READING bowls star Andy Knapper helped England win the men’s triples at the World Championships in New Zealand.

The manager of Whiteknights IBC and a member of Tilehurst BC linked up with Jamie Walker and Rob Paxton to earn England their first triples gold medal since 1980.

They led Australia 9-8 at 11 ends before dropping four shots on the 12th end.

However, five singles on the following five ends saw the English trio lead by two shots going into the last end. The Aussies picked up two shots on the 18th end to take the final into an extra end, which saw Walker seal a memorable victory.

In the meantime, it has been a busy period for Whiteknights.

Their ladies reached the next round of the national Yetton Plate with a 72-54 win over Westlecot. They will now play Thornbury on January 7.

Whiteknights men defeated Mid-Gloucestershire 112-110 after each team had won three rinks.

Their top rink was Geoff Mostram (skip), John Baggott, Malcolm Foster and Tony Parsons, finishing 23 shots clear.

In another friendly match, Whiteknights defeated Farnborough Civil Service 128-91.

Rink honours were shared by two teams, both producing a score card of plus 13 shots after winning 11 of the 18 ends.

They were Dan Mills (skip), Mike Holmes and Geoff Bentley. along with Joy Holmes (skip), Franco Murana and George Powell.