The skill and tenacity of Zainal Abidin all but allowed the touring Singapore squash team to come out of its contest against Canterbury last evening with a 3-3 draw.

Thanks to Don Preston, Lawrence Skurr, and Craig Hibbert, Canterbury enjoyed a 3-0 lead at one stage before the Singaporeans staged a fine comeback at the Rangiora courts.

First Chris Wasley fell to the Singapore No. 4 Peter Hill, after a tense struggle and then the 16-year-old Stewart Ballard started to establish supremacy over his opposing No, 2 Bryan Simpson (Canterbury).

On the next court the visitors’ top player, Abidin, held match ball at 9-8 in the fifth against Rod Hayes and it was only after some lengthy rallies that the Canterbury player scraped home, 10-9.

In the second and third games Hayes was still hitting some spectacular nick shots but he also found the tin rather too often and his opponent made some great retrieves and hit some nice angles and drops. Sometimes Abidin’s attempts to deceive Hayes extended to a feint swing before his real attempt to hit the ball.

Abidin went to a 6-2 lead in the fifth with the games two-all but it was Hayes who had the first match ball at 8-7. This was perhaps the best match of the evening, but only just in front of the Hill – Wasley match which was marked bu some excellent rallies – extending to well over 50 shots on some occasions – in the final game.

Hill, a left-hander, first had match ball at 8-2 in the fourth, but he had another four of them before he shaded a determined Wasley, 10-8.

The Canterbury No 3, Craig Hibbert, was in control almost throughout his match against the slight 16-year-old Jeremy Yeo, who seemed to suffer from the cold and – from late in the second game – from a lack of fitness. Yeo unfolded a fine array of touch shots to go from 0-3 to 7-3 in the third and went to game ball with a penalty point (8-7) but did not quite have the legs to win it.

Singapore 2, Canterbury 4

Z. Abidin lost to R. W. Hayes 1-9, 9-7, 9-5, 6-9, 9-10; S. Ballard beat B. J. Simpson 10-8, 9-2, 9-7; J. Yeo lost to C. Hibbert 7-9, 4-9, 8-9; P. Hill beat C. J. Wasley 9-6, 9-6, 5-9, 10-8; R. Singh lost to L. P. Skurr 8-10, 4-9, 1-9; V. Gopal lost to D. R. Preston 9-3, 1-9, 9-1, 0-9, 1-9.