Bowls: Gary Muir aims to make an impact indoors

GARY MUIR is one of the best outdoor bowls players on the Lothians circuit, but he will look to transfer his skills  indoors this weekend as he  appears for East Lothian in the preliminary round of the  Scottish Cup against Ardrossan in Coatbridge.

Muir, who plies his trade at Hillside, has been frequently courted by the select teams of Edinburgh & Leith in the  summer months, but the 27-year-old has always been reluctant to commit. His decision to wear the East Lothian colours will come as a blow to Portobello and Bainfield, although the fact that bowls glitterati such as Willie Wood MBE, Alex Marshall MBE and Graham Robertson also play at Tranent’s Meadowmill Stadium will no doubt have had a  bearing on his final destination.

Furthermore, other top  Edinburgh names in Billy  Mellors and Andrew Jeffrey have signed up for East  Lothian, making Muir’s move more understandable.

Muir has no profile in the  indoor version of bowls, but the EL selectors have named him as lead in the rink of Jamie Gordon, Jeffrey and Mellors and with Wood, Marshall, Robertson and other internationalist Scott Kennedy and Derek Oliver also on duty, it is a strong team expected to do the business.