New Zealand Go One Up in Whyte Trophy Series

The tie was close all the way with Australia taking the early lead after winning the mixed doubles.  New Zealand came back well with Joe Wu dominating the young Boris Ma, one match all.  Next up was the womens doubles, the experienced Kate Wilson-Smith controlled the match to give Australia a 2-1 lead.  Rachel Hindley leveled the score 2 all defeating Leisha Cooper in two comfortable games.  Who better to be on the court for New Zealand in such a tight situation; the experienced Daniel Shirley.  Shirley dominated the match with his pace and controlled shots showing the benefit of years of international play.  The presence of Shirley on the court lifted partner Henry Tam with the Kiwis too good for the Australians, winning in two games and taking the tie 3-2.

The next tie is Monday night.

Results - NZ names first:


Henry Tam/Donna Haliday lost to Ben Walklate/Kate Wilson-Smith 18-21 14-21


Joe Wu def Boris Ma 21-14 21-9


Donna Haliday/Danielle Barry lost to Eugenia Tanaka/Kate Wilson-Smith 15-21 14-21


Rachel Hindley def Leisha Cooper 21-17 21-9


Henry Tam/Daniel Shirley def Ben Walklate/Glenn Warfe 21-12 21-15

Pictured: Henry Tam and Donna Haliday in the mixed doubles

Saturday afternoon:

Australia and New Zealand have both named their teams for the first test match in the ILT Whyte Trohy series being played at Stadium Southland in Invercargill Saturday night.

The scene is set for a great tie with both teams realising the importance of going one up in the series.

The order of play and players are:

Matches can be followed point for point on live scoring - CLICK

Click to read the latest report from the Southland Times