Category: Jamaica

Australia crowned Netball World Cup champions for the 12th time as Jamaica clinch bronze

Australia reclaimed the Netball World Cup after defeating England 61-45 in the final of the tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Sunday. That saw the Diamonds lifting the trophy, which was presented by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, for a record-extending 12^th time.

Earlier in the evening in the bronze medal playoff, Jamaica defeated New Zealand for the second time in a matter of days to secure their first podium place since 2007.

ENGLAND 45 – 61 AUSTRALIA

Having lost out to New Zealand by just one goal in the last Netball World Cup final in Liverpool four years ago, Australia ensured there would be no repeat scenario when they defeated England 61-45 in the final in Cape Town on Sunday.

England were playing in their first ever Netball World Cup final after beating defending champions New Zealand in the semifinal while the Australians were contesting their ninth consecutive gold-medal match, having never finished lower than second in the tournament’s 60-year history.

Australia came out firing to take a two-goal lead after the opening exchanges, Steph Wood proving to be the creative force for the Diamonds on attack early on. England coach Jess Thirlby responded immediately, bringing on Fran Williams for Layla Guscoth at goal defence. The move proved an effective one with the Roses managing to close the gap and equalise at 12-12, but throwing away their opportunity to edge in front while the Australians were doing well to hold onto their possession. There was nothing to separate the teams by the first break, however, as they finished the quarter all square on 13-13.

It was the Diamonds who looked more in control after the break, showing patience to work their way around the England defence. While the Roses continued to work hard on turning ball over, they weren’t always capitalising on those opportunities that had been created, thanks to some solid defence from Jo Weston at goal defence and Courtney Bruce at goalkeeper.

That saw the Diamonds edging ahead and taking a four-goal lead into halftime.

When the sides met on Thursday in their final group game in Cape Town, which England won by one goal, the Australians enjoyed a six-goal lead at halftime and would have been wary of letting that slip again.

True to form, the Diamonds had clearly learned from their mistakes, putting their foot down in the third quarter and looking like they were one step ahead of the Roses throughout. Their connections looked smooth and their confidence was rising, making them even more dangerous on attack. Thirlby continued to make multiple changes to the England lineup, and while there were moments of individual brilliance from the Roses, that did little to slow the flow of Australian goals. Kiera Austin scored as the whistle sounded to ensure her side went into the final break 10 goals up.

That was always going to be an unlikely gap to bridge in just 15 minutes for England who, to their credit, continued to fight until the final whistle. But with the Australians within grasp of the title they last won in 2015, the world’s top-ranked side simply continued to do what they do best, steadily building on their advantage to ensure they lifted the trophy for a record 12^th time.

SCORES

Q1: 13-13

Q2: 23-27 (10-14)

Q3: 36-46 (13-19)

Q4: 45-61 (9-15)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kiera Austin (Australia)

NEW ZEALAND 45 – 52 JAMAICA

The Sunshine Girls gave their nation even more to celebrate on Jamaican Independence Day when they defeated five-time champions New Zealand to claim the bronze medal at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town on Sunday.

Jamaica have played in six World Cup bronze medal matches since 1991 and won three of them but all of those victories have come against England. This time they were up against a Silver Ferns side still reeling from a draw against hosts South Africa and then a semifinal defeat at the hands of England.

The Jamaicans were boosted by the fact that they had claimed their first ever Netball World Cup victory over the Silver Ferns three days earlier and on Sunday they were determined to secure their second.

Both teams came out with plenty to prove and the battle was fierce from the start. The Silver Ferns were dealt a blow when wing attack Gina Crampton was helped off the court after rolling her ankle just two and a half minutes into the match. She was replaced by Whitney Souness and the New Zealanders promptly scored three unanswered goals to edge in front.

It was a gap they held onto for much of the opening period before the Jamaicans finally managed to equalise at 10-10. Two excellent intercepts from the Jamaican defence, first goalkeeper Shamera Sterling and then goal defence Jodi-Ann Ward, gave the Sunshine Girls the opportunity to edge ahead. Despite some risky high balls into goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler in the circle, which had cost them in their semifinal loss to Australia, the Jamaicans went into the break three goals up.

Te Paea Selby-Rickit replaced Maiai Wilson at goal shooter for New Zealand at the start of the second quarter while Adean Thomas came on at centre for Jamaica a few minutes later, replacing Nicole Dixon-Rochester. Later in the period New Zealand captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio was also taken off after conceding several turnovers, with Tiana Metuarau taking her place at goal attack.

It was the defensive units on both sides that ensured there was no real flow achieved for either team. A low-scoring, evenly contested period was the result as Jamaica just held onto their lead heading into the halftime break.

The Jamaicans found their momentum in the third period as New Zealand coach Noeline Taurua rang in several more changes for her side. The Sunshine Girls racked up a run of six unanswered goals to surge ahead and win the championship quarter by three goals.

With a first bronze medal since 2007 within their grasp, the Jamaicans held their nerve to stay out in front in the final quarter to wrap up a 52-45 win and send the defending champions home empty-handed for the first time in Netball World Cup history.

Speaking after the match, a thrilled Jamaican wing attack Khadijah Williams said: “I’m feeling great but I’m not over the performance yesterday [in the semifinal] yet but I’m extremely pleased with today.

“It’s been an extremely difficult eight games in 10 days but I am also extremely grateful and I’m very proud of my teammates.”

New Zealand defender Karin Burger said: “I think it’s amazing to see how far netball has come that there are so many competitive teams out there putting their hands up.

“We put ourselves out there and we have high standards and obviously, this is not good enough. But we are acknowledging the other teams, they have played amazing netball, so big ups to the ones that are going to take that podium. We’ve got work to do and if this is a taste of what the next four years are going to look like, bring it on.”

SCORES

Q1: 11-14

Q2: 21-24 (10-10)

Q3: 32-38 (1-14)

Q4: 45-52 (13-14)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jodi-Ann Ward (Jamaica)

Final placings at the Netball World Cup 2023:

Gold – Australia

Silver – England

Bronze – Jamaica

04. New Zealand

05. Uganda

06. South Africa

07. Malawi

08. Tonga

09. Wales

10. Scotland

11. Fiji

12. Trinidad & Tobago

13. Zimbabwe

14. Barbados

15. Singapore

16. Sri Lanka

Australia fend off Jamaica to book spot in ninth straight Netball World Cup final

The Australian Diamonds held off a formidable Jamaican challenge in the semifinal of the Netball World Cup in Cape Town on Saturday. That saw the 11-time champions setting up a showdown with England, who defeated defending champions New Zealand earlier in the afternoon, with the final taking place at 6pm on Sunday.

JAMAICA 54 – 57 AUSTRALIA

Jamaica and Australia produced another exhilarating showdown in the second semifinal of the day at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town.

While they put up a massive fight in a bid to reach their first ever Netball World Cup final, the Jamaicans fell just short of causing the second upset of the day after England defeated New Zealand, with the Australians prevailing 57-54.

This is the third time the Diamonds and Sunshine Girls have gone head-to-head in a final-four clash in the tournament’s history, with the Australians having clinched victory in all three of those previous matches, the most recent in 2015 when they went on to win their 11^th title.

Had they succeeded in their quest on Saturday, the Jamaicans would have denied the powerhouse Australian side a place in the final of a Netball World Cup for the first time ever.

As predicted, and following the pattern of the England v New Zealand semifinal earlier in the day, the opening quarter was a tight one, the teams matching each other goal for goal as they sussed each other out to reach the first break level on 14-14.

Playing in her 100^th match for Jamaica, Jhaniele Fowler was, as always, a tower of strength and calm in the circle with just one miss in the entire match. But it was goalkeeper Shamera Sterling’s extraordinary effort to win the ball off Cara Koenen at the other end that really lifted her side at a crucial moment when they were just starting to slip behind. The Sunshine Girls gained momentum and were able to score three goals on the trot to make up their deficit and level matters once again as the sides headed into halftime.

The confident-looking Diamonds upped the intensity at the start of the third quarter. They forced the Jamaicans into several errors, giving themselves the freedom to open up a five-goal lead. Several Jamaican changes included Adean Thomas coming in at centre, injecting some energy into the side.

Clearly up for the fight, the Jamaicans continued to put their bodies on the line as they battled their way back once again to equalise at 40-40. The Diamonds managed to steady themselves to turn the ball over in the final minute and make sure they reached the final break with their noses just in front, having won the quarter by two goals.

That lead didn’t last long, however, the Jamaicans immediately closing the gap and then edging ahead at the start of the final 15 minutes. Returning to their shorter, sharper game and showing more patience on the ball, the Sunshine Girls edged in front. But with Courtney Bruce in particular upping the defensive pressure, that safe, short game didn’t last.

One too many dangerous high passes into the circle saw Bruce affecting a crucial turnover with just over five minutes to play. Determined to avoid the defending champion New Zealand side’s fate, that was just the gap they needed to pull away, apply more pressure, and eventually secure a hard-fought victory.

While Australia had lost to England in their final group game during the week, this was Jamaica’s first defeat of the tournament, but it was the crunch one that brought their gold-medal quest to an end. The Sunshine Girls will now have to pick themselves up for a bronze medal playoff against New Zealand on Sunday.

Asked about bouncing back on Saturday after their loss to England, Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich said: “You don’t need to do much to motivate this group. I think they’re just absolutely professional in what they do. They knew that we didn’t play the way we would have liked against England. We needed to address that and we needed to find that next level.

“It’s been building – we’ve had bits and pieces of it through the tournament but to play Jamaica you need it for 60 minutes so I guess it was more around the commitment… it was just regrouping and getting focused on what we actually look like when we’re playing well.”

Speaking about her rivalry with West Coast Fever teammate Jhaniele Fowler in the circle on Saturday, Most Valuable Player Courtney Bruce reckoned: “When you come up against Jhaniele, you might not get every single ball but one in 10 is OK. I knew those moments would come and that would come off full-court pressure and that wasn’t going to come in the first quarter so I just went out there to try and fatigue her so in that last quarter we could get as much ball as possible.”

