One is world champion, Commonwealth champion and British champion. The other is Bermuda's number one and a winner of the Mark Talbott Fair Play award.

So really it should come as no surprise that Nick Kyme crashed out of the singles squash competition at the Commonwealth Games 3-0 to England's Peter Nicol.

Nicol, who `defected' from Scotland to a large furore from those north of the border, conceded just one point to the Island hope, but at least Kyme can say it was the first one.

He went down 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 in front of a large crowd at the National Squash Centre which included Bermuda's Premier Jennifer Smith.

Nicol was like a boxer, teasing his opponent with quick jabs here and there, wearing him down before delivering the knockout blow.

Kyme, though overpowered, did keep the rallies going and can be proud of his performance and the fact that he holds the distinction of being the first Caribbean region player to win a match at the Commonwealth Games since the sport was given status at the last event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Prior to the start, Kyme even found time to joke around with his opponent, standing arms crossed at the door to the court, questioning why Nicol was taking his time to get ready.

Afterwards he revealed the reason for his jocular mood.

"I was petrified. I was trying to get relaxed by laughing and joking," he said. "It kind of worked. Going on I had to try not to let the experience overtake me.

"When I first walked on, there was a big clap for him and I wasn't ready to do anything. I was like a statue on court, so I thought I would have a laugh just to relieve the tension."

Nicol took a few minutes before he got a point on the board but Kyme believes it was all part of his tactics.

"One of Peter's strengths is that he is really fast and amazingly fit and he might not put the ball away all the time but he will outrun you," he said. "He will run you into the ground. I think, basically, he was getting me tired so that it would make it easier from then on. Wear the guy down and then you go and that was basically what he was doing with me."

Kyme believes he did himself justice. "I think I played fine," he said. "There's always things I wish I had done better but I did the best I could do today. There wasn't really anything more I could have done - I gave it my all."

Kyme said Saturday was about more than just the result. "You take so much more from that game than the one I played yesterday (Friday, Damien Tam)," he said. "The next person I will play I will be so much better because I will be used to Peter Nicol's pace, how tight his shots are. I will be expecting those shots and when I don't get them the game will seem a lot easier for me."

Nicol, meanwhile, had plenty of praise for his opponent. "I think he played pretty well," he said. "He stepped forward and attacked the ball. He made it hard for me. The points score doesn't look like that but the points were hotly contested and he played really well - he is a young guy at university and he has a good future ahead of him if he wants it."

Meanwhile, Bermuda's Tommy Sherratt was the first to admit he had not played to his potential in crashing out of the Plate competition at the National Squash Centre 3-1 (9-3, 6-9, 6-9, 4-9) to Navin Harish Samarasinghe of Sri Lanka last night.

Sherratt took the first game relatively easily but failed to build on his lead and the tiny Sri Lankan was allowed into a match in which he never should have had a chance.

"I just felt flat," Sherrat said afterwards. "I was off to a good start and then I let some silly things creep into my head and he was just persistent. I didn't feel like my shots were really on today and he had a really nice touch and he just kind of pushed me around the court."

Sherratt and Kyme now look forward to the doubles later in the week.