Netball World Cup: Diamonds thrash Zimbabwe in second match
Backing up the day after a big win over Northern Ireland in their Netball World Cup opener, the Diamonds have delivered similar punishment to Zimbabwe.
Even as Gretel Tippett sunk Australia’s final goal in a 73-37 win, the cheers from the quelled camp continued as if they’d just won the World Cup trophy.
Zimbabwe fans, after all, were ecstatic just to be in Liverpool after the team launched a crowd-funding campaign so they could afford to attend their first netball showpiece, having qualified as the runners-up of last year’s African Netball Championship.
On Friday the Gems had started with a bang, making history by beating Sri Lanka 79-49 to claim their first World Cup victory.
On Saturday against the Diamonds, despite a scoreline that would generally be perceived as a thrashing, the euphoria from the stands persisted unabated.
African drums, whistles, dancing, chanting and melodic arrangements punctuated four quarters of pure, unadulterated joy for the 13th-ranked nation – and quite a bit of confusion for the defending champions.
Australia’s performance was not the on-song, full-throttle show they put on against Northern Ireland in their opening match.
Whether their challengers’ raw zeal had rattled their rhythm was unclear, but the Diamonds’ collective movement was markedly more disjointed than coach Lisa Alexander would have liked.
That was evident just looking at the 18-9 opening-quarter scoreline, compared to their 24-7 lead at the same point against Northern Ireland.
They only won the third 15-13.
There was also clear on-court frustration at some of the umpiring decisions, some 12 hours after the first-ever permanent send-off in England’s feisty opening win over Uganda.
“I’ll have a chat to them (officials),” Alexander said.
“It’s always hard, they’re at their first tournament at international level for ages but we’ll sort that out.
“I thought we adapted well. We changed up what our defence was doing so got some ball at the right times during quarters, which is what we’ve been working on.”
Still, there were times when composure rather than exasperation would have benefited some players.
Goalers Caitlin Bassett (49/53) and Tippett (24/28) were deemed primary offenders, conceding six and nine penalties respectively.
“It was tough at times, but I guess that’s when we really have to take control,” Bassett said.
“When the ball is in our hands we have to be really smart and use it.
“Different styles of play different umpires are used to. so we had to come off the body a little bit more and myself in particular had to get off the body on the whole.”
In Australia’s defence, they closed out the game with a strong 19-6 fourth quarter for a 36-goal winning margin, assisted significantly by goalkeeper Courtney Bruce, who made a whopping nine intercepts to keep her side afloat.
Liz Watson racked up 27 feeds and 21 goal assists at wing attack over two quarters before being replaced by Kelsey Browne after the second term.
By then Alexander was also done with April Brandley at wing defence, replacing her with Jamie Lee-Price.
But they were the only substitutions she made, a marked departure from her extensive halftime changes on Friday.
“Giving players four full quarters in a tournament before we get to the business end is really important,” Alexander said.
“I could have made changes easily and pushed the score on, but it was important for that group to get out there and make sure they keep going.”
AUSTRALIA 73 (Caitlin Bassett 49 Gretel Tippett 24) ZIMBABWE 37 (Marcopolo Takaidza 15 Peters Jani 11 Wakanda Bwanali 8 Ngwane Ndlovu 3) at M&S Bank Arena
Splashdown! Day of disaster for Aussies in women’s America’s Cup
The women’s America’s Cup dream of an Australian crew is over after just two days of racing, a disastrous touchdown, a broken start penalty and erratic conditions. How it played out.
‘We are incredibly excited’: Next Gen rugby 7s women turning heads
There were blowouts, close calls, a hot boot and multiple try-fectas in the opening round of the Next Gen Sevens rugby series in Sydney. Stars, great photos and Rd 1 result wrap.