Putting on a brave face, a disappointed Fowler said: “The journey this far has been great. We’ve had some amazing wins but this loss definitely is devastating because we wanted to make it to the grand final, but unfortunately not.

“But kudos to my girls because they worked really hard to get here and they did fight really well in the game just then but we just fell short a little bit. It is disappointing but we put it all on court.”

Jamaica’s assistant coach Keyan Murdock added: “We were playing against a team that is really good… their defence was that good and we have to give credit to the opposition, they played really well and they forced us to do things we never wanted to do and we never got the result we wanted. We were in the game for a very long time and we have to be proud of the ladies and how they performed.”

SCORES

Q1: 14-14

Q2: 29-29 (15-15)

Q3: 40-42 (11-13)

Q4: 54-57 (14-15)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Courtney Bruce (Australia)

Day 7: England and Jamaica stun world’s top two as Wales and Scotland win

Day 7: England and Jamaica stun world’s top two as Wales and Scotland win to book ninth-place showdown

England and Jamaica stun world’s top two as Wales and Scotland win to book ninth-place showdown

On a spectacular day of change to the netball world order, England upset 11-time champions Australia and Jamaica stunned defending champions New Zealand at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town. The result meant England finished top of Group F and will most likely meet New Zealand in the semifinal, while Jamaica will play Australia. Despite their loss the Silver Ferns will more than likely still progress to the semifinals, with hosts South Africa faced with the task of beating Uganda by an unrealistic margin in the afternoon match to take their place. In other matches of the morning Wales and Scotland claim victories in their respective games to set up a battle with each other for ninth place.

AUSTRALIA 55-56 ENGLAND

England followed South Africa’s stunning performance against New Zealand on Wednesday with one of their own when they scored their first-ever World Cup victory over 11-time champions Australia at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town. This is only the eighth time in total that the Roses have managed to beat the Diamonds in any competition since the teams’ first match in 1956.

It was England goal defence Fran Williams’ brilliant deflection in the final moments that prevented Australia from securing a draw. The win means England finishes top of Pool F with Australia second. Both teams are through to the semifinals which will be contested on Saturday.

It was England who gained an early advantage with shooters Eleanor Cardwell and Helen Housby capitalising on their opportunities. A late intercept by Funmi Fadoju on goal defence gave England a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Superstar Australian defender Courtney Bruce was substituted by Sarah Klau and she immediately made her impact felt, helping Australia regain ground and overtake England for a 32-26 lead at halftime.

In the second half, England started chipping away at the Australian lead.

The third quarter saw changes for both teams, with Williams moving into goal defence for England and Fadoju moving to goalkeeper. For Australia, Jamie-Lee Price replaced Paige Hadley on centre.

With solid play and key turnovers, England won the third quarter 18-13 and headed into the final 15 minutes of the match just one goal behind Australia.

The Roses took the lead early in the final quarter with a goal by Cardwell. Australia stayed strong on defence while England remained calm in the pressure cooker situation.

The match ebbed and flowed in the final minutes, with neither side giving an inch. Ultimately though, Australia lost pivotal moments throughout the match, handing England the upset victory.

England goal attack Helen Housby was named Most Valuable Player. She sank all 22 attempts at goal, was involved in 12 goal assists, responsible for six turnovers in general play and grabbed an intercept to boot.

Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich said her team had their chances and they will have to take a look at how to be more direct.

“In terms of our discipline, I don’t think we were too bad. There were moments when we had to accumulate pressure a little earlier. Our second quarter was very good in terms of how we were able to get the ball to the shot. It was loud out there, no doubt, and we haven’t had that for a bit. I don’t know if the atmosphere unsettled us, but we didn’t stay calm and go through our structures when we needed to.”

When asked about the tag of “underdogs” coming into the World Cup, England coach Jess Thirlby said her side don’t pay much attention to what anyone else thinks.

“From a netball perspective, we know how good we are. From a technical point of view, we are on par with the top teams. The most reassuring thing we are taking away from today is to be able to come back from eight down and see a game out in the closing quarter, this is the most valuable thing we can take away.”

SCORES

Q1: 13-15

Q2: 32-26 (19-11)

Q3: 45-44 (13-18)

Q4: 55-56 (10-12)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Helen Housby (England)

JAMAICA 59 – 48 NEW ZEALAND

Jamaica and defending champions New Zealand went head-to-head in their final Group G encounter to effectively decide who would top the group.

Jamaica famously beat the Silver Ferns in convincing fashion in the semifinal of last year’s Commonwealth Games, eventually going on to claim the silver medal in Birmingham. The Sunshine Girls once again emerged victorious, their impressive 59-48 win a first over New Zealand at a Netball World Cup.

Having had to bounce back from a nail-biting draw with hosts, South Africa, late on Wednesday, New Zealand raced to an early lead before the Jamaicans could put in their first goal. But once they levelled matters at 10-all, they didn’t look back. Both goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler and goal attack Shanice Beckford shot at 100 per cent in the opening quarter as the Jamaicans notched up a five-goal lead by the first break.

Neither team made any changes to their lineup at the start of the second quarter, which proved to be another fiercely fought one. The Silver Ferns looked more impressive on attack, holding onto their possession and outscoring the Sunshine Girls by one goal during the period. But a strong finish from the Jamaicans meant they still held a three-goal lead heading into halftime. There was some concern when the impressive Shamera Sterling, who has been nursing an ankle injury, limped off court during the third quarter and was replaced by Kadie-Ann Dehaney at goalkeeper.

Adean Thomas came on to replace Khadijah Williams at wing attack for the Jamaicans at the start of the third quarter while New Zealand coach Noeline Taurua continued to stick with her starting seven. The good news for Jamaica was that Sterling was fit enough to return to court with six minutes remaining in the period. New Zealand again enjoyed some good passages on play and won the quarter by just one goal but it was not enough to catch the fired-up Jamaicans.

With pressure mounting in the final period, some errors started to creep into the New Zealand game. Coach Taurua finally brought on several substitutes but it did little to stem the flow of Jamaican goals. While Romelda Aiken-George came on for the final few minutes of the match at goal shooter, the imperious Fowler finished with a 100 per cent shooting average, firing in all 49 of her attempts and being named Most Valuable Player. The 11-goal victory for her side saw them handing the defending champions their largest ever defeat at a Netball World Cup.

Speaking after the match, Jamaica’s assistant coach Keyan Murdock said: “It was a very good game, it kept us on our toes the entire match. We expected it to be that though – it’s New Zealand we were playing. They’re number two in the world for a reason and so we expected that kind of a performance from them.

“We were glad that our team were able to ride the waves and pull through at the very end. There are always things to work on but we’re happy for the win,” he added.

Jamaica captain and MVP Fowler said her side’s discipline and focus made all the difference. Asked about her own performance, she added: “To be honest, I felt no pressure throughout the game. I knew what was expected of me and so I just did my best to go out there and deliver.

New Zealand coach Noeline Taurua said: “I thought we still turned over a lot of ball. I thought it was gallant – I think that’s a good word – and they fought right through until the end. There were so many changes that were happening from Jamaica and it was quite physical as well.

“Pity it ended in that way because I thought it was quality from both teams… but there are some positives we’ll be able to take out of it and some lessons that we’ve got to learn – these reoccurring themes that are coming out that we need to be better on.”

Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio added: “I think we felt in control when we had ball in hand… I think we were definitely in it until we let ourselves down a little bit, but actually for most of it I was very proud of our intent to stick to our gameplan.”

SCORES

Q1: 15-11

Q2: 26-23 (11-12)

Q3: 41-39 (15-16)

Q4: 59-48 (18-9)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jhaniele Fowler (Jamaica)

WALES 70 – 55 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Wales faced off against Trinidad and Tobago in Cape Town on Thursday with a place in the 9^th/10^thplayoff at the Netball World Cup 2023 on the line.

The two sides have met at eight previous World Cups with the Caribbean side having won all of those encounters. But on Thursday it was the Welsh Feathers who enjoyed the early momentum. Trinidad and Tobago looked a little flat from the start and were struggling to hold onto their ball, allowing the Welsh to edge ahead and take a four-goal lead into the first break.

The match came alive in the second quarter with the Calypso Girls finding some of the rhythm and flair that they’ve displayed at the tournament so far while the Welsh stuck to their structures and continued to outpace their opponents. Trinidad and Tobago’s Afeisha Noel provided plenty of entertainment in the shooting circle, mixing it up with several layups and shots from distance. With the teams both scoring 15 goals in the quarter, Wales retained their four-goal lead at halftime.

The Welsh came out firing in the third quarter and Trinidad and Tobago were far less effective on defence. Wales were able to move with speed through the midcourt to feed their shooters, with Georgia Rowe excelling in the circle. The 6 ft 4 goal shooter finished a dominant quarter for Wales with 13 goals from her 13 attempts while she finished the match with a 98 per cent shooting average.

The final quarter was a close one, with only one goal the difference between the sides but ultimately the Welsh stood strong to wrap up a memorable 70-55 victory.

Wales will now play off for ninth place, while the highest Trinidad and Tobago can finish is 11^th. Those positions would mirror their current world rankings with the Welsh currently in ninth and the Calypso Girls in 11^th spot.

Speaking after the match Rowe said her side weren’t focused on the fact that they could claim a first win over the Calypso Girls in Netball World Cup history.

“It feels really good. I don’t think we allowed ourselves to have that pressure of it being the first time. I think we were coming in today after a disappointing loss yesterday and just making sure we were really connected,” she said.

“We stuck to our structures and weren’t focusing so much on who our opposition were, but just on what we were putting out on court, so we’re really pleased. Obviously, the fact that we had never beaten them is an extra celebration for us. I just think it was a complete team effort, which is really good.”

Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Daystar Swift said: “I felt they had better discipline. I felt the Welsh team were making safer passes and that really worked for them, getting the ball to the circle edge

“The energy was down. We tried our best before the game to really lift our spirits and take that spirit on court. Unfortunately, we now play for 11^th and 12^th which is not what we were expecting but we are working hard to seal that 11^th spot and we definitely don’t want to go lower than that.”

