Hockey: Black Sticks cope with extreme heat

They may have won 1-0 but the New Zealand men's hockey teams' main achievement was underscoring their Commonwealth Games conditioning in furnace-like atmosphere against Malaysia yesterday.

The mercury tipped 39C at the State Netball Hockey Centre, ensuring the Black Sticks had an energy-sapping 50-minute workout of particular relevance to two players.

Defender James Nation had been troubled by a hamstring injury while veteran forward Bevan Hari carried a minor groin problem into the contest settled by Gareth Brook's deflection of a Hayden Shaw penalty corner.

The schedule says the Kiwis should not face such extreme heat in their first match against England on Thursday at 12.30pm (NZT).