Baker, who currently serves on the Saudi Arabian Federation Board while also being director of communications for the Saudi Olympic Committee, has become chair of the IBF’s women in sport committee.

Among the objectives for Baker, who is also a sports columnist for the Arab News, will be seeking the increased participation of women athletes within bowling and leadership positions within the IBF - the Lausanne-based organisation which oversees nine-pin, ten-pin and para bowling - and its member federations.

Over the past two years Baker has advocated increasing involvement of women players within the Saudi Bowling Federation (SBF) which has been a large part of the membership quadrupling in that time.

A breakthrough in this initiative came last year when, for the first time in history, the SBF sent a women’s team to compete at the World Bowling Championships in Las Vegas, with Baker acting as team manager.

The IBF President, HE Sheikh Talal Mohammed Al-Sabah said: "The Saudi Bowling Federation has already achieved so much to pioneer the sport of bowling amongst women within its country.

"Dr Baker has been a big part of this success and therefore her appointment to lead the IBF’s women in sport committee was not a difficult decision.

"Myself and the IBF Executive Board look forward to working with her in the future to champion our female athletes to the next level."

Earlier this month it was announced at the organisation’s online Extraordinary Congress that the IBF would become the new name of what has formerly been known as World Bowling.

A letter from IBF chief executive Andrew Oram said that, historically, "many decisions were made not at international level but at national level."

This saw World Bowling operate as an "associate member of its own organisation instead of acting as the International Bowling Federation."

"This was a failing on behalf of the international governing body," Oram said.

"Ours is not merely a change in name but a change in the way the International Bowling Federation will fulfil its mission and interact with all stakeholders."

It is hoped the changes will help bowling promote itself as a sport which could one day make the Olympic programme.

"Numerous failed Olympic bids, the most recent Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 but many before, have never brought about the necessary soul searching and deep dive into why the sport was rejected," said Oram.