SCORES

Q1: 18-14

Q2: 32-28 (14-14)

Q3: 53-39 (21-11)

Q4: 70-55 (17-16)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Phillipa Yarranton (Wales)

FIJI 46 – 62 SCOTLAND

With the Scottish supporters belting out “Flower of Scotland” from the stands, the Thistles secured a 62-46 victory over Fiji in a Pool F match at the Netball World Cup 2023. With the win, Scotland advanced to the 9^th/10^th playoff while Fiji will contest for 11^th/12^th place.

This was the sixth World Cup meeting between the two countries. Thursday’s Scottish victory has levelled matters at three victories each.

Scotland started strongly with a commanding performance in the first 15 minutes. The mid-court, with captain Claire Maxwell at centre playing in her third World Cup, presented quality ball to the shooters who only missed one of their attempts. At the other end, the pressure Scottish defenders Cerys Finn and Emily Nicholl put on the Fiji shooters added to the error count of the Islanders growing.

Starting the second quarter five goals down, the Fiji coaching staff made several changes off the bench as well as positional switches on court, including Ana Nauqe from wing attack to centre and Josephine Nailumu from wing defence to goal defence. It worked, and Fiji won the quarter 18-16. The halftime score was 29-26 in favour of Scotland.

Fiji however couldn’t maintain their strong performance before halftime with Scotland continuing to capitalise on their opponents’ mistakes. The Scottish shooters then made sure of every opportunity presented to them in the circle and closed out the match with a comfortable win.

Scottish captain Claire Maxwell was delighted with the win.

“We’ve been a bit disappointed this competition so far, we’ve been almost there playing some good matches. So to grind out a 60-minute performance is really good. We stayed with our processes for longer, our error rate was fairly low and defensively we won a lot of ball.”

Fiji goal attack Unaisi Rauluni said her side didn’t play as well as they wanted to.

“It hasn’t been that great. We struggled in the mid-court area and this is something that we need to work on.”

SCORES

Q1: 8-13

Q2: 26-29 (18-16)

Q3: 39-45 (13-16)

Q4: 46-62 (7-17)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Niamh McCall (Scotland)

SA draw with NZ in thriller; wins for Jamaica and Sri Lanka

Hosts South Africa and defending world champions New Zealand produced the match of the Netball World Cup 2023 so far, playing out to a thrilling 48-48 draw in Cape Town on Wednesday. In the other matches of the day, Jamaica claimed an emphatic victory over Trinidad and Tobago while Sri Lanka earned their first win of the tournament by defeating Barbados.

SOUTH AFRICA 48-48 NEW ZEALAND

South Africa kept their slim hopes of reaching the Netball World Cup 2023 semi-finals alive with a spirited performance against world champions New Zealand at a packed CTICC in Cape Town.

With the raucous local crowd effectively an extra member of the team, the Proteas came close to beating the Silver Ferns for only the second time in World Cup history. The draw in Pool G now means there is still a chance of progressing to the semi-final. For this to happen, Jamaica would have to beat New Zealand on Thursday while South Africa would have to do the same against Uganda. Goal percentage could prove problematic for the Proteas, however.

Goal attack Nichole Taljaard earned her second Most Valuable Player award of the tournament. It was her shot, with three seconds left in the match, that drew the scores

level. Taljaard had an outstanding match, occupying the space in the goal circle well with her ability to shoot from further away a distinct advantage. She also remained calm under the massive pressure of facing the reigning world champions.

South Africa put in a huge defensive effort in the first half of the match egged on by the deafening shouts of “defence, defence” by the South African spectators in the stands. Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua started ringing in the changes with the game a tightly contested affair. Jane Watson came on in the place of Kelly Jury at goalkeeper in an attempt to stop the ball from moving into the South African goal circle. South African-born Karin Burger was moved from wing attack to goal defence to cover Taljaard. For South Africa, Elmeré van der Berg replaced Venter under the pole.

New Zealand had edged 26-21 ahead by halftime.

Khanyisa Chawane took over from Bongi Msomi at centre at the start of the third quarter, a period of play where South Africa traditionally lost games they should’ve won. In their game against Jamaica, the Proteas scored only three goals in the third quarter, and then outscored the Sunshine Girls 20-15 in the last 15 minutes of the match. This time around however, the Proteas produced an outstanding performance in the third period, winning it 13-12 to only be four goals adrift.

The final 15 minutes of the thrilling match saw the Proteas throw everything at the Silver Ferns. Defenders Phumza Maweni and Karla Pretorius made several brilliant steals on the one end while Van der Berg and Taljaard kept the scoreboard ticking at the other. Nicola Smith then joined the fray.

With four minutes left on the clock, South Africa needed three goals to pull off something special and the atmosphere at the CTICC reached fever pitch. The ball was fed to Taljaard and she made sure to sink what must probably be the most important goal of her career.

Proteas captain Msomi said she told the girls at halftime that New Zealand would make changes, but that they shouldn’t worry about that.

“We believed that we could put up a great performance. It would have been great if it was a win, but we will take the draw. I’ve been with the girls for a long time. We’ve worked really hard to get in such positions and a few times we’ve let ourselves down. There’s so much pride to see them step up and play good netball. For me to be a part of that, it’s fantastic.”

Proteas coach Norma Plummer said Thursday’s match against Uganda will be a different story.

“Uganda has been playing really well at this World Cup. They have a totally different style of play, different from what we had today, and we have to work around that. Hopefully we can challenge them right to the end of the match,” she said.

Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua praised the performance of both teams.

“It always comes down to certain moments that happen. We also had ball in hand and that last 30 seconds, we probably could have drained the clock. When you look at the stats, our stats are actually not that bad, we had 55 per cent of the ball and our shooting percentage was 90 per cent compared to their 76 per cent. We have to take the draw on the chin.”

SCORES:
Q1: 10-11
Q2: 21-26 (11-15)
Q3: 34-38 (13-12)
Q4: 48-48 (14-10)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Nichole Taljaard (South Africa)

JAMAICA 89-26 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Medal hopefuls Jamaica took on Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago for the 11th time at a Netball World Cup in Cape Town on Wednesday, the Sunshine Girls making sure of a comfortable 89-26 victory to continue their course towards a semifinal spot – which was confirmed later in the evening when New Zealand drew with South Africa.

The World Cup head-to-head count between the nations stood at four-all with two draws since their first meeting back in 1963, but this time around it was all Jamaica. Rejuvenated after a day’s break on Tuesday, the Sunshine Girls had no trouble racing to a 14-goal lead by the first break.

Trinidad and Tobago coach Joel Young-Strong urged her side to play their usual safe, short, sharp game in the second quarter but they continued to be outpaced by the Jamaicans, who looked far slicker in all areas.

Adean Thomas was impressive at wing attack while Shanice Beckford was also working hard at goal attack – putting up just one less shot than goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George in the first half. That saw the Sunshine Girls extending their lead to 34 goals by halftime. Their defence also stood strong, as the Calypso Girls’ error count mounted, conceding 29

turnovers in the first half. By the end of the half, they had added just four goals to their total.

There were plenty of changes for Jamaica in the third quarter including Jhaniele Fowler coming on at goal shooter and Rebekah Robinson at goal attack. While the dynamic between the two was different to that between Aiken-George and Beckford, it was no less effective as the Jamaicans continued to put even more distance between themselves and the opposition, finishing the third quarter 50 goals up.

It was all change again in the fourth quarter as coach Connie Francis continued to rotate players ahead of the Jamaicans’ showdown against New Zealand on Thursday. But the Sunshine Girls maintained the intensity to wrap up the emphatic 89-26 win, with centre Nicole Dixon-Rochester named as Most Valuable Player on the day she played her 50th cap for Jamaica.

Speaking after the match, Jamaica assistant coach Keyan Murdock said: “It was about rotating the team… of course we have to be conscious of the fact that we have a tough game tomorrow [against New Zealand]. We wanted to ensure we had saved enough energy and that was part of the rotation.”

Captain Fowler added: “I felt that the rotation of the team was really good, ensuring that we were all rested for tomorrow as well as making sure that we are all getting enough game

time as well that when we get on court to play any other team that we are fit and ready.”

As for the likely gameplan for their all-important clash against the Silver Ferns, Fowler said: “What we can give away is that we are going to stay disciplined and play our game and I reckon once we do that, we should be OK.”

Trinidad and Tobago goal attack Joelisa Cooper remained pragmatic, saying: “It is Jamaica [we were up against] and we have new players and young players who are very inexperienced and this is the biggest tournament they have played in. So we were being realistic.”

SCORES
Q1: 20-6
Q2: 44-10 (24-4)
Q3: 69-19 (25-9)
Q4: 89-26 (20-7)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Nicole Dixon-Rochester (Jamaica)

SRI LANKA 60-56 BARBADOS

Sri Lanka were still in search of their first victory of the Netball World Cup 2023 when they took on Barbados in a Group E clash in Cape Town on Wednesday.

History was not on their side with Barbados having claimed both of their previous head-to- heads at the Netball World Cup – their last meeting a 67-33 victory for the Bajans in Sydney in 2015. But they looked determined to change all that as they came out firing in the first quarter.

Barbados, who have already secured their spot in the 13 th /14 th playoff, were not playing with the same intensity they showed in their defeat of Singapore a day earlier, but managed to stay level, heading into the first break on 15-15.

A run of five unanswered goals at the start of the second quarter meant the Sri Lankans started pulling ahead. That brought about the introduction of Sasha Corbin at wing attack and the move of her sister, Kadeen, who previously won Commonwealth Games gold with England, from goal shooter to goal attack for Barbados. But they remained four goals down at halftime.

Barbados finally seemed to find their rhythm after the break and looked to be a completely different team as they quickly made up the deficit and then surged ahead, winning the third quarter by 22 goals to 12. But the Sri Lankans had a storming final quarter to come back at them to claim a memorable 60-56 win. That is the first time in 20 years that the Sri Lankans have beaten anyone other than Singapore at the Netball World Cup.

Sri Lankan wing attack Gayanjali Amarawansa was overjoyed by her team’s performance and said: “This is a huge win for us, I am very happy for my team because this is our first win.”

