Squash: Bannister adds national masters title

Rod Bannister partnered Mike McSherry. Photo/File

Wanganui's Rod Bannister added another national masters title to his resume as he and Palmerston North partner Mike McSherry won the Over-35s men title at the National Squash Doubles Championships on Saturday.

Teammates in the New Zealand under-19 team in 1986, Bannister and McSherry were seeded No2 in the Over-35s draw but beat top seeds Glen Wilson and Corey Love 2-1 in a tight final at Squash Gym Palmerston North.

Wilson is a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Love a NZ Masters champion, as is Bannister.

Bannister and McSherry had a great start, winning the first set and being 6-1 up in the second, needing five more points to claim the title.

However, Wilson and Love came back to tie the sets 1-1, then led the third set 5-2 before the pendulum swung again, for Bannister and McSherry to be the first to 11 points and win the title.

The pair had been fourth seeds in the Open men's draw but were bundled out in the quarter-finals.

However, in an email, Bannister said that had proved to be a blessing in disguise for them in the Over-35s because also being in contention for the Open title would have meant playing two games back-to-back and going into the masters final on empty tanks.

Instead, he and McSherry were able to get a couple of hours' rest after winning their semifinal 2-0 over former world No3 and Hall of Famer Stu Davenport and his partner Mike Weston.

In all, 160 pairs took part across all categories at the doubles nationals.

Bannister's win added to the New Zealand and Australian Masters singles titles he won last year.