Golden start at the velodrome

Team sprint pioneers Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins took another step in their illustrious careers by defending their Commonwealth Games title last night at Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane.

They were joined by silver medallists Natasha Hansen and Emma Cumming in the women's team sprint and Bryony Botha, Rushlee Buchanan, Kirstie James and Racquel Sheath in the women's team pursuit.

The men led England through every lap to roll to a 0.670s triumph like pedaling dominoes.

Mitchell powered through the first circuit to take a 0.207s hold, Webster kept parity after the second lap with a 0.168s advantage which left Dawkins to power home and complete their run in 42.877s.

Earlier, they set a Games record of 42.822s, 0.694s clear of their final opponents.
The velodrome was New Zealand's only medal hunting ground on the opening day.
The women's team sprint of Natasha Hansen and Emma Cumming have claimed silver finishing adrift of Australia in the final.

The result represents New Zealand's first medal in the event.

Silver Ferns fail to fire

The Silver Ferns claimed a less than impressive 64-51 victory over Uganda in their opening match of the Commonwealth Games.

The Ferns were slow out of the gates as they opened the match in a sluggish fashion that gave Uganda a brief taste of success. As Uganda held a 100 percent shooting rate for most of the first quarter, it was the Silver Ferns goal attack, Maria Folau, who carried the Kiwis to close half time with a more comfortable 10 point lead.

The Ferns managed to stay ahead throughout the two final quarters, however, it wasn't enough to make much of a statement on the court.

Respectfully ranked second in the world, the Silver Ferns were rightfully expected to thrash Uganda, but the less than comfortable victory could reinforce concerns over the likelihood of a podium finish. The Ferns will face Wales today at 3pm NZT.

Three Kiwis advance to swimming finals

Kiwi duo Daniel Hunter and Sam Perry will compete in the 50m butterfly final after both finished third in their respective semifinals last night. Corey Main also advanced to a final after qualifying as the seventh fastest in the men's 100m backstroke. Bronagh Ryan finished eight in her heat and failed to advance to the women's 50m breaststroke final.
Helena Gasson and Georgia Marris both missed out on the 100m butterfly final.

Tall Ferns too good

The New Zealand women's basketball team cruised to an opening 86-44 win over Malaysia with the Asian nation scoring just three points in the third quarter. Micaela Cocks led all scorers with 15 points.

Strong start for squash team

A near perfect day for the New Zealand team with all but one player advancing to the round of 16. Glasgow bronze medallist and second seed Joelle King advanced to the round of 16 with a straight sets win over Deon Saffery of Wales. Amanda Landers-Murphy joined her in the next round also winning in straight sets over Sri Lankan Mihiliya Methsarani. In the men's draw second seed Paul Coll made light work of Zambian Kelvin Ndhlovu winning 3-0 while Campbell Grayson won twice on day one to make the final 16. Evan Williams opened the day with a win but fell in his round of 34 clash to be knocked out of the competition.

Lawn bowlers on a roll

Jo Edwards had a perfect start in the singles with two big wins to lead her group. The men's triples led by Ali Forsyth had a 28-6 win over Singapore and the Mixed B2/B3 Pairs also had a victory in their only match on day one. The women's four held off Jersey to win 20-15. The men's pair of Shannon McIlroy and Blake Signal beat Botswana 27-8 and PNG 24-11. The B6/B7/B8 triples also had a winning start, beating Wales 26-5.