SCORES
Q1: 15-15
Q2: 30-26 (15-11)
Q3: 43-48 (13-22)
Q4: 60-56 (17-8)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Dulangi Wannithilake (Sri Lanka)

Day 4 match reports: Wins for SA, England, Jamaica and Singapore

Home side South Africa bounced back from their loss to Jamaica a night earlier to get the better of Trinidad and Tobago while Jamaica and England had no trouble maintaining their unbeaten records on the first day of second-stage preliminaries at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Monday. Singapore also claimed their first win of the World Cup with a hard-fought victory over Sri Lanka in a battle of the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.

SOUTH AFRICA 69-28 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

After Sunday’s loss to Jamaica, South Africa headed into their first Pool G match against Trinidad & Tobago having received another devastating blow to their hopes of contesting for a medal at the Netball World Cup 2023 in front of their home crowd.

Goal shooter Lenize Potgieter, who played the first three quarters against Jamaica, was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a knee injury. She was replaced by reserve Sesandile Owethu Ngubane. Potgieter didn’t play in the Proteas’ games against Wales and Sri Lanka as a precaution because of what coach Norma Plummer referred to as “a slight niggle”.

Potgieter had an operation on her right knee in July last year and underwent intense rehabilitation. She missed the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where South Africa had to settle for sixth position.

Plummer stuck with the same seven for the first two quarters as the Proteas took a commanding 33-15 lead by halftime. Coming back for the third quarter, Nichole Taljaard moved from goal attack to goal shooter while Elmeré van der Berg came on as goal attack.

With seven minutes to go, Ngubane earned only her second cap for South Africa when she replaced Taljaard. She scored her first goal at a World Cup within the last 30 seconds of the match.

Despite the commanding victory by South Africa, their seventh over Trinidad and Tobago in eight encounters at the World Cup, the Proteas’ below-par goal shooting would be of great concern. Between Venter, Taljaard and Van der Berg they missed 14 shots. The Proteas can ill-afford those sorts of stats against tougher opponents such as defending champions New Zealand who lie in wait on Wednesday.

Proteas assistant coach Dumisani Chauke acknowledged that losing Potgieter was not ideal as she has been a prominent member of the team.

“She’s been quite a strong anchor, so it is a blow. But we do have strong players in the team that are well capable of carrying on with the job and slot in nicely. Lenize is still around though, supporting us and making sure the girls stay together,” she said.

Chauke said it was easy for Ngubane to step up and take her spot in the team as the 15-player squad had been training together at several intense training camps in the run-up to the World Cup.

“All 15 are prepared for anything that comes along. So it was a smooth transition when she took to court today as there was nothing she [Ngubane] had to catch up on. She also had a great performance in the recent TNL [Telkom Netball League], so that was good.”

Trinidad & Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel commented that there were several things that didn’t work for her side in the match.

“We were ill-disciplined and against a physical team like South Africa, you can’t afford that. There were also a lot of silly mistakes and errors because we were under great pressure the whole match. But we just have to keep on moving forward as there are still matches left and we want to give our best,” she said.

SCORES:

Q1: 18-12

Q2: 33-15 (15-3)

Q3: 51-21 (18-6)

Q4: 69-28 (18-7)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Nichole Taljaard (South Africa)

TONGA 46 – 72 ENGLAND

World No. 3 England took on the ever-improving Tonga for the first time at a Netball World Cup in their first match of the second stage preliminaries on Sunday and came away with a 72-46 victory.

Like they did against Australia last week, the Tongans provided a stiff test for their more fancied opponents in the opening quarter. While England headed into the first break 19-13 up, it was far from a comfortable lead.

England coach Jess Thirlby continued to switch things up by swapping Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell at goal attack and goal shooter at the start of the second quarter while the only change from Tonga was Mo’onia Gerrard (who played 68 Tests for the Australian Diamonds) and Lelea Iongi also switching positions – at goal keeper and goal defence. Midway through the period, Cat Tuivaiti was brought on as goal shooter but was only afforded one opportunity to score, Tonga being restricted to just nine goals in the 15-minute period.

While things were fairly even in the first quarter, England did an even better job of winning and holding onto their ball in the second, enjoying 62 per cent of the possession and surging ahead to reach halftime 38-22 ahead.

The Tongans were understandably smiling when they came off court after the third quarter. It was one in which they found their rhythm, showing more confidence, notching up four intercepts to England’s one, and almost matching the Roses goal-for-goal. The difference between the sides in the quarter score was just two goals.

A slick-looking England showed superior intensity and speed in the final period, however, and were able to pull away even further to wrap up a 72-46 victory.

Speaking after the match, England coach Jess Thirlby said: “I thought the whole team came with great energy today… I think we raised the bar today in terms of our best play, but are we still on the hunt to be more clinical? Absolutely.

“I think these girls are the first ones to say there’s some work to be done but we’re trying to just catch ourselves with – the bar’s gone up.

“I think our best today is the best we’ve seen from us through the tournament… It is important that we reduce our error count. It’s also really important that we reward getting back to what we believe to be our greatest strengths which is winning ball across the court with multiple people and finding some nice clean lines against a style of play actually quite similar to New Zealand so that’s been a good rehearsal for us.”

Asked what the difference was between the sides, Tonga’s Mo’onia reckoned: “Resources and time with teammates. Other than the scoreline, I think it’s a good indication of where we need to get.

“But it just shows you that a little country called Tonga can really inspire the next generation hopefully and also show the tier-one nations that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, we can still challenge and play the game of netball just as well as the teams that have all the cash.”

SCORES

Q1: 13-19

Q2: 22-38 (9-19)

Q3: 36-54 (14-16)

Q4: 46-72 (10-18)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Imogen Allison (England)

JAMAICA 61 – 49 UGANDA

With shouts of “defence, defence” from the Jamaican fans in the stands whenever Uganda had the ball, the Sunshine Girls carved out a crucial victory over the She Cranes in a Pool G match in Cape Town on Monday.

Jamaica goalkeeper Shamera Sterling and goal defence Latanya Wilson stuck like glue to She Cranes shooters Mary Cholhok and Irene Eyaru in the first 15 minutes of the match. So much so that Sterling copped a caution from the umpire for persistent contact.

Uganda enjoyed most of the possession at the start of the game. The normally reliable Cholhok however missed four of her 11 shots at goal and this saw the Sunshine Girls 15-11 in the lead after the first quarter.

In the run-up to halftime, the Jamaica midcourt effectively closed the attacking gaps of the She Cranes and got more access to the ball themselves. Shooter Jhaniele Fowler and goal attack Shanice Beckford maintained a 100 per cent shooting record to put the world number four team 38-21 ahead as the hooter sounded the end of the second quarter.

Uganda took to court with the same seven players for the second half of the match. With Margret Baagala having another standout centre-court performance, the She Cranes settled down for the first time and allowed the ball to do the work. The result was winning the third quarter 16-11.

Even though it was an equal-scoring last 15 minutes (12-12), Jamaica managed to hang on for the victory. All 12 players got time on court as every match at this stage of the World Cup is a must-win affair.

Jamaica’s Fowler afterwards acknowledged it was a game with plenty of ebbs and flows.

“There is definitely room for improvement and it was important that the full team take to the court. Today it felt a little disconnected at times and also a bit flat. We need to make sure to connect properly going forward.”

Uganda’s Irene Eyaru said it was the small mistakes that cost her team.

“There was a better effort in the second half and we made some changes to give everyone a chance to show what they are made of. We need to work on a few things to help us improve for the next games.”

SCORES:

Q1: 15-11

Q2: 38-21 (23-9)

Q3: 49-37 (11-16)

Q4: 61-49 (12-12)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Shadiah Nassanga (Uganda)

SRI LANKA 52 – 55 SINGAPORE

A team that includes the tallest player in the tournament, 2.06m Tharjini Sivalingam, taking on a combination of the shortest promised to be an intriguing prospect as Sri Lanka took on Singapore in a clash of the Netball World Cup’s bottom-ranked sides.

What Singapore lacked in height, they made up for in speed in the opening quarter, effectively executing their short-pass game to take a nine-goal lead into the first break. A marked improvement in their shooting accuracy made all the difference for the Singaporeans.

Thishala Algama was brought on to replace Sivalingam at goal shooter in the second quarter, however, and that sparked a massive turnaround for Sri Lanka, who swiftly made up the nine-goal deficit and even inched into the lead by halftime.

A tightly contested third quarter meant the teams remained neck and neck, with just two goals in it heading into the final quarter. A miscued pass from the Sri Lankans in the circle with two minutes to play proved to be crucial with the turnover allowing Singapore to edge ahead and claim a 55-52 win.

Defender Jamie Lim was named Most Valuable Player and said: “It feels great. We’ve been up against so many strong competitors in the first round and getting a win today really boosts our morale. Also, it’s against the defending champions of Asia so that will give an extra boost to us for the next games.”

As for turning the tables on the same team that beat them by 21 goals at the previous Netball World Cup four years ago, Lim added: “It’s awesome to get any win actually, especially a first win in this World Cup and to have it against another Asian country that we lost to before shows how much hard work we’ve put in and how much we’ve grown since the previous World Cup.”

SCORES

Q1: 10-19

Q2: 27-26 (17-7)

Q3: 40-42 (13-16)

Q4: 52-55 (12-13)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jamie Lim (Singapore)

Day 3 match reports: Wins for England, Uganda, Jamaica, Tonga

Hosts South Africa were handed their first loss of the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Sunday, as Jamaica secured top spot in Group C. England topped Group B with victory over Scotland while Uganda and Tonga also recorded victories to ensure their progress to the second round of the preliminaries which starts on Monday.

ENGLAND 62-37 SCOTLAND

Group B leaders England took on Scotland for the 10 th time at a Netball World Cup on Sunday afternoon in Cape Town and comfortably made it a perfect 10 out of 10 against the Thistles.

Coming off a good win against Barbados a day earlier, the Scots headed into the clash against a side ranked seven places above them full of fire. They managed to inch ahead at the start and were 3-4 up at one point, but a run of six unanswered goals from England saw the Roses levelling matters and then surging ahead. They took that five-goal lead into the first break.

