The heat and variable greens resulted in mixed results for the New Zealand women's team at the world bowls championships in Leamington Spa, England, yesterday.
Marlene Castle's triple scored an impressive 18-9 win over Jersey.
Castle, with Val Smith and Wendy Jensen, shot out to a 7-1 lead, but that was pegged
back to 7-7.
It took Castle until the 15th end to gain a lead of more than one shot.
New Zealand's pair of Jo Edwards and Sharon Sims struggled to find their line and lost their morning match 24-8 to Namibia.
Down 3-1 after three ends, the New Zealanders endured a nightmare run, failing to score for eight consecutive ends.
At 23-2 after 14 of the scheduled 18 ends, the Kiwis staged a brief fightback which aided their overall shots differential.
The pair steadied the ship in the afternoon, accounting for a spirited Israel combination 16-12.
The clash hung in the balance after 14 ends with the score locked at 11-11, but Edwards kicked clear to take the match.
The pair now lie third in their group, level on points with Israel but trailing by three shots.
They next face Spain, winless after four matches.
Castle's triple share the lead in their section with Israel. Both teams have a three-win, one-loss record.
But, like the pair, Israel lead New Zealand by three shots.
The triple play third-placed Zambia today.
- NZPA
