GWENT netballer Helen Weston, pictured, has failed in her bid for selection to the Wales Commonwealth Games netball squad that travels to Manchester later this month.

The 36-year-old - who plays for Cwmbran - is the country's most capped player and the second highest in the world with 112 appearances - and her exclusion comes as a shock.

Cwmbran-based Weston admitted it was the bad news she had been bracing herself for.

"At the back of my mind I think I knew this was always on the cards," she said.

"Obviously there was disappointment when the final 12 was announced and I wasn't in it. I'm not getting any younger and really I think it was going to happen at some point.

"I was just hoping it would happen later than this."

Weston, who first donned the famous Welsh jersey at 17, captained the side at the heart of the defence as goal-defender.

There she ruled the roost as a feared shot-stopper leading Wales to their first Commonwealth Games appearance in Kuala Lumpur four-years-ago where the sport made its debut on the Commonwealth stage.

But the pressures of the modern game have slowly come to haunt Weston who said the new-era of professionalism had been her ultimate downfall.

"I think the fact that I'm a specialist in one position has led to this. The modern game requires you to be able to offer more than that, which today's players can," Weston explained.

She isn't mulling over her exclusion, though, citing a breathtaking international career that has spanned 19 glorious years.

"I have so many great memories. The games in Kuala Lumpur were very special. And we had to beat Northern Ireland on their own soil to qualify.

"My first game against New Zealand in 1982 was special too. I don't think you ever forget winning that first cap. But we did lose, though."

Weston said she would be keeping in close contact with the squad in Manchester and she could make an appearance as a reserve.

"I'll be keeping in touch and I wish them luck."