England’s Olivia Tchine and Helen Housby effectively built on that lead in the second quarter as Scotland squandered several opportunities through basic errors. There was some concern as England centre Imogen Allison left the court in the final minute of the first half with what looked like a knock to the shoulder.

The third quarter was a good one for Scotland with several promising passages of play as they enjoyed more ball and put the English under a little more pressure.

But ultimately, although England’s scoring rate wasn’t as high as in their previous matches, they remained in control of proceedings and passed a memorable milestone in the third quarter, Tchine slotting in England’s 8000th goal in Netball World Cup history.

Their 62-37 victory saw England through to the second preliminary stage at the top of Group B with Scotland also progressing as the third-placed side in the group.

England wing attack Chelsea Pitman was named Most Valuable Player and said: “It’s amazing. I didn’t shy away from the fact that this was a goal of mine, to work my way back into the Roses and get to the World Cup so to be here and just be around the girls and feeling this environment is something really special… so I’m just a happy chappy.”

Speaking about England’s progress to the next stage, Layla Guscoth added: “It’s been a good three games. It’s been three completely different styles so I think that’s prepared us well going through to the next phase of things. I think it’s just about building, there’s nothing new that we need to do going into these two phases. It’s just about reflecting on what we’ve done and keep building and pushing towards the end goal.”

Scotland coach Tamsin Greenway, who represented England at three Netball World Cups as a player, said: “I’m really pleased if you understand what our processes are. We know our journey. We came here to challenge Malawi and we did it. We came here to beat Barbados and we did it. We came here to practise against England and learn and we did that.

“We’ve made improvements from 2019, we put into place some things I needed to fix from our last two games… we did all those things so I’m very happy.”

SCORES
Q1: 14-9
Q2: 31-18 (17-9)
Q3: 46-29 (15-11)
Q4: 62-37 (16-8)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Chelsea Pitman (England)

UGANDA 74-33 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

It may not have been as clinical as they wanted it to be, but Uganda nevertheless outclassed Trinidad & Tobago 74-33 at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Sunday.

On Saturday, eight-ranked Uganda went toe-to-toe with defending world champions New Zealand, only losing by 10 points. They scored a historical win over South Africa at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, relegating the Proteas to sixth position.

The Ugandans started Sunday’s match without shooter Mary Cholhok, at 2.01 metres the second tallest player in Cape Town, instead opting for Christine Namulumba and Irene Eyaru in the circle.

Cholhok recently was the leading goal scorer in the UK Netball Super League, scoring 908 goals at an average of 50 per match.

Trinidad and Tobago got the scoreboard going, pouncing on a few loose balls from Uganda and they managed to grab an early lead within the opening minutes. Sloppy work in midcourt by the Calypso Girls, however, saw the She Cranes getting on track to equalise and then build some breathing space. They held a narrow three-point lead after the first quarter.

Cholhok moved in under the pole for the second quarter while Shaffie Nalwanja (wing defence) switched places with Christine Nakitto (goal defence). Cholhok teaming up with Eyaru proved to be the right decision as both made sure of their shots to put points on the board and put Uganda 33-18 in the lead at halftime.

Initially it looked like Uganda was slowing down the pace of play considerably at the start of the third quarter, possibly a tactical decision to conserve energy for the next round of matches. However, the all-important third quarter turned out to be the She Cranes’ highest scoring one with 21 goals scored.

In the last 15 minutes Uganda simply drove it home with clinical precision. They did the basics well and moved the ball down court with ease as Trinidad and Tobago ran out of gas.

Uganda’s Irene Eyaru was named the Most Valuable Player of the match. As goal attack she scored 18 out of 19 goals. In the third and fourth quarters, she played wing attack.

Speaking after the match, She Cranes goalkeeper Haniisha Muhameed said her side are ready for the rest of the tournament.

“We wanted to win today, so we now have to go and do it, we are ready for it, mentally and physically. Every time you have the opportunity to go out there and play, it’s a good feeling. We are looking forward to the rest.”

SCORES:
Q1: 14-11
Q2: 33-18 (19-7)
Q3: 50-27 (21-9)
Q4: 74-33 (20-6)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Irene Eyaru (Uganda)

JAMAICA 67-49 SOUTH AFRICA

In the most hotly anticipated showdown of the first stage of preliminary matches, hosts South Africa faced off against Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jamaica to determine which side would top Group C.

In a surprise move, South Africa’s Lenize Potgieter was included in the starting seven, taking to the court for the first time in the tournament, with both knees heavily strapped.

It was a nervous start for both sides with possession changing hands three times before the opening goal was scored by Jamaica. The Sunshine Girls edged ahead in the opening minutes before the Proteas levelled at 8-all and then took the lead for the first time soon after. But some silly errors from the home side proved expensive and the Jamaicans capitalised to take a four-goal lead into the first break.

The Sunshine Girls then began to dominate in the second quarter, easily finding goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler in the circle and the Proteas soon found themselves nine goals down.

Despite massive encouragement from Potgieter, Elmeré van der Berg looked somewhat overwhelmed at goal attack and was soon replaced by the more confident Nichole Taljaard. Her

introduction had an immediate impact and the Proteas worked hard to close the gap, but they were still eight goals down at halftime.

The error count continued to rise for the South Africans in a disastrous third quarter, allowing the Jamaicans to take an even firmer grip on the game. The Sunshine Girls defence was particularly effective in preventing Potgieter from getting any ball in the circle and with five minutes remaining in the quarter, the South Africans had scored just one goal. The damaging third period for the hosts finished 20-3 in favour of the Caribbean nation.

Ine-Mari Venter was brought on to replace Potgieter at goal shooter for the final quarter and Shadine van der Merwe at wing defence while captain Bongi Msomi returned to centre. It was a better 15 minutes from the South Africans, who actually won the quarter by five goals, but that did little to dent the massive gap that the rampant Jamaicans had built by then.

The 67-49 win sees Jamaica progressing to the second stage of the preliminaries top of Group C, so providing a potentially smoother path to the semifinals.

Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward was duly rewarded for her efforts by being named Most Valuable Player.

Speaking after the match, Jamaica’s assistant coach Keyan Murdock said: “We are pretty pleased in terms of the overall performance. The third quarter was impressive but I know we were playing a quality team so we expected the challenge that came from them. The final score doesn’t reflect how hard the game was so kudos to the South Africans in terms of how hard they played.”

South African captain Bongi Msomi remained positive after the match, saying: “It’s always best to play in front of your home crowd but mostly I’m pleased with how we started. The girls really stood strong.

“There were a few patches where we could have been better… I think this is a lesson. The World Cup doesn’t stop today. Yes, there are couple of tough games that we are going to come up against but if we can put together some of the great performances we had today, I think we can look forward to what’s next.”

SCORES
Q1: 16-12
Q2: 32-26 (16-14)
Q3: 52-29 (20-3)
Q4: 67-49 (15-20)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jodi-Ann Ward (Jamaica)

TONGA 55-46 ZIMBABWE

Not even a passionate group of Zimbabwean fans staying on their feet, singing and dancing throughout the match could prevent the Gems from suffering a 54-46 loss against Tonga at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Sunday.

For the African team it was their third successive defeat while Tonga added Sunday’s win to their victory over Fiji on the opening day of the tournament. They lost to Australia on Saturday.

Tonga shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti came on court in the last minutes of the match. She is representing her third country having previously played for Samoa and New Zealand. This is her second World Cup after playing for Samoa at the 2007 tournament in Auckland.

Zimbabwe initially created brilliant attacking moves with the ball landing in the circle regularly and with shooters Sharon Bwanali and Tafadzwa Matura scoring at 100 per cent. The Gems’ sharp passing put added pressure on the Tongan defence and they took an early lead. However, the Talas then started dishing out some of the same medicine and ended the first quarter three goals ahead.

The next 15 minutes saw the momentum stay with Tonga as defenders Mo'onia Gerrard and Kelea Iongi made it difficult for the Zimbabwean attacking players to create openings. Tonga’s mid-court

players further took control of the game. The Gems did manage to pull it back somewhat in the last minutes before halftime, but Tonga went into the break still leading 27-24.

The second half of the match was a seesaw battle. The Gems continued applying pressure on Tonga as the Islanders were trying to move through the court and feed the ball into their goal circle.

Tonga’s shooters however remained composed and made sure of the chances to score that did come their way.

As the final 15 minutes began, Zimbabwe found themselves trailing by nine goals. They tried to stage a comeback and cause a possible upset against a team ranked six places higher on the latest world rankings. The clock however was against them.

Zimbabwe assistant coach Wisdom Shinya said their failure to maintain the early pressure on their opponents is what cost them the game.

“It was an issue of mental fitness and also endurance, it’s coming up now to a point where the players are tired. We tried whatever we could have done but it wasn’t our day.”

According to Shinya, his side need more exposure on international level to be more competitive.

“We need to play more friendlies, not only with the African teams, we need to play against the big giants so that we can adjust to their level of play. Our players need to be out there.”

SCORES
Q1: 14-11
Q2: 27-24 (13-13)
Q3: 42-33 (14-9)
Q4: 55 -46 13-13)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kelea Iongi (Tonga)

Match reports, day 2: Wins for SA, England, Scotland,Trinidad&Tobago, Jamaica

South Africa thrill home crowd with convincing victory as England cruise and Scotland claim first win

Hosts South Africa claimed an emphatic victory over Sri Lanka while world No. 3 England had no trouble in getting past the Malawi Queens at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Saturday. In other matches, Scotland earned their first win of the tournament with victory over Barbados while Trinidad and Tobago did the same against Singapore.

SOUTH AFRICA 87 – 32 SRI LANKA

Taking to the court in brightly coloured Ndebele-inspired dresses with the stands in the Cape Town International Convention Centre packed with enthusiastically cheering local fans, South Africa crushed Sri Lanka 87-32 at the Netball World Cup 2023 on Saturday.

