COMMONWEALTH Games veteran Alex Marshall is travelling Down Under with the aim of “knocking them off top spot”.

The lawn bowls four-time gold medallist was among the first athletes selected to represent Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Marshall, who emerged as one of the stars of the 2014 Games in Glasgow thanks to his passionate celebrations, will be back on the greens competing for Scotland along with fellow gold medallists Paul Foster and Darren Burnett.

The 50-year-old is confident the team selected will be able to compete with teams from Australia and New Zealand, who dominated the 2016 World Outdoor Championships.

“There’s very limited countries that have had the opportunity to go over to the Gold Coast to prepare for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“But we’ve spent quite a lot of time over there and I think we’re in the right frame of mind to compete against the southern hemisphere teams.

“The Kiwis and the Aussies will be really difficult to beat, but because we’ve beaten them a few times already, we’re looking forward to knocking them off top spot.”

Caroline Brown and Claire Johnstone are included in the squad for their third Games, while Kay Moran returns.

Lesley Doig and Stacey McDougall have been selected for the first time, and Marshall is excited by the squad.

He said: “The strength in depth we have is unbelievable. The guys that have been selected deserve to be selected, so it gives us the confidence to do well.”