Badminton: Kiwis seal special victory over Australia

New Zealand has won the Whyte Trophy for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time last night after beating Australia 3-0 at Hamilton with a test still remaining.

The victory follows on from the 5-0 win in North Harbour earlier in the week. The win gives New Zealand its fifth consecutive Whyte Trophy triumph in the bi-annual transtasman series, the first by either team since the competition started in 1938.

The first match of the clash was won by the mixed pair Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen over Travis Denney and Kate Wilson Smith.

The Kiwis lost the first set 8-15 and won a tight second 15-12 before completing an easy third set 15-5 for the victory. The Australians changed their women's singles player to Tania Luiz who reached the semis of the North Harbour International last weekend.

Rebecca Bellingham, ranked 30 in the world, won the women's singles for the loss of just two points beating Luiz 11-1, 11-1.

Geoff Bellingham then guaranteed New Zealand victory by scoring another win over Aussie men's No 1 Stuart Brehaut 15-4, 15-9.

New Zealand has an opportunity for a series whitewash when they play the third test at Stadium Southland in Invercargill on Sunday.