The South African starting line-up looked a little different from the one that beat Wales a day earlier. Elmeré van der Berg got another chance, this time moving to goal shooter, with Nichole Taljaard moving to goal attack. Izette Griesel started on centre in the place of Khanyisa Chawane and Nicola Smith got the nod at goalkeeper ahead of Karla Pretorius.

For Sri Lanka, there was no Tharjini Sivalingam, who, at 2.06 metres is the tallest player at this year’s World Cup. At the age of 44, she is also the oldest.

South Africa shut out any Sri Lankan playmaking from the get-go while stamping their authority on proceedings. The Proteas’ opponents were frustrated with their inability to have any say in the one-sided match, with wing defence Bhashini De Silva copping a caution towards the end of the first quarter.

Sri Lanka could not score consecutive goals as especially Griesel managed to intercept numerous balls. Griesel, playing in her third Netball World Cup, had a solid game at centre, and the same went for Jeanté Strydom who made her Proteas debut against Wales. She deservedly walked away with the award for most valuable player. South Africa went into the halftime break 45-18 up.

Pretorius earned her 100^th cap for South Africa when she came on in the third quarter, replacing Shadine van der Merwe at goal defence. Captain Bongi Msomi also got a well-deserved break with Chawane putting on the centre bib and Griesel moving to wing attack.

The Proteas piled even more pressure on Sri Lanka, adding 23 goals in the third quarter and stretching their lead to 44.

In the last 15 minutes, Ine-Marie Venter, the most valuable player against Wales, assumed the goal shooter position, earning her 50^th cap while Phumza Maweni came off the bench to resume her defensive partnership with Pretorius.

With nine minutes to go, South Africa stretched their lead to 50 points for the first time. They then seemed to take their foot off the pedal somewhat with the victory secured and not wanting to risk serious injury ahead of what promises to be a pulsating affair against Jamaica on Sunday.

Pretorius said it was fantastic celebrating a milestone like a 100^th cap for one’s country on home soil as well as in front of family and friends.

“The highlight of my career must be the 2019 World Cup where I got the player of the tournament award. And then earlier this year the Quad series [against New Zealand, Australia, England] when I returned after having my daughter Kara, putting in the hard work to get out on court again,” she said.

A beaming Strydom said she’s never felt prouder in her life.

“I’m sitting here next to three legends of the game, 100 caps and 160 caps [for Pretorius and Msomi] and Norma on her 100^th win yesterday. With me only on two caps, this is the best feeling in the world, and I can’t actually describe how I’m feeling, it’s overwhelming.”

SCORES:

Q1: 24-9

Q2: 45-18 (21-9)

Q3: 68-24 (23-6)

Q4: 87-32 (19-8)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jeanté Strydom

SCOTLAND 53 – 44 BARBADOS

Scotland and Barbados faced off at the Netball World Cup for a seventh time in the tournament’s history with both sides chasing their first win of the 2023 event in Cape Town. Their previous head-to-head record stood at 4-2 in favour of the Bajans but Scotland closed that gap with a 53-44 victory on Saturday.

Barbados had suffered a 29-90 loss at the hands of England while Scotland were edged out 49-55 by Malawi after the African nation staged a massive comeback in their clash on the opening day of the tournament on Friday.

While both teams struggled slightly to find their rhythm in the opening period, a run of five unanswered goals at the end of the quarter saw the Scots taking an 11-8 lead into the first break.

A slicker performance from the Bajan Gems with fewer errors meant they were able to level matters in the second quarter, however, with the teams all square on 23-all by halftime.

Just like they did in their game against England a day earlier, Barbados lost some focus in the third quarter, and Scotland took advantage – producing several solid periods of play to build up a five-goal lead.

With their noses in front and the prospect of a first victory of the tournament in sight, the Scots managed to extend that advantage in the final quarter to wrap up a 53-44 victory.

After notching up a 93.5 per cent shooting average, Scottish goal attack Niamh McCall was named Most Valuable Player.

Speaking about how her side managed to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss to Malawi a day earlier, McCall explained: “To be honest, we did have that chat and it was a case of drawing a line and saying today is a new day. It was important that we got the win today because that’s what we came here to do was win, so I’m really happy and proud of our team performance.”

As for the MVP award, she added: “It’s really difficult getting the award because I feel like that was a full team performance but I can’t not be happy with my stats compared to yesterday… I’m really happy that I was able to step up and shoot them in today.”

Barbados wing attack Sasha Corbin, who together with her sister Kadeen previously represented England, was devasted by the result, saying: “I think we showed fight today. We definitely took some good stuff from the game yesterday against England.

“I think that last bit we didn’t push on and we didn’t always have the options. We just struggled a little bit on that but you can’t fault the defence. We tried so hard to get ball, we tried to look after turnovers. We’re just gutted, to be honest.

“We need to look after our possession and today we fell short and threw some annoying passes away, silly errors so I’m pleased with how we came out fighting but we now need to learn how to finish games properly.”

SCORES

Q1: 11-8

Q2: 23-23 (12-15)

Q3: 38-33 (15-10)

Q4: 53-44 (15-11)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Niamh McCall (Scotland)

ENGLAND 62 – 39 MALAWI

In the fifth meeting between England and Malawi at a World Cup, the Roses made it five out of five when they beat the Queens 62-39 in Cape Town.

England was fresh off a massive 90-29 win over Barbados on Friday while Malawi scored a come-from-behind victory over Scotland. Before Saturday, the last time the two squads faced each other was at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The Roses dominated throughout the match then and comfortably beat Malawi 66-41.

Saturday’s match kicked off with England unable to convert their first centre pass, and Malawi capitalised on this opportunity, securing an early lead. A familiar face for fans of the Netball Super League in the UK was Malawi goal shooter Joyce Mvula who previously played for Manchester Thunder.

England seemed to be caught off guard by their opponents’ skilful play through the court, with the African side remaining within touching distance and finishing the first quarter only two goals behind. In the next 15 minutes, however, mistakes began creeping into Malawi’s general play, granting the Roses some breathing space and relief. The score at halftime was 29-20 in favour of England.

As the second half got under way, it was clear England managed to overcome their rocky start to the match with a much-improved performance. Their defensive end found stability with the reliable combination of Geva Mentor and Layla Guscoth. The experience of these two players added a sense of assurance to their performance.

In the third quarter, the umpires called time when Malawi centre Takondwa Lwazi took a significant fall and went down in a heap of pain. Her teammates helped her off court and it seemed it was the end of the match for her. She did however return in the last 15 minutes.

England pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Malawi by 10 goals and at the same time not allowing their opponents to score more than twice in succession. The Queens regained some ground in the last 15 minutes, but a repeat of Friday’s comeback exploits against Scotland was not to be.

England goal shooter Helen Housby was awarded the Most Valuable Player for a good all-around performance in the circle. She landed all 17 of her shots at goal.

England coach Jess Thirlby was once again pleased with her team’s efforts.

“I think we’ve prepared well for styles like this. I think it’s important to respect the opposition. We really look forward to the challenge of different levels of physicality and different styles of play so we kind of knew what to expect and we also know tactically how to be smart about it,” she said.

“I think everyone has had a test today and I think it’s perfect to get a test so soon on day two. We felt prepared for this game and I think we shouldn’t really wipe away a 20-plus goal win against such a quality side as anything other than a great step in the right direction.”

Malawi captain Jane Chimaliro said it was unfortunate that her side couldn’t continue with their good performance from the first quarter.

“We came hard at them in the first quarter and it started very well for us,” she said. “The game was very close but I think we lost concentration and consistency in the third quarter, and that’s why we lost the game. And then we didn’t play well in the last quarter.”

SCORES:

Q1: 12-10

Q2: 29-20 (17-10)

Q3: 48-29 (19-9)

Q4: 62-39 (14-10)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Helen Housby

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 49-36 SINGAPORE

Trinidad and Tobago raced into a seven-goal lead before Singapore could make any impression on the scoreboard in their Group D encounter. But the Asian side did well to rally and close that gap. Singapore’s shooters struggled with their accuracy though, goal attack Kai Wei Toh sinking just one of her seven attempts in the first quarter as the Caribbean team headed into the first break 13-10 up.

Singapore’s scoring woes continued in the second quarter, but with Trinidad and Tobago also squandering several chances to find their shooters at the other end of the court, the match remained a tight one. Evidence of this was the fact that just 17 goals were scored in total in the 15-minute period.

In the end, it was Trinidad and Tobago’s physicality and superior shooting accuracy that triumphed over Singapore’s speed. They started pulling away in the third quarter and extended their lead in the fourth to wrap up a 49-36 victory – their first of the Netball World Cup 2023.

That also saw the Calypso Girls extending their record of wins over Singapore at the Netball World Cup to six out of six.

Trinidad and Tobago goal shooter Afeisha Noel was named Most Valuable Player and said: “A first win for Trinidad and Tobago is really good. To come out of this group in the top three is an honour.

“I think our composure made the difference today. We went to the changeroom and we spoke as a team, the coach spoke to us and told us to regroup and then we came back out and we dominated… Our coach always tells us short and sharp passes and that’s what we did.”

Singapore goal shooter Amandeep Chahal said: “I did get a few pushes and nudges but I guess that’s just the physicality of the game, so you just have to stand strong.

As for her side’s troubles in the shooting circle, Chahal added: “I guess we just have to regroup and come back stronger tomorrow, work on our shooting and shooter passes, like triangles and stuff, just to bring the ball closer and improve the accuracy.”

SCORES

Q1: 13-10

Q2: 21-19 (8-9)

Q3: 34-30 (13-11)

Q4: 49-36 (15-6)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Afeisha Noel (Trinidad and Tobago)

Match reports, day 2: Wins for Fiji, NZ, Australia, Jamaica

Fiji pulled off an upset victory in their must-win match against Zimbabwe while three of the tournament favourites, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica, all recorded victories on the second day of action at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town – albeit not without some tough competition from their gutsy opponents.

ZIMBABWE 48-52 FIJI

Both Zimbabwe and Fiji were hungry for their first wins of the tournament after suffering opening day losses at the hands of Australia and Tonga respectively.

