Sparkling Diamonds on target
Australia are a win away from claiming the netball Quad Series following their four-goal win over England in London yesterday.
The Diamonds did what New Zealand could not when they took down the host nation 50-46 in their second game of the series.
“It was a great result for us on their turf,” captain Caitlin Bassett said.
“What was most pleasing for me was the way we weathered the storm against them. They really came back at us in the third and fourth quarters and it was a really physical game but we handled it well.”
Australia opened the tournament with a 54-50 win over South Africa.
Victory against the Silver Ferns in their final game in South Africa on Sunday (NZT) will see the Diamonds claim the last international series before the Commonwealth Games.
The Diamonds’ seven-goal halftime advantage was cut to three by the end of the third quarter after the Roses went on a run of six unanswered goals.
Coach Lisa Alexander brought Caitlin Thwaites into goal-shoot in the final quarter, with the veteran firing five-from-five goals to see off the hosts’ challenge.
“One of the things we talk about is to look to each other, and change things up if we need to,” Alexander said. “When our opposition gets a bit of a run on, sometimes we need to change things in attack and defence. We did that a few times with positional switches. That’s part of being part of a team. They understand that all of them will have different roles to play at different times.”
The Silver Ferns’ next game is against South Africa on Friday (NZT).