Bowls: NZ men and women start strongly in Sydney

SYDNEY - New Zealand hit Australia with a body blow six weeks out from the Commonwealth Games with a win in the opening men's match at the Tri Nations bowls championships in Melbourne yesterday.

The New Zealand men's team won the singles and pairs, but dipped out in the triples. They repeated that performance later in the day in beating Malaysia 2-1.

Russell Meyer, returning to the singles berth in the national team, beat Australia's new singles player, Shane Globits 15-5 9-10 2-1 under the tiebreak format that will be in force at the Games in March.

Jamie Hill shrugged off any jetlag incurred in his trip back from the world indoor singles championships in Norfolk in successfully teaming up with Rowan Brassey to beat Nathan Rice and Barrie Lester 12-4 6-6.

However, the triples combination of Gary Lawson, Justin Goodwin and Richard Girvan that won gold at the recent Asia Pacific championships was unable to continue that form, going down in straight sets 5-6 5-7 to Mark Casey, Wayne Turley and Bill Cornehls.

 

The New Zealand women had a 2-1 win over Malaysia, with Jo Edwards beating the last Commonwealth Games' gold medallist Siti Zalina Ahmad in the singles, 6-7 8-6 2-0.

The Khan sisters, Jan and Marina, lost in a 2-1 tiebreak, but the triple of Val Smith, Serena Matthews and Sharon Sims were too strong for their Malaysian opponents, winning 12-7 8-8.

Edwards' win gave her a 2-1 edge over Ahmad in singles matches, but it was a close one once again.

"I thought I had the first set, but she played a shot that took the jack away, and then I came back from 5-1 down to take the second set and then won the tiebreaker. It was a funny old game," she told NZPA.

The Nelson United player said she had needed the four days' solid practice on the Darebin greens.

"It's a lot slower than at home, so we have had to change technique a little and each day things have been getting a bit better."

The New Zealand men's development side lost their match against Australia, despite winning the triples, while the women's development team won 2-1 over Malaysia.

New Zealand co-coach Peter Belliss was pleased with the opening efforts.

"To get results like this so early on is very encouraging for the rest of the tournament," he said.

"When you look at it, Malaysia and Australia are going to be the major competitors we're going to go up against at the Commonwealth Games, so it's great we've started off so well."

The New Zealand women's team recorded their second win when they beat Australia 2-1.

Edwards was again on song, accounting for Australia's top singles player, Maria Rigby, in a match that went down to a tiebreaker finish.

The Khan sisters again lost their match, but the triples saved the day with a tiebreaker win.

- NZPA