Playing against each other for the first time at a Netball World Cup, it was a tightly contested opening quarter. A run of five unanswered goals saw Zimbabwe pulling ahead at one point but the Fiji Pearls came back at them, effectively making use of the soon-to-be- outlawed short pass to eventually level matters at 11-11. By the first break, Zimbabwe had just edged ahead by two goals.

The second quarter was once again a neck-and-neck affair, Fiji levelling matters five minutes in and then taking a one-goal lead into the halftime break.

Fiji notched up another impressive scoring run towards the end of the third quarter to surge nine goals ahead at one point and didn’t look back from there. The Pearls opened their gap to 10 goals at one point, and while the Zimbabweans did rally in the final quarter, winning it 13-9, it was not enough to avoid the upset loss.

Speaking after the match, Fiji coach Unaisi Rokoura said: “We knew coming into today’s game it was do-or-die for us and each sub-unit in the team had specific goals and targets that they had to work on in different areas in terms of defensively, marking one on one and identifying the key player which is their goal attack and we shut her down.

“We knew Zimbabwe was going to come with a physical game and we had to be smarter and just play our own Fijian style of play which is keeping it short and simple and that’s what we did.”

After finishing with a 93 percent shooting average, Fijian goal attack Unaisi Raulani was named Most Valuable Player and said: “I feel very excited because this was a do-or-die game. We had to win this one to go to the next level.”

Asked what made the difference for her side today, Rokoura reckoned: “I think it was just teamwork and communication on court, and also being consistent in everything we did on court.”

An understandably disappointed Zimbabwe captain Felisitus Kwangwa said: “I can say honestly everyone is very sad, including me. We just had a terrible start [to the tournament as a team.

“We just couldn’t maximise on our opportunities that we got as a team and that’s why we ended up here where we are right now.”

Assistant coach Wisdom Shinya added: “We still have a long way to go, we still have our jobs to do ahead of tomorrow’s game against Tonga. We just need to come out from the two losses and step up and do what we should have done in the last two games.”

SCORES
Q1: 14-12
Q2: 25-26 (11-14)
Q3: 35-43 (10-17)
Q4: 48-52 (13-9)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Unaisi Raulani (Fiji)

NEW ZEALAND 54-44 UGANDA

World champions New Zealand survived a scare from Uganda for a 54-44 victory to record their second win at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town. The Silver Ferns have now won all four of their World Cup encounters against the She Cranes.

New Zealand were pushed to their limit in the first two quarters by their African opponents.

Centre Margret Baagala worked hard in mid-court to move the ball through to the Ugandan goal circle, providing enough good scoring opportunities for goal shooter Mary Cholhok. The Silver Ferns however were not to be outdone, with Grace Nweke standing tall in the circle on the other end of the court, making sure she landed her shots.

New Zealand went into halftime with a four-point lead, despite only having a third of the possession. It was their superior goal shooting, 92.3 per cent compared to Uganda’s 83.3 percent, that gave them the edge.

In the third quarter, Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua brought on the experience of Jane Watson, Gina Crampton and Te Paea Selby-Rickit to prevent the first upset of the World Cup. Watson and South African-born Karin Burger proved a lethal combination on defence, starving the She Cranes of crucial ball in their attempt to close the growing gap on the scoreboard.

Even though it was goal-for-goal scoring in the last five minutes of the match, the world champions outmuscled the She Cranes for a vital victory. Uganda will rue the chances they missed and not remaining calm under pressure to get the better of their more fancied opponents.

Baagala, who was the most valuable player in Friday’s victory over Singapore, played all four quarters for Uganda. She was once again a standout player for her.

Taurua credited her side’s strong defensive effort as an important part of the Silver Ferns’ victory.

“Our systems are set and we are fine-tuning what to do against certain opposition. I’m happy with how things are starting to settle and the progress we are making. That’s something we’ve discussed, that all 12 need to be ready in the combinations so that we can keep building and pose something different to the opposition.”

Despite the loss, Ugandan coach Fred Mugerwa said he believed his 15-player squad, of which 13 players are making their World Cup debuts, will be on top of the world at some point.

“As a country we have talents. The only problem is the lack of exposure. Apart from the few warm-up matches we had here in Cape Town, our only preparation back home was against men’s teams which were quite physical. Today we played our hearts out and we really wanted that win. Next time we shall do it.”

SCORES
Q1: 13-11
Q2: 25-21 (12-10)
Q3: 38-22 (13-11)
Q4: 54-44 (16-12)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Phoenix Karaka (New Zealand)

AUSTRALIA 84-38 TONGA

Boosted by their hard-fought victory over Fiji on the opening day of the tournament, the ever-improving Tonga team came out firing against 11-time Netball World Cup champions Australia in their Group A clash in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Tongans used their physicality to exert a good deal of pressure on the Diamonds, also matching their speed to ensure it was a tight first 15 minutes.

Taking on a team playing in just their second Netball World Cup and ranked six places below them in the world, the Australians would most probably have expected to be further ahead than 15-13 at the first break, but it was an impressive opening period for the Tongan Tala.

Aussie coach Stacey Marinkovich stuck with her starting seven in the second quarter and a 10-goal blitz at the start of the period saw the Diamonds pulling well ahead as normal order was restored.

Goal attack Steph Wood came on in the third quarter, so earning a 50 th cap for the Australians as Paige Hadley (WA), Jo Weston (GD), Sophie Garbin (GS) and Sunday Aryang (WD) also came off the bench.

As the game progressed, the Tongans seemed to run out of steam and their early intensity dissipated. They faced a 35-goal deficit by the final break and the Australians continued to dominate to wrap up an emphatic 84-38 win.

Jamie-Lee Price was named Most Valuable Player. Speaking afterwards about the number of turnovers in the first quarter of the match, she said: “Obviously it’s something we need to look at. We adjusted slowly in the first quarter, so I think it was just sticking to our gameplan – that’s all we needed to do, really and just adjust to what they were putting out there.”

Commenting on earning her 50 th cap for her country, Wood added: “It’s really special when you get to pull on the Australian dress, just to do it once is a goosebump moment but to think I’ve been able to play 50 games is something really special and something I’m really proud of.”

Tongan captain Hulita Veve said: “I think we came out firing. I think we had the energy and we came out to play hard. We just needed to work on our consistency in the second quarter and then we lost momentum, but we’ll go back and work on that one.”

SCORES
Q1: 15-13
Q2: 39-19 (24-6)
Q3: 63-28 (24-9)
Q4: 84-38 (22-10)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jamie-Lee Price

JAMAICA 75-40 WALES

Jamaica scored yet another big victory at the Netball World Cup 2023 when they beat Wales 75-40 in Cape Town. This after crossing the 100-mark against Sri Lanka on Friday. Their 105 was the highest score on day 1 while the winning margin (80) was the largest.

There are five positions between Jamaica (4) and Wales (9) on the latest world rankings and it clearly showed as the Sunshine Girls dominated all four quarters of the match. Jamaica’s combination of sharp attacking play and solid defence proved too formidable for their opponents.

The victory showcased Jamaica’s skill, teamwork and strategic execution. Shooters Romelda Aiken-George, Rebekah Robinson and captain Jhaniele Fowler displayed remarkable accuracy, converting more than 90 per cent of their chances. Additionally, defenders Shamera Stirling and Kadie-Ann Dehaney created several turnovers and disrupted the Welsh attacking flow effectively.

Fowler credited their success so far to the strength of the 12-player squad.

“Everyone is going out on court and doing their job and that’s what we need to for them to do, I’m very pleased with that,” she said.

“For tomorrow, I know South Africa is going to be coming hard at us. We just have to stick to our ground and play to the game plan.”

Welsh goalkeeper Ella Powell-Davies said their aim was to disrupt the space of the Jamaicans as much as they could.

“They are world-class players and we wanted to put as much pressure on the feed as we could in the circle. And when we got the disruption it was key that we took possession of that ball.

“Tomorrow is Sri Lanka and it is a game that we want to go out there and meet all our performance goals. We want to have a full 60-minute performance and hopefully we can achieve that tomorrow.”

SCORES
Q1: 23-11
Q2: 44-23 (21-12)
Q3: 58-29 (14-6)
Q4: 75-40 (17-11)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Shamera Sterling (Jamaica)

Match reports: Wins for SA, Jamaica, England, Malawi

SOUTH AFRICA 61-50 WALES

South Africa cleared the first hurdle in their Netball World Cup 2023 campaign when they beat Wales 61-50 at a packed CTICC in Cape Town.

The Welsh team didn’t only have to contend with the superiority of the Proteas on the court but also the deafening roar of the home crowd in the stands. There was cheering, dancing and singing throughout the 60-minute encounter that undoubtedly fuelled the home side’s determination to make their country proud.

Player of the tournament at the 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool Karla Pretorius made her 99th appearance for the Proteas and was in great form, putting her impressive defensive abilities on full display.

In the first two quarters, South Africa showed why they are fifth on the latest world rankings compared to Wales’ ninth position. They had the height advantage over their opponents as well as the speed and agility across court. The Proteas went into the lead 32-24, with Ine-Marie Venter having a stellar performance as goal shooter, finding the net time after time.

While most of the players settled well into their positions, Elmeré van der Berg seemed to struggle to find her feet. Welsh defenders Ella Powell-Davies and Christina Shaw pounced on Van der Berg’s nervousness, keeping her from making her mark on the big stage. Her shooting average of 50 per cent was clear evidence of that and she moved to the bench for the final two quarters of the match, being replaced by Nichole Taljaard. Coach Norma Plummer also brought on Jeanté Strydom (for Shadine van der Merwe) who made her international debut for South Africa.

Wales didn’t make any substitutions until the third quarter with Nansi Kuti replacing Georgia Rowe at goal shooter. It was also Kuti’s debut for Wales.

In the final stretch of the match, South Africa started pulling away. They used their status as one of the most experienced teams at the World Cup in terms of international caps and upped the tempo to completely shut out the Welsh and clinch an important victory on the first day of action.

Plummer was beaming with pride about Venter’s performance that saw her named the Most Valuable Player.

“Her growth has been phenomenal. She had outstanding shooting for us,” said Plummer.

