New Zealand has an illustrious lawn bowls history, with more than 34 medals won over 80 years of Commonwealth competition, including 11 gold.
However, team members have warned that achieving a podium finish this year will not be easy, as the artificial surfaces featured in Delhi provide slower bowling conditions - a change from the swifter grass courts in New Zealand.
The 12-member Black Jacks squad is a combination of experience and talent, featuring regular New Zealand representatives Val Smith, Jan Khan, Richard Girvan and Andrew Todd.
Smith (45) won the world title for women's singles in 2008 and attended the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.
Teammate Khan, 52, is one of the squad's most successful players, holding two Commonwealth bronze medals, won as part of the women's fours at Manchester 2002 and in the women's pairs at Melbourne. Delhi will be her third Commonwealth Games.
Girvan, 36, and Todd, 43, won gold in the men's fours at the World Bowls Championships in 2008. Girvan is attending his second Commonwealth Games, having participated in the men's triples team at Melbourne.
The squad, thought to be the youngest ever sent to the Games, also includes 24-year-old Genevieve Baildon, Shannon McIlroy, 23, and Ali Forsyth, 30.
Baildon won gold in the women's singles at the Hong Kong Classic International 2009 and has been named the Waikato Bowler of the Year for the second year in a row. She joins 39-year-old Dale Lang and Karen Coombe, 51, in the women's triples.
McIlroy and Forsyth are seen as two bright stars in the future of men's lawn bowls, with Forsyth claiming gold at the Asia-Pacific Championships in 2009. McIlroy is also seen as a talented player despite his involvement in the 2009 match-fixing scandal during the Asia-Pacific championships in Kuala Lumpur.
McIlroy, two-time Commonwealth representative Gary Lawson and two other members of the men's fours were found guilty of throwing an end at the competition. Lawson was not included in the Commonwealth selection process due to the six-month suspension and $5000 fine he received as a result. McIlroy was fined $1000.
When and where
Six events will be featured as part of the lawn bowls programme in Delhi - men's and women's singles, pairs and triples. The competition will be held from 4-13 October at the J.N. Sports Complex.
NZ team
Men: Ali Forsyth (men's singles, New South Wales), Richard Collett (men's pairs, Nelson), Danny Delaney (men's pairs, Auckland ), Andrew Todd (men's triples, New South Wales), Shannon McIlroy (men' s triples, Nelson), Richard Girvan (men's triples, New South Wales).
Women: Val Smith (women's singles, Nelson), Manu Timoti (women's pairs, Whangarei), Jan Khan (women's pairs, Christchurch), Genevieve Baildon (women's triples, Hamilton), Dale Lang (women's triples, Wellington), Karen Coombe (women's triples, Wanganui).
Athletes' profiles sourced from www.olympic.org.nz and event information sourced from http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/
