Women’s four edged out in semis

The crack New Zealand women's bowls four suffered their first defeat of the Commonwealth Games at the worst moment.

The New Zealanders – Smith, Selina Goddard, Nicole Toomey and Tayla Bruce – were unbeaten going into the semi-final, against India but had some trouble adapting to a different paced green and went down 16-13.

It was a tough match and the New Zealanders were right in it when they led 12-10 after 12 ends. But they finished poorly.

They now play the aggressive Fijian team in the bronze medal match. Fiji were narrowly beaten in their semi-final by South Africa.

Smith, one of the greats of New Zealand bowls, said her team struggled to deal with the slower green that offered more turn.

“We started well, and India were a bit scratchy at the beginning. But they got more comfortable with the speed of the green than us.

“We were scrapping to stay in the game and had some good ends, but I felt we were vulnerable.

“I’m proud of how we hung in and gave ourselves a chance right to the end.”

The para men’s pair of Mark Noble (skip) and Graham Skellern lost their semi-final to Scotland 18-10 and will now play England for the bronze.

The other New Zealanders in action today were the para mixed pair of Gerald Brouwers and Sue Curran, who went down 18-11 to Scotland and 18-8 to Wales.