“It was a win, not what I necessarily would call a convincing win. I thought our first quarter was sensational but then the Welsh notched it up in the second and third quarters. We started spraying balls and that was disappointing. There’s a lot of information that we now have and that we can use and work on.”

On Sunday, the Proteas face Jamaica who stacked 105 goals against Sri Lanka. Captain Bongi Msomi said they are not looking that far ahead.

“We are taking it day by day. Next it’s Sri Lanka. In 2019 we were in the same situation, anything can happen on any day. But first things first, and that’s tomorrow.”

SCORES:
Q1: 18-9
Q2: 32-24 (14-15)
Q3: 47-37 (15-13)
Q4: 61-50 (14-13)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Ine-Marie Venter (South Africa)

JAMAICA 105-25 SRI LANKA

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls got their tournament off to a storming start, notching up a formidable 100-point total in their opening Group C match against Sri Lanka.

That was only the second time the Jamaicans have scored 100 goals on the World Cup stage and the 14 th time that the century mark has been surpassed by any team in the tournament’s 60-year history.

The last time the milestone was achieved was in 2015 when Sri Lanka was also on the receiving end of a 101-18 drubbing at the hands of Malawi.

On Friday, the Jamaicans slotted in 11 goals before the Sri Lankans got themselves on the scoreboard.

Goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George notched up a 100 per cent shooting average in the opening quarter, scoring 19 of her side’s 26 goals. This is the 34-year-old’s fifth Netball World Cup, so equalling the Jamaican record jointly held by her coach, Connie Francis, and Janet Johnson.

Sri Lanka won the Asian qualifying tournament to book their place at the Netball World Cup but found it tough going against the slick Jamaican outfit, reaching halftime facing a 41-goal deficit.

Jhaniele Fowler came on for the first time in the third quarter and notched up a near-perfect 24 out of 25 goals as the Jamaicans continued to dominate. She added 18 more in the fourth quarter to finish with a 97.7 shooting average – both she and Aiken-George (97.1 percent) making the most of their significant height advantage in the circle.

It was Rebekah Robinson who slotted in the Jamaicans’ 100 th goal of the match in the final quarter as they romped to a 105-25 victory.

Speaking after the match, coach Francis said: “I loved the way the girls went out there and put on a fantastic show… I am so proud that they were able to execute well throughout the court.

“It was good to get all the girls out there and you know what I was happy about, was the different types of combinations that we could run and we were able to see that the girls were executing it.”

Commenting on her side surpassing the 100-goal mark, Francis simply added: “The girls set specific targets and to see them attain them was really good.”

Sri Lankan captain Gayanjali Amarawansa admitted afterwards: “For Asians this was a very tough game. This is the first time we have played against Jamaica so we had a good experience. I think we have to experience games like this so it was a good one.

“Toughness and physicality are the good lessons for us so we hope to go ahead with that.”

SCORES:
Q1: 26-5
Q2: 52-11 (26-6)
Q3: 75-18 (23-7)
Q4: 105-25 (30-7)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Latanya Wilson (Jamaica)

ENGLAND 90 – 29 BARBADOS

England also got their bid for a first ever Netball World Cup crown off to a positive start, producing a commanding performance against Barbados in their opening Group B encounter.

The match was unique in that it saw England’s Geva Mentor and Jade Clark as well as Barbados’s Latonia Blackman all stepping out on the Netball World Cup stage for an incredible record-equalling sixth time.

The two sides have met a total of six times in Netball World Cup history, with the island nation never having gotten the better of the Roses.

While the Bajan Gems had a positive start to the match, staying in touch for the first five minutes, seven unanswered goals from England towards the end of the quarter saw them surging further ahead than they already were to reach the first break 20-8 up.

The English didn’t look back from there, dominating on all fronts, winning the next quarter by the same 12-goal margin and continuing that ascendency.

Barbados could manage just four goals in the third period and things didn’t go much better in the fourth, the Roses rolling out comfortable 90-29 winners.

England coach Jess Thirlby was understandably pleased with her team’s performance, in which World Cup debutante Funmi Fadoju was named the Most Valuable Player.

“I’m really pleased. It’s a solid start. I think while we’re not getting carried away with the scoreboard, one of the learnings for us is to make sure we’re more consistent quarter on quarter, irrelevant of changes… and I actually thought quarter on quarter we got stronger, we found more ball through the game which was great, we adjusted.

“It’s a confidence boost but we’re not getting carried away, we have bigger challenges to come in the next couple of days.”

Barbados coach Denise Alleyne said: “I think we had a really good first half, we stuck to the gameplan for the most part. We didn’t convert as many as we would have liked but we were able to move the ball around and we had some good spots. We had a bit of a mental lapse in the third quarter that spilled over to the fourth but for the most part, I saw some good things happening and we have some stuff we can improve upon for our next game.

Speaking about Blackman playing in her sixth Netball World Cup, she added: “It’s just great, Latonia is a patriot at heart. It’s interesting because my very last tournament as a player was her first so we actually played together for one tournament. I hope it’s not her last. She still has a lot to offer – her spirit, her personality, everything she stands for is what Barbados netball is all about.”

SCORES:
Q1: 20-8
Q2: 42-18 (22-10)
Q3: 65-22 (23-4)
Q4: 90-29 (25-7)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Funmi Fadoju (England)

MALAWI 55-49 SCOTLAND

In a pulsating match at the Netball World Cup 2023, the Malawi Queens scored a 55-49 come-from-behind victory over Scotland. It was the first time these two sides have met in the history of the sport’s showpiece tournament.

Before the tournament started, Scotland captain Claire Maxwell said her team wanted to shake the tag of underachievers. This result certainly didn’t do anything to achieve what she set out to do.

The match started with a bang as Malawi's shooting duo, Joyce Mvula and Jane Chimaliro, displayed remarkable accuracy, converting all their chances at goal in the first quarter. But despite their impeccable shooting, Malawi struggled to retain possession, with only 37 per cent of the ball in their hands. Scotland held a comfortable 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and it looked like an upset was on the cards.

In the second 15 minutes, the African team kicked into high gear, proving their mettle and resilience. With fresh legs stepping in from the bench, the team started gradually chipping away at the seemingly insurmountable lead Scotland had established earlier on.

Scotland, on the other hand, started the first three quarters with an unchanged lineup, sticking to their initial strategy of staying with the tried and tested. They introduced replacements in the final 15 minutes in an attempt to salvage the match but it was not to be.

Malawi will undoubtedly want to build on the exceptional performance against Scotland with their eyes set on the playoffs. For their opponents it is time to regroup and refine their match strategies, hoping to bounce back stronger.

Q1: 17-9
Q2: 29-22 (12-13)
Q3: 41-35 (12-13)
Q4: 55-49 (20-8)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Joyce Mvula (Malawi)

Jamaica ready to take on world at NWC2023

Team Jamaica touched down in Cape Town this week with one goal in mind – claiming the title at the Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023).

Head coach Connie Francis, who competed in an incredible five Netball World Cups as a player, quoted a well-known Jamaican phrase which sums up the mood in camp – “Wi likkle but wi tallawah.” The meaning: We may be small but we are mighty.

The island nation with a population of around 3 million has produced some remarkable results over the years, including being one of the few sides in the world to have beaten 11-time Netball World Cup champions Australia.

Their most recent success was at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where they got the better of the Aussie Diamonds in the group stage before losing out to the same side in the final, but it was still a first Commonwealth Games silver for the Sunshine Girls.

“We expect the World Cup to be harder than the Comm Games last year and so we have been planning our training sessions around ensuring the ladies are better prepared for the task ahead,” said Francis.

“The real test of whether or not we have kept momentum will show in our performance on court.”

Speaking about getting the better of the Australians, the coach added: “[They have been] a powerhouse in netball from the outset of World Netball where they have been dominant over these 60 years.

“But they have chinks in their armour, and we have broken that dominance from as far back as 1985 – so we do have that history to understand that we can, if we put our shoulders to the wheel.

“They are beatable. We have certainly proved that, and if we intend to be victorious, we are not resting on our laurels… We have also put in the work to be prepared, and we have the mental fortitude – the belief that says we will do it.

“And we must do it if we want to become number one.”

Jamaica have played at every Netball World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1963 and have claimed three bronze medals – in 1991, 2003 (as hosts) and 2007. At the last tournament in 2019, however, they were beaten by South Africa in the pool stage, eventually finishing in fifth place.

The Jamaicans have once again been drawn in the same pool as the SPAR Proteas, with the two scheduled to go head-to-head on 30th July.

“South Africa is one of the top five countries in the world, so they have been and they always will be a threat to the aspirations of the Sunshine Girls which we must overcome if we are going to become number one in the world,” explained Francis.

“We do not under-rate any team. So, we are focused on being disciplined and giving our very best in that effort particularly because South Africa is at home and there’s always the advantage of playing at home.

“As it stands, we must get by South Africa, and so our first job is to make sure that we are prepared for them – physically, mentally, to ensure that strategies and tactics we have will lead to our success, especially at that very critical stage of the preliminaries.”

The other teams in Pool C are Wales and Sri Lanka. The Sunshine Girls take on the Sri Lankans on 28th July before facing the Welsh Feathers a day later.

Having just arrived in Cape Town for the first Netball World Cup on African soil, Francis reckoned: “South Africa have long been amongst the top-ranked nations in netball. The country hosted the FIFA World Cup and it was believed to be one of the best ever.

“Having the Netball World Cup on the African continent will be great for the sport, the country, the players and of course the people of this nation.

“It is a very exciting time as netball has certainly evolved over the years. “The Sunshine Girls are upbeat and looking forward to showcasing their talents in this great nation.”

Details on tickets and travel packages and more information are all available on the official tournament website (www.nwc2023.org.za) with a range of tickets and packages still available.

Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Netball World Cup

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Australia crowned Netball World Cup champions for the 12th time as Jamaica clinch bronze

Final placings at the Netball World Cup 2023:

Australia fend off Jamaica to book spot in ninth straight Netball World Cup final

Day 7: England and Jamaica stun world’s top two as Wales and Scotland win to book ninth-place showdown

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