KEY POINTS:
The women's series is all-square but Australia's men snared the silverware on the second day of the transtasman bowls series in Christchurch yesterday.
In a day of soaring temperatures and rising tensions on the Burnside Greens, the men and women both fought out 4-4 draws with the winners decided on countback.
It was a world apart from the first tests which the Australian men and women won 8-0.
The New Zealand women fought back to keep their series alive after losing the singles and fours.
The pair of Jo Edwards and Val Smith and triples combination of the Khan sisters, Marina and Jan, and Sharon Sims reversed those results to give them victory by a differential of just plus-two.
"It's all on," were the words of anticipation from the Black Jacks' three-times world champion, Sims, as she looked ahead to the final test today.
Edwards and Smith set the scene by taking five shots in a gripping last end of their pairs match against Karen Murphy and Lyndsay Armitage.
Down 11-12, Smith drew shots with three superb deliveries and Edwards added the finishing touches for a 16-12 win.
Across the green, Sims' triples were busy holding onto a hard fought lead, knowing they had a buffer of six shots to ensure the overall test win by differential.
The Khan sisters gave Sims enough to work with on the final end to win by four, also at 16-12.
In the men's test, Gary Lawson's 20-12 fours win was a fillip for the New Zealanders in the morning session, fighting back from a 5-9 deficit.
Australian singles star Aron Sherriff was also made to fight harder than on the opening day but finished strongly to win 21-15.
Russell Meyer and Lawson were forced into submission by the excellent Australian pair of Sherriff and Nathan Rice, losing 9-24.
Richard Girvan's triple squeaked a 22-21 win but it wasn't enough to prevent Australia winning with a differential of plus-12 and snaring their series with a day to spare.
- NZPA
