After a week of shadow-boxing, Australia has passed their first genuine test of the Netball World Cup with a nailbiting 50-49 victory over old enemies New Zealand on Thursday night.
Maria Folau had the chance to secure a draw for New Zealand right at the death but missed her shot as Courtney Bruce towered over her, much to the delight of the Australian fans among a raucous crowd at the Liverpool Arena."I'm really pleased that we toughed it out," Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander. "We had some silly pieces of play but we adjusted to that and I'm very, very happy we hung on.
Alexander chopped and changed her side through their five breezy lead-up games against minnow nations but finally showed her hand against the Silver Ferns. Her starting seven was spearheaded by Caitlin Bassett, Steph Wood and Kelsey Browne, which Alexander confidently described as a "winning combination" pre-game. Barring one swap at wing defence, she stuck with the same team for the whole match.
The Diamonds backed it up with an ultra-aggressive start, attacking quickly and directly from the outset and defending with the same manic intensity.
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