Bowls: Kiwis have rusty start in Trans-Tasman test

MELBOURNE - A slow start in hot, blustery conditions may prove costly for the New Zealand bowls team in its quest for the three-test Trans-Tasman Trophy series against Australia here.

Most of the 24-strong Kiwi side struggled to find their rhythm in their morning matches against the reigning trophy holders on the slow Kingsbury Club greens in north Melbourne yesterday, before mounting a recovery in the afternoon.

They lost the opening test by 30 points to 18, with two points being allocated for each win.

"It was a tough day for us," men's selection convener Peter Shaw admitted, but said the turnaround in form in the afternoon was important for team morale going into the final two tests today and tomorrow.

"We were a bit rusty in the morning, but most of the players improved in the afternoon."

He said the new format for the series, with each combination having to play two matches of two nine-end sets, meant a big adjustment for the players, with the need to concentrate fully during the day paramount.

The New Zealand men lost their three matches in the singles, pairs and triples in the morning, but mounted a recovery in the afternoon with Russell Meyer scoring a rare win against world singles champion Steve Glasson and the Glenn McDonald-skipped triple also winning.

Meyer showed plenty of heart in the cut-throat format, choosing to drive out a close Glasson bowl with his last delivery in a tiebreaker in the afternoon, when nobody was certain who held the shot.

Glasson had won their morning match and the 32-year-old Meyer, who plays for Cabramatta in the New South Wales premier league, said it was crucial for him to win in the afternoon.

"It was a good confidence booster, with four more matches still to go over the next two days." he told NZPA.

McDonald, Philip Skoglund and newcomer Steve Posa had a horror start, losing 17-1 in their opening set against the Australians, but recovered their poise and only lost their morning match in a tiebreaker before kicking home in the afternoon tiebreaker.

The pair of Gary Lawson and Rowan Brassey couldn't master Kelvin Kerkow and Brett Duprez in either match, struggling to find their accuracy on slow and uneven greens.

Under the format, the pairs combos only have two bowls each per player per end and Lawson admitted he was not a fan.

"It makes it very difficult, particularly for the leads to correct."

But he said he and Brassey would be better for the experience. "We just have to tighten a bit."

The format didn't cater for Jo Edwards' concentration lapses. She held a commanding lead over Maria Rigby in the women's singles in the morning, but dropped four shots with victory in the offing and couldn't recover in time, while a similar lapse in the afternoon also cost her victory.

Like the men, the women lost two matches to four and will need to show better form today and tomorrow if the trophy is to cross the Tasman.

The triples combinations in the men's under-25 and women's development sections fought out some thrilling battles, with the score at one match apiece. The women's triple of Michelle Preston, Lisa Dickson and Manu Timoti lost in a close tiebreaker in the morning, but showed heart to beat the Australians in the afternoon in another tight contest, while singles player Cathy Fleming, from the Paritutu club, also fought back from a morning loss to win in the afternoon.

- NZPA