Diamonds sparkle in Quad starter

GRETEL Tippett has stood tallest in the absence of captain Caitlin Bassett as a rusty Australia beat South Africa 62-45 in the opening Quad Series Test in Liverpool.

The netball world champions trailed the fifthranked Proteas 16-11 after a haphazard first quarter on Sunday but gradually found their feet at Echo Arena, the venue for this year’s World Cup.

They did it without world class goal shoot Bassett, who suffered a fractured forearm during a warm-up match in Manchester on Thursday, ruling her out of the tournament.

Experienced shooter Caitlin Thwaites was solid in the first half before being replaced by goal attack specialist Steph Wood.

Tippett was an important constant throughout at goal attack, named player of the match after landing 30 of 32 shots.