Badminton: Test series tough contest

New Zealand badminton coach Martin Andrew expects tough opposition from Australia in the Whyte Trophy test series starting in Auckland today.

New Zealand won all five titles at the North Harbour International over the weekend, with only one Australian pair making a final.

However Andrew, who has coached in Australia, said the result of the three-test Whyte Trophy series was not a foregone conclusion.

"The wins from this weekend have been really good but we can't get too carried away," he said.

"The Aussies will still be tough this week as many of our scores against them have been close," said Andrew.

New Zealand are striving to become the first country to win the trophy on five successive occasions, a feat not achieved since the biennial transtasman contest started in 1938.

The second test is in Hamilton on Thursday and the third in Invercargill on Sunday.

Whyte Trophy

* New Zealand: Geoff Bellingham, Rebecca Bellingham, Craig Cooper, Nicole Gordon, John Gordon, Rachel Hindley, Dan Shirley, Sara Runesten Petersen.

* Australia: Stuart Brehaut, Stuart Gomez, Travis Denney, Boyd Cooper, Kellie Lucas, Kate Wilson-Smith, Tania Luiz.

- NZPA