Zambia bowls pair reveal remarkable situation prior to opening Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games clash against Australia - 'Odds against us!'
Updated 29/07/2026 at 16:47 GMT+1
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In the group stage of the women's pairs bowls on Thursday, Australia claimed an expected victory over the Zambia duo of Foster Banda and Gertrude Siame, who revealed in the aftermath that they were battling a number of challenges before the tie.
Zambia bowls pairing reveal extraordinary preparation ahead of Glasgow 2026
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Aussie pair of Dawn Hayman and Kelsey Cottrell are one of the favourites for gold, but did not have things all their own way as the action began at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
In fact, the Zambians threatened to take the first set until a clutch final bowl from Cottrell spared Australia's blushes.
All of which was all the more remarkable when Banda and Siame revealed afterwards that they had never before bowled on carpet - or indoors for that matter - as well as missing vital training sessions in the build-up to the clash after a mishap with their equipment.
All things considered, then, it was a sterling effort against a formidable team, and the pair were in good spirits despite the early 2-0 defeat.
Asked how they were feeling going into the contest, Banda said: "Not very confident. First and foremost, Australia, we all know they are the best in the world, so we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game for us.
"And then we had a few odds against us. This is the first time we are playing indoor bowling, then the second thing is our bowls arrived yesterday, so we missed two training sessions.
"Now, imagine you haven't played indoor bowling, then you miss some training sessions, so that also didn't help us.
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"But we just said we'll go out there and do our best with my little girl [Siame]. And playing the best in the world as your first game, you are saying: 'It's out of the way'.
"Let's deal with that and then we'll try in our next game."
The Zambians appeared to struggle, in particular, with the pace of the carpet, regularly coming up short or running well through into the ditch.
"It is really difficult because where we are coming from we use lawn instead of indoors, and those greens are a bit heavier, these are running [quick]," Siame said.
"So it was a challenge for us but at the same time, we just had to deal with what we have. We enjoyed ourselves in the first set.
"The second set was a little bit difficult, but we will keep improving in the next games."
No matter the result, the match provided the Games with an early feel-good story. The fans in attendance certainly seemed to enjoy the way in which the Zambians urged each other and their bowls on.
"Come on Gertrude, my darling" was one of the many amusing calls that lit up the arena.
"We talk to each other, you encourage your skip," Banda added. "You are hoping by talking to your bowls a miracle will happen and it will get to the jack."
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