New Zealand has cruised to a 76-33 victory over Uganda on the eve of their Netball World Cup semi-final against England.
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The game finished 62-46 with England facing New Zealand in the next round on Saturday.
The Kiwis have revamped their game since then, building a more free-flowing, unpredictable style centred around the athleticism of goal shoot Bailey Mes.
They will go from a 66-31 defeat against world No 1 Australia on Wednesday and into another tough match against world No 3 England on Friday.
However, there is a flicker of hope, Malawi Queens team is under development and they will break the top four in the next world netball outing. “While usually the Netball World Cup is contested between the two Antipodean giants of the sport, Australia and New Zealand, this time round many are tipping the world number three team as the biggest threat to the home nation”.
As the Proteas enjoy a day off at Sydney’s Manly Beach on Thursday, they could be forgiven for being a bit fearful of another gathering storm on the horizon of their Netball World Cup campaign. And while, for obvious reasons, Alexander is unlikely to declare it otherwise, she is also adamant that the current Diamonds squad is superior to the unbeaten 2014 version of a group that has not lost since September, 2013.
“Obviously they’ve got Jill (McIntosh) will them at the moment and I think she’s been doing a great job with them”.
Key to England’s chances is captain and goal keeper Geva Mentor, says the BBC.
New Zealand ought to have been up miles at halftime and maybe even have had the game put to bed.
A sickening clash between Jade Clarke and Geitz at the seven-minute mark of the third had the crowd gasping but Clarke regained her composure and played on. “She’s only had us a short amount of time but I can see the difference in terms of the mindset and fitness, where we are going and what we want to do”. They limited their turnovers to 18 and their penalties to 30.
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What we can be pretty certain of however, is to win the title, the Ferns will have to beat both England and Australia in the finals – in what order will depend on what happens over the next few days in the round qualification matches.
