Squash: Top-ranked Martin delivers the goods

By Bob Pearce

World No 1 Michelle Martin proved her worth as Central won the first Express squash tournament in Auckland yesterday.

The Australian raced through the deciding game against New Zealand's Leilani Joyce 15-10 15-13 to give her side a 2-1 victory over Waikato in the final.

Willie Bicknell had put Central ahead with a 16-12 13-8 win over Daniel Murphy before new national coach Wayne Werder had levelled the score, beating Mike McSherry in a tiebreak.

The shortened form of the game, designed for television and sponsored by AMP, proved a hit with the crowd, with players, referees and spectators all involved in the hectic action.

Gone were the mind-numbing defensive rallies. The emphasis was on strokemaking rather than endurance.

Martin was beaten in pool play by fellow Australian Carol Owen, whose Bay of Plenty team missed out on a semifinal place on a countback to Canterbury.

Both semifinals finished 2-1, with the key to Central's win over Auckland a tiebreak victory to Bicknell over Peter Wyatt. Waikato were pressed even closer by Caterbury, with Joyce beating Sarah Cook in a tiebreak and Murphy accounting for Campbell Barbour in the same way.