Diamonds preach concussion caution with skipper Bassett

COACH Lisa Alexander won't take any chances with concussed Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett but expects her star shooter will get up for the first whistle of their Netball World Cup defence.

Bassett sustained a mild concussion during training over the weekend and, given she had reported a headache, sat out Sunday’s 94-62 fiveterm practice win over Manchester Thunder. As the only squad member to have played in Australia’s 2011 and 2015 World Cup triumphs and boasting remarkable big-game accuracy, the 31-year-old is a pivotal prong in the side’s chances of winning a 12th world title.

And Alexander still had every confidence she’d be on the court come Friday’s tournament-opener against Northern Ireland in Liverpool.

But she wasn’t taking any chances against the Thunder, relegating Bassett to a courtside exercise bike and effectively ruling her out of Tuesday’s final warm-up hitout against England A.

“Just an innocuous knock,” Alexander said.

“We have to go through the protocols with mild concussion. I’m one of the coaches who speaks on behalf of the AIS about this and I take it extremely seriously.

“I suffered concussions myself as an athlete back in the day so I’m not going to take any chances, and our medical staff won’t either.”

Discussion around concussion protocols returned to the Australian sporting consciousness following last month’s discovery of a disease linked with repetitive head trauma in American sport in two former NRL players.

Evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) was found in the brains of two deceased men, both of whom played more than 150 NRL games.

Alexander has been part of the Australian Institute of Sport’s drive to err on the side of caution in the event of symptoms, and is on the record as saying she’s instructed Diamonds medical staff to intervene during matches if necessary.

She said Bassett fell under the “precautionary” category.

“She’s really come up well today so we’re very hopeful that everything will be in place for what she needs to do,” Alexander said.

The Diamonds were due to complete a training session in Manchester on Monday before their final tune-up on Tuesday, when combinations will again be trialled as the coach searches for that “frantic” element, though she was pleased with transition work from JamieLee Price and Paige Hadley, among others.