The New Zealand selectors face a dilemma.
Who will they pick for the women's singles at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow?
Nelson club-mates Val Smith and Jo Edwards have the credentials. Edwards is ranked top of the World Bowls singles list and Smith fourth.
They both have outstanding international records in the event and can be expected to continue their success.
Smith first played singles for New Zealand at the Asia and Pacific championships in 2007 and won the gold medal.
She won a gold medal in the event at World Bowls in 2008.
She has also won three silver medals in major international events. At the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010 she won a silver medal and repeated this at World Bowls in Adelaide in 2012.
Edwards has won four gold medals in singles and a silver and bronze medal at major international events.
She won the World Cup indoor singles in 2009, 2010 and 2012 and the world champion of champions singles in 2011.
Edwards won the New Zealand championship singles in 2011 and Smith has yet to win a national singles title.
The feature women's singles game at the recent national championships was won by Edwards.
The five strong men's and women's teams for the annual transtasman test series against Australia in Melbourne on March 18-20 will be named on Sunday.
Bowlers named in the team will have the front running for the Commonwealth Games and will have to play badly to be left out of the team for Glasgow.
Seven men and seven women played tests in the United Kingdom last winter to test themselves on the slower greens.
''They will be the key players who will be in contention for the test team,'' national selector Terry Scott said yesterday.
''We will announce the Commonwealth Games team after the test series.''
Bowlers who have performed in the international arena will have the edge when the selectors name the transtasman team. Edwards and Smith are certainties for the women's team and the other two strong candidates will be Lisa White (Wellington) and Mandy Boyd (Canterbury), who both won silver medals in triples at World Bowls in Adelaide.
The three bowlers in contention for the final spot are Sandra Keith (Canterbury), who won the world champion of champions title in 2012, Amy McIlroy (Nelson), who was in the winning fours team at this month's national championships, and Angela Boyd (Hawkes Bay).
Two younger players who performed with distinction at the national championships will be selected in the New Zealand development team.
Selina Goddard (Auckland) was in the winning fours team and Tayla Bruce (Canterbury) was runner-up in the women's singles.
Shannon McIlroy (Nelson) will be the men's singles player for the transtasman series and the Commonwealth Games.
He first represented New Zealand in 2007 and won a silver medal in the singles at the Six Nations and bronze at World Bowls in 2012.
He is rated fourth on the World Bowls singles ranking list.
Another certainty in the team will be Tony Grantham (Auckland), who is ranked eighth on the World Bowls list and won the pairs and fours titles at the national championships.
Sydney based Ali Forsyth is another world class bowler and is a certainty for selection.
The other two spots are expected to be filled by winning national championship fours skip Andrew Kelly (Canterbury) and the experienced Sydney based international Richard Girvan.
Black Jacks
The candidates
Men: Dan Delany (Auckland), Ali Forsyth (Sydney), Richard Girvan (Sydney), Tony Grantham (Auckland), Andrew Kelly (Canterbury), Shannon McIlroy (Nelson), Blake Signal (Nelson).
Women: Angela Boyd (Hawkes Bay), Mandy Boyd (Canterbury), Jo Edwards (Nelson), Sandra Keith (Canterbury), Amy McIlroy (Nelson), Val Smith (Nelson), Lisa White (Wellington).
