Doubles domination for Aussies

Australia’s doubles pairings were impressive at the University of Birmingham Squash Centre on day six of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Ryan Cuskelly and Zac Alexander opened the day in the men’s doubles, matching up against Jake Kelly and Jace Jervis of the Cayman Islands.

Cuskelly and Alexander came out firing, managing to win the first game 11-2 before going on to win the second game 11-1.

“It’s nice to start our campaign off with a win. Most of the high seeds are starting tomorrow, so it was good to get that extra match,” Cuskelly said. 

“Get rid of the nerves, and get the warm up going. We played well today, so we’re really happy.

“We’ve played a lot of doubles (in training) over the last couple of weeks, so I think it’s a bit of an advantage to get that much practice before the actual event,” he said.

In the second Australian game of the day, defending Commonwealth Games champions Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley notched up another win in the mixed doubles.

On the show court, Lobban and Pilley delivered a 2-0 win (11-8, 11-9) against Joshana Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu of India. 

“Going into that we knew it was potentially going to be a tricky match,” Lobban said.

“To go out and win both games, we were pleased with that. Even being 8-0 up we knew they were capable of coming back at any point.

“So to get off 2-0, we’re pretty stoked with that I’d say,” she said.

Alexander returned to the court with mixed doubles partner Rachael Grinham to upset hometown favourites Georgina Kennedy and Patrick Rooney. 

Alexander said he is enjoying sharing the court with six-time Commonwealth Games representative and Birmingham 2022 Australian team flag bearer Grinham.

“We’re both pretty relaxed, and happy to work for each other. We’re both just trying to figure out the best way that we can work together to produce a good result, which is what we really did today,” Grinham said.

“We started a little slow, but then once we settled in, it felt surprisingly comfortable and it was nice to get off 2-0 in the early stages,” she said.

In the final two matches of the day for the Australian squash team, Lobban and Grinham added another win to their repertoire in the women’s doubles, defeating Sunayna Sara Kuruvilla and Anahat Singh of India.

Commonwealth Games debutants Jess Turnbull and Alex Haydon had a hard fought battle against England’s Georgina Kennedy and Lucy Turmel, falling just short in two games 0-2 (4-11, 7-11).

For the full schedule and results from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, click here.

Photo credit: PSA