“I’ll be starting indoors later this week as the clubs reopen again. It’s the first time in 35 years I’ve taken so long away from the sport.

“I’m starting to get the practice back now and I’ll keep that up twice a week. I’ve been about the game a long time so hopefully it doesn’t take me long to get back up to speed. I’m confident I can pick up from where I left off.

“Hopefully when the squad all come together again we’ll be on form because next year will be busy, not just with the world championships but for other events too.

“Bowls is a funny old game – age is just a number to me. I feel I’m just as hungry to keep winning world titles and Commonwealth Games titles as I was when I started.

“I still put the practice in, I still feel at the top of my game. How long I go on for I don’t know but I’m still hungry to win and that gets me going. ”

Foster also revealed that he has lost over 19 pounds during lockdown, running five miles every day.

He added: “I started with just going out walks with my wife and four kids, then we went out on the bikes but in the last four months I’ve been running every single day.

“I just strap my phone to my arm, put my tunes on and away I go five miles each time.

“People have been commenting about the weight I’ve lost and I feel much better about myself, so I’ll not be stopping any time soon.”