New Zealand lawn bowls captain banned for six months

Lawson could miss out on this year's Commonwealth Games in India

New Zealand lawn bowls star Gary Lawson has been suspended for six months over match-fixing allegations.

The national fours skipper was also fined $NZ5,000 (£2,240), while team-mates Shane Sincock, Jamie Hill and Shannon McIlroy were each fined $NZ450.

A judicial committee decided the four had contrived to lose a single end of a match against Thailand during August's Asia-Pacific championships.

Lawson, who may miss the Commonwealth Games, said the penalty was excessive.

In last year's Kuala Lumpur event, the New Zealand team, led by Lawson, conceded four shots in the 17th end of an 18-end match, turning a 15-12 lead into a 16-15 deficit.

He was the skip and was literally and figuratively calling the shots Bowls New Zealand

They eventually lost 17-15 and having already qualified for the tournament's knockout rounds, the result helped to send Thailand into the play-offs at the expense of Canada.

The Canadians protested and Bowls New Zealand ruled that their country's four were guilty of misconduct.

Lawson, a two-time world lawn bowls champion and one of New Zealand's most successful bowlers with a joint-record 10 national titles, expressed his displeasure with the way the case had been handled.

However, a Bowls New Zealand statement read: "The judicial committee found the greatest responsibility for the misconduct had to fall on Mr Lawson.

"He was the skip and was literally and figuratively calling the shots. We are satisfied that the idea to lose the 17th end would have come from him."