Lwamba Chileshe represents New Zealand at inaugural Nations Cup

November 05 2022

Lwamba Chileshe represented New Zealand B at the Carrus Nations Cup, the inaugural tournament in the new SquashFORWARD series that got underway at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga, New Zealand on the 3rd November.

The initial event in the exciting new SquashFORWARD series, a sequence of new squash events intended to trial changes to the traditional competition & scoring formats used at official tournaments, comprised eight teams of two players, one male & one female, from the same country to add a new dimension to the typical competition structure in squash.

The inaugural edition of the new mixed team competition, run by Squash New Zealand alongside the Professional Squash Association (PSA) & its commercial entity Squash Media & Marketing (SMM), featured an alternative scoring format which was determined following engagement with the squash community, who will be asked for their input in developing the sport.

New Zealand No.2 Lwamba Chileshe, who has a career-high World Ranking of No.99, played three matches in the tournament.

On the opening day, Lwamba Chileshe was up against World No.4 Mohamed ElShorbagy who earned his first cap for England since his switch of allegiance from Egypt in June. Despite a spirited performance, Lwamba was beaten 7-1 3-7 7-4 7-1 7-0 by the former World No.1.

In his second match, Lwamba Chileshe was unable to capitalise upon a fine start to his match against Sebastien Bonmalais of France who claimed a 43-minute 2-7 7-1 7-5 7-4 7-5 victory on the impressive all-glass show court at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga, New Zealand.

In his final match, Lwamba Chileshe fought hard against Timothy Brownell of the USA to try to claim his first Nations Cup victory before eventually being denied by the American 7-6 5-7 7-3 7-2 7-2. Following a tight first game which was decided with a tie-break, Lwamba Chileshe found his attacking range at the front of the court but couldn’t prevent his opponent claiming a 40-minute victory which saw the USA finish above New Zealand B in the final Pool B standings.

All Nations Cup matches were broadcast live on SQUASHTV & squash fans have been asked to vote on a series of proposed scoring formats, as well as make their own suggestions.