Tight win for bowlers

For New Zealand lawn bowler Ali Forsyth, it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man when the Commonwealth Games began today.

Forsyth skipped the New Zealand triple, also including Tony Grantham and Shannon McIlroy, to a thrilling 16-13 win over Guernsey at the Kelvingrove centre this morning.

The New Zealand trio looked to be on track for a comfortable win, holding early leads of 6-3 and 13-7, but could not shake off Guernsey.

On the second-last end, New Zealand conceded four, which meant that going into the final end, New Zealand led only 14-13.

With only one bowl of the match remaining, Guernsey held one and it seemed likely the encounter would end in a 14-14 draw.

But Forsyth stepped up and took out the Guernsey bowl, to leave New Zealand with two and a winning score that was slightly deceiving.

New Zealand coach Dave Edwards said afterwards it was a great drive under the circumstances.

It was a huge bowl, very big, but thats what Ali is renowned for, Edwards said.

He felt the New Zealanders had played steadily while trying to come to terms with the green, and said they were relieved to come away with an opening victory after such a tight finish.

The New Zealand triple next meets Norfolk Island.