Walker battles through to take on Martin

Squash

Chris Walker, the England No 1, celebrated his 30th birthday by beating Tim Garner 12-15, 15-5, 8-15, 15-8, 15-12 at the Al Ahram International Championships in Cairo yesterday.

Walker, seeded sixth, fell behind 2-1 in games before he woke up to the danger posed by Garner, the England No 11, but Walker apparently cruising to victory at 12-8 in the fifth game, he lost four rallies in a row as Garner fought back again.

A conduct warning for Garner seemed to throw him out of his stride. He said: "I have never had a conduct warning in my life before. I was just querying a strange no-let decision when this came completely out of the blue."

Walker next meets Brett Martin, the 34-year-old Australian, on the illuminated transparent court beneath the Pyramids. Paul Johnson will meet the world No 1, Pakistan's Jansher Khan, in tomorrow's second round after he defeated the Canadian Graham Ryding 7-15, 15-9, 14-15, 15-9, 15-6. Also in the first round, Simon Parke defeated Pakistan's Zarak Jahan 15-13, 15-3, 15-4 in 35 minutes.