Netball World Cup: Diamonds beat Northern Ireland 88-24 in opener
Australia’s Diamonds have got off to a flying start at the Netball World Cup with a massive win over Northern Ireland.
Update: Sarah Klau has kept her cool in a straightforward international debut as the Diamonds used their Netball World Cup-opener to wipe the floor with Northern Ireland.
The 24-year-old NSW Swifts goalkeeper made an equal game-high four intercepts as part of the starting line-up as coach Lisa Alexander’s new-look squad ran Dan Ryan’s amateur side ragged 88-24 to build momentum for Saturday’s second clash against World Cup debutants Zimbabwe, who disposed of Sri Lanka 79-49.
“It was such an incredible experience to be out there in the green and gold, it’s always been a dream of mine,” Klau said.
“For me it was just sticking to routine and not doing anything outside of the box because that’s when I start to get nervous.”
The 64-goal victory was nearly as one-sided as last year’s 94-26 2018 Commonwealth Games win, and lay down the gauntlet to nemeses England and any other nations thinking it won’t be tough to prise the trophy from Australia’s grasp.
Alexander had been expecting improvement from the world No.8 minnows’ threats under former Adelaide Thunderbirds mentor Ryan.
But kicking off a campaign against the top-ranked reigning world champions was always going to be painful, and the green and gold cut through their counterparts at will, pulling away to a 24-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
By halftime they were up 45-15 after scoring 10 goals without reply, extending that to 67-19 following the third term, their darker-green foes nothing more than a speck in their rear-view mirror.
“They certainly brought it to us in different patches,” Alexander said.
“And we weren’t perfect but I was very pleased with the combinations.
“It was a good start but we’ve got more work to do.”
The demolition job made for the best possible start at a tournament in which the sport’s dominant force is under considerable pressure following their Commonwealth Games slip last year.
Northern Ireland’s defenders were dealt a masterclass in how to transition into attack, to the point TV viewers remarked on social media that even the camera was struggling to keep up with the blur of green and gold.
Vice-captain and Liz Ellis Diamond recipient Liz Watson (25 goal assists) led the onslaught while Kelsey Brown had a blinder at with 26 goal assists of her own, and Alexander experimented heavily with her combinations.
Their challengers had just as much trouble against captain and goal shooter Caitlin Bassett, who converted 34 from 34 attempts in her return from a mild training-court concussion that forced her to sit out the past week’s two practice matches.
Her combination with goal attack Steph Wood (12/13) ensured a near-perfect combined accuracy rate, before Caitlin Thwaites (25/26) and Gretel Tippett (18/19) finished the job.
The third quarter was marred by a mid-court collision between Jamie-Lee Price and Caroline O’Hanlon that left the latter worse for wear, and the Northern Ireland captain was taken off for treatment.
Earlier, New Zealand star Maria Folau earned player of the match for shooting 39 from 43 attempts in the Silver Ferns’ 64-45 opening win over 2018 Commonwealth Games nemeses Malawi.
Also in Group B, Barbados beat Singapore 69-34.
AUSTRALIA 88 (Caitlin Bassett 33 Caitlin Thwaites 25 Gretel Tippett 17 Steph Wood 13) bt NORTHERNIRELAND 24 (Shaunagh Craig 18 Emma Magee 6) at M&S Bank Arena
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