Badminton: NZ pound Jamaicans in preliminary round

It may have been an early start but New Zealand's badminton players had no trouble getting up over Jamaica today, underscoring the yawning chasm of class in the preliminary rounds of the Commonwealth Games teams competition.

New Zealand cruised to another 5-0 victory, emulating the scoreline they achieved in their opening match against Kenya at the Melbourne Entertainment Centre yesterday.

Spurred on by their boisterous support crew - who indulged in and arguably won a noisy battle with the Australians watching a win over Uganda on the adjacent court - New Zealand wasted little time completing formalities.

Up at 6.30am to make the cross-city journey from the athletes' village to the Games venue, the New Zealanders didn't need a caffeine shot to jolt themselves into action.

New Zealand were switched on from the opening rubber where the mixed doubles combination of Sara Runesten Petersen and Dan Shirley needed just 20 minutes to record a 21-9 21-6 win over Charles Pyne and Ayla Lewis.

Singles player Geoff Bellingham then subdued Garron Palmer 21-8 21-13 before his wife Rebecca tamed Nigella Saunders 21-13 21-10.

Shirley and new doubles partner Craig Cooper continued the rout with a 21-11 21-5 disposal of Palmer and Pyne before Runesten Petersen and birthday girl Nicole Gordon ensured the New Zealanders did not drop a game with a 21-8 21-8 win over Lewis and Saunders.

Australia were equally emphatic in cruising to a 5-0 over Uganda, who face New Zealand in the tonight's session.

Gordon, whose 30th birthday celebrations are on hold, said the two rounds so far had amounted to little more than training runs although it was useful preparation in terms of getting acclimatised to the conditions.

The chilly air conditioning system is causing a tricky breeze to flow around the arena making shot selection difficult.

"A few people are uncharacteristically shanking or mistiming it a little bit. You have to concentrate and shorten your swing," she said.

Shirley agreed the biggest obstacle the New Zealanders had faced so far were the conditions.

"You have the breeze behind you at one end then you play into the wind so you have to measure your shots. There's also some sideways drift."

Cooper, who has paired up with Shirley in the injury-enforced absence of John Gordon, said the early round romps were also a useful exercise.

"When we play weaker opposition there are still things we can work on. It's just good to get out there and get used to the conditions before the bigger matches."

Australia loom on the horizon on Saturday, with the winners of that contest certain to win the pool and therefore miss favourites Malaysia in sudden death play.

"In our pool the only one we'll find tough is Australia. The last few times we've got it over them but it's always close," Cooper said.

"All the matches are really tight because we know each other so well."

New Zealand have dominated Australia in recent years, winning the Whyte Trophy 3-0 last July and the Oceania championships, also in Auckland, 4-1 last month.

Meanwhile, the Jamaicans had no problem with New Zealand supporters wearing polo shirts emblazoned with "Black Cocks -- Expect Something Big".

A bemused Palmer finally twigged to the double entendre and smiled in agreement: "Oh, yeah man ... cool."

- NZPA