Kiwis Go 1 Up in Masters Trans Tasman Test
13 Oct 2015
It has been a successful first day for the NZ Masters Trans Tasman Team as they took a win from Australia in a hard fought battle.
First on the court for the men was the youngest male members. With Shuja making his first appearance for the Masters Team he went out to prove he was here for business and took a strong win against Craig Brann. First on court for the women was the 45+ and Lisa Cowlard making her third appearance for NZ. Lisa had a close battle with her Australian counterpart Sarah Nelson with both players pushing each other however it was Australia's turn to scratch a win on the board and level the playing field.
Next on court was the 45+ men and Willie Bicknell wanted to take NZ back out in front. With a tough first game loss Bicknell came back onto court and fought hard eventually taking the match in 4. The most experienced of women were also on court with Freda Walker 4th time veteran to the team playing Gaye Mitchell of Australia. This was a close battle between these two however Mitchell claimed the win in 4 and levelled the match score 2-2.
The 50+ men were next on court and Gary Duberly was keen to show what 2 world titles and 7 NZ titles could do for him against Warren Miller. Duberly showed he was here for business and he took the win and the lead for New Zealand. It was the youngest of the women on court as well with Mickayla Kerr and Janelle Scobie. Kerr helped to advance New Zealand's lead and notched up another win for New Zealand taking the lead 4-2.
The 50+ women were up to claim another win for their country and this time it was 10 time NZ champion Kathryn McKay playing Sue Hillier. Hillier managed to pull back New Zealand's lead with a win in 3. The most experienced of the men were on with 60+ Lawrence Skurr of NZ taking on Michael Brown of Australia. Australia went well this round with Brown taking a win and the levelling match for Australia. Match scores were now tied 4-4.
The 55+ men saw Mark Waldin and Kelvin Smith both looking to advance their countries lead. Waldin is an old hand at these events for NZ but it proved to be Australia's day and for the first time Australia took the lead. The 40+ women of Nadine Cull and Sue Davis could have proven to be the turning match for either country so the pressure was mounting. However Cull stepped up to the plate and levelled the score at 5-5.
It was down to the 55+ Women and the 40+ Men to see who would claim todays tie. Karen Walton and Scott Gardiner of NZ were both keen to take a win and they would have to take out Tracey Partridge and Jeff Bond to secure the day for NZ. Walton looked comfortable in her first game but Partridge was not going to make this easy for her, however Walton's confidence did not fade and she took the match for NZ. It was all down to Gardiner and it seemed as if this match could go either way, with Gardiner losing an early 2-0 lead. The match went to the fifth and with some tense observers Gardiner pulled the match over the line and took the win for New Zealand.
Games and results from the Masters action can be found on the Squash Eastern website here
Well done and keep going to the Kiwis!
Men’s
35+ Kashif Shuja (NZ) bt Craig Brann (Aust) 15/9, 15/2, 15/6
40+ Scott Gardiner (NZ) bt Jeff Brown (Aust) 15/6, 15/8, 12/15, 12/15, 15/10
45+ Willie Bicknell (NZ) bt Tony Whackett (Aust) 7/15, 15/9, 15/8, 15/10
50+ Gary Duberly (NZ) bt Warren Miller (Aust) 15/7, 15/13, 15/11
55+ Kelvin Smith (Aust) bt Mark Waldin (NZ) 15/10, 15/13, 15/13
60+ Michael Brown (Aust) bt Lawrence Skurr (NZ) 15/9, 15/11, 15/13
Women’s
35+ Mickayla Kerr (NZ) bt Janelle Scobie (Aust) 15/8, 15/8, 15/11
40+ Nadine Cull (NZ) bt Sue Davis (Aust) 15/11, 15/9, 15/11
45+ Sarah Nelson (Aust) bt Lisa Cowlard (NZ) 18/16, 10/15, 15/11, 15/13
50+ Sue Hillier (Aust) bt Kathryn Mackay (NZ) 15/5, 15/5, 15/5
55+ Karen Walton (NZ) bt Tracey Partridge (Aust) 15/1, 15/11, 15/13
60+ Gaye Mitchell (Aust) bt Freda Walker (NZ) 9/15, 16/14, 15/12, 16/14
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