ROBERT Paxton’s bid for World Indoor Singles glory ended in disappointment as he narrowly lost to Nick Brett in a compelling final at Potters Leisure Resort.

After tying the first set 9-9, the Taunton Deane star then dropped a full house on the first end of the second set to leave him on the back foot, but despite dragging himself back into the match, he gave himself too much to do and just couldn’t catch Huntingdon’s finest and was left to reflect on his missed opportunity.

“Too many short bowls cost me,” the 37-year-old admitted.

“I spent so much of my energy getting back into the match against Alex [Marshall] that I didn’t quite have enough to help me get over the line.

“I am disappointed, but it is nice to get into a final after losing in three previous semis.

"The hoodoo has been broken, I know I can get there. It’s just that next step, which is huge for anyone.”

After only the third all-English final in the last 38 years, and the first between debut finalists for the first time since 1998, Paxton showered praise on his opponent, who cemented his position at the head of the world rankings.

He said: “Nicky thoroughly deserves the title.

"Over the last two to three years on the Tour, he has gone from strength to strength, playing well and everything has been going his way, which in bowls happens to great players over a period of time.”

The first set was nip and tuck, with nothing to separate both players by end five, but a three-shot haul suddenly sent Brett into a decent lead. Paxton upped his game and collected three doubles in the next four ends to lead by two going into the final end.

Brett got two in close, but Paxton whipped one off and unfortunately for the Taunton bowler, Brett delivered one to with a foot of the jack to claim a two and tie the set.

That was a body blow for Paxton, but an even bigger punch to the ribs came on the first end of the second set when he dropped a full house and fall instantly four shots behind.

He halved that deficit on the next end, although dropping a three on end three was not what the doctor ordered, but a seven-shot margin was never going to be easy to recover from, although he got close.

He was only 11-7 down, though, with three ends to play, but a single for Brett gave him a five-point cushion and from there on in he never looked like losing and duly ran out a 9-9 12-9 winner.

“I have put so much into the last two days from a mental point of view and everything like that to prove I can get on top of the best bowlers in the world” said Paxton.

“The amount I will take from that with Alex is immense and against Nicky, a lot players would have folded after falling 9-2 down after drawing the first set. You just have to grind things out and make them win it, rather than you lost, and I think I did that.

“I felt reasonably comfortable out there today, but it was really annoying that my first bowl kept falling 14-16 inches short of the jack.”

Reflecting on his narrow failure at Potters as well as the previous 12 months on Tour, he added: “I still feel privileged to be in the top 16, when I probably shouldn’t feel that. I have earned my right to be here.

"Getting to three world in finals in the space of 12 months, you would take that. It’s disappointing, but I’ll soon get over it and get my head down and start again.”