Williams bronze but Kiwi teams struggle
Cyclists shine again
Georgia Williams claimed New Zealand’s 16th cycling medal at the Commonwealth Games, with a bronze in the women’s individual time trial.
Williams, who took silver in the road race in 2018, added another medal with a calculated, well-paced ride, crossing all four time checks on the 28.8km course in third.
She didn’t threaten the top two, with Australia’s Grace Brown cruising to victory by 33s over England’s Anna Henderson, with Williams a further 47s back in third.
After winning three gold medals on the track, Aaron Gate finished fourth in the time trial on the road, but was well behind the medallists, all of whom star on cycling’s World Tour.
Australia’s Rohan Dennis won gold by 26s over Fred Wright, with last month’s Tour de France podium finisher Geraint Thomas 2s back in third. Gate was 1m 54s behind Thomas.
Ferns lose battle but win war?
The Silver Ferns lost their final netball pool match to England 54-44 but arguably won the best semifinal fixture after Jamaica upset Australia on the other side of the draw.
By finishing second in their group, the Ferns booked a semifinal against Jamaica, while the hosts face Australia. While firmly denying the side was content to play out a competitive loss, coach Noeline Taurua rested star shooter Grace Nweke and defensive ace Kelly Jury in the final quarter.
White Ferns crushed
Fortunately for cricket’s White Ferns, they were already assured a semifinal spot before their destruction by England. The bad news, however, is now they have to play Australia.
New Zealand warmed up for the medal rounds in the worst possible fashion at Edgbaston, losing to the hosts by seven wickets.
The White Ferns staggered to 71-9 after winning the toss and choosing to bat, a decision that looked illconsidered within four balls. The top order was scythed through, the middle order offered little and the lower order batted for time when runs were desperately needed.
It all added up to New Zealand’s third-lowest total in Twenty20 internationals, removing some of the gloss from the competitive scores they posted in wins over South Africa and Sri Lanka to begin the tournament.
In reply, the hosts roared on to 72-3 to reach their target in the 12th over.
Hammer blow for Kiwi
Kiwi hammer thrower Lauren Bruce has seen her Commonwealth Games campaign end in disappointment.
New Zealand’s national record holder, Bruce came in to the event as a medal contender, holding the secondbest throw of the 17 competitors, but failing to record a distance from any of her three attempts.
New Zealand still have two representatives in the final, with defending champion Julia Ratcliffe qualifying second with 68.73m, while Nicole Bradley qualified eighth with 61.77m.
Sam Tanner qualified for the 1500m final by nabbing the fifth and last automatic spot in the second heat in 3m 37.57s. His heat was the slower of the two and featured jostling which forced him off the track at one point. There was just a third of a second separating world champion Jake Wightman in first and Tanner in fifth.
In the women’s high jump, Keeley O’Hagan qualified for the final as one of 12 jumpers to clear 1.81m. Portia Bing booked her spot in the 400m hurdles final after finishing third in her heat, while Conner Bell was eighth in the discus final in his first major event.
Women’s Black Sticks make semis
The women’s Black Sticks secured a spot in hockey’s semifinals with a 4-1 win over South Africa. New Zealand shot out to a 3-0 lead in 12 minutes through goals from Tessa Jopp, Tyler Lench and Hope Ralph, with Kaitlin Cotter adding another in the final period before a consolation goal from South Africa. The win saw the Black Sticks finish second in their pool behind Australia and they faced the unbeaten English in their semifinal today at 5am.
Triples bowling for a medal
The women’s triples lawn bowls team of Val Smith, Tayla Bruce and Nicole Toomey beat Australia 14-10 to advance to the semifinals but then lost to Malaysia 16-9 last night. The women’s pair of Katelyn Inch and Selina Goddard won their quarterfinal 16-15 against Wales last night.
Knockout win for Mau’u
Three Kiwi boxers were in with a shot to make the semifinals but Leuila Mau’u was the only one to advance with a first-round KO in his over 92kg quarter against Lera Regis (St Lucia).