GRETEL TIPS IT IN THE FAVOUR OF DIAMONDS
GRETEL Tippett 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 yesterday.
The world champions trailed the fifth-ranked Proteas 16-11 after the first quarter but gradually found their feet at Echo Arena, the venue for this year’s World Cup.
The Diamonds did it without goal shooter Bassett, who fractured her forearm during a warm-up match in Manchester on Thursday, ruling her out of the series.
Experienced shooter Caitlin Thwaites was solid in the first half before being replaced by goal attack specialist Steph Wood.
Gold Coast product Tippett was a constant throughout at goal attack, named player of the match after netting 30 of 32 shots.
Lisa Alexander’s players have barely seen a netball court since winning the Constellation Cup last October and it showed early.
However, she didn’t want excuses for a listless start.
“South Africa did some beautiful things in that first quarter and we were caught napping,” Alexander said.
“It’s not acceptable to be hanging around for a quarter, trying to get intercepts or adjusting to the penalty count. We can’t afford that against New Zealand or England.”
The Proteas moved the ball too easily, prompting Alexander to introduce Jo Weston at goal defence and Jamie-Lee Price at wing defence to stem the flow.
The key changes came up front in the second half, when Wood and wing attack Kelsey Browne stretched the Proteas.
South African coach Norma Plummer said the athletic Tippett was the biggest difference between the teams. “Tippett was terrific. She’s very physically strong and she’s very hard to handle,” she said.