New Zealand’s Selina Goddard has been named the World No. 1 women’s bowler in the latest World Bowls rankings, capping a solid start to the BlackJacks’ World Cup campaign which began with a bronze medal for the Para Mixed Pair team of Teri Blackbourn (Hamilton) and Kurt Smith (New Plymouth).

Competing at the 2025 Lawn Bowls World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Blackbourn and Smith were impressive throughout the qualifying stages, adapting well to the carpeted playing surface to win four of their five qualification matches and finish top of their pool.

In their semi-final the pair took on a strong Australian side. The match was all tied up early, with Australia just pulling away to claim the first set 3-2, before they closed out the match 8-3 in the second set.

“It was a well fought match. They just got away from us in that first set and we tried to reset in the second but they were too good,” said Smith.

“It’s great to be around so many nations and I’ve loved playing with Teri — she’s a weapon and I’m super lucky to have her as a teammate. We’ve had quite a bit of success together and having someone like that with so much experience has been great for me.”

The semi-final loss saw the pair finish with a bronze medal.

Blackbourn also opened her singles campaign overnight, with a convincing 15-1, 16-1 win over her Irish opponent.

Meanwhile, Goddard has become the first ever New Zealander to top the World Bowls Series rankings which launched in 2024.

Goddard was named Women’s No.1 in the updated list released today. The rankings take into account results from the past two years, with Goddard having enjoyed impressive and consistent form over the period.

“My initial reaction was thinking about the year that’s been, it’s been a massive year and I feel incredibly fortunate to have played with some great teammates who’ve helped me along the way,” said Goddard.

“I’ve been playing a lot in Australia. The Australian Open Pairs win and the results at the Victorian Open were incredibly special and it’s been an amazing journey.”

Competing in the women’s singles in Kuala Lumpur, Goddard (North Harbour) won four of her five qualification matches to reach the quarter-finals.

There she met former World No.1 Dawn Hayman of Australia, battling hard before going down 8-0, 8-2 in a high-quality encounter.

Katelyn Inch was also in action in the women’s singles. The Cantabrian pushed many of her opponents to tiebreaks but ultimately lost a few close matches to finish with one win.

In the men’s pairs, Keanu Darby and Finbar McGuigan showed glimpses of what they’re capable of. The pair picked up a win against the home nation and also pushed an impressive Australian side to a tiebreak where they were narrowly defeated on the last bowl.

The duo will now reset and refocus with play starting in the men’s singles today. The women’s pairs and Para men’s singles competitions also commence today, with Para women’s singles continuing.

The 2025 World Cup will be broadcast daily from Kuala Lumpur on Sky TV and the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel, with play starting each day at 12:30 pm NZT.

The full BlackJacks team is:

• Kurt Smith, 35, New Plymouth

• Teri Blackbourn, 31, Hamilton

• Selina Goddard, 31, North Harbour

• Katelyn Inch, 30, Canterbury

• Keanu Darby, 29, Dunedin

• Finbar McGuigan, 25, Wellington