Having spent the month before the tournament with her left foot in a moon boot to treat what is now understood to have been a stress fracture, the break apparently occurred during the second quarter of the 58-55 win over New Zealand that completed an Australian hat-trick of titles.
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The Tall Ferns are unbeaten in Pool E – and the only unbeaten team in the tournament after downing Australia in the preliminary rounds – and will finish top with a win against surprise packet Uganda today.
The 2015 Netball World Cup will go down as another tale of heartache for the Silver Ferns at the hands of the Australian Diamonds.
Meanwhile, England proved too strong for Jamaica in the bronze medal game, running out 66-44 winners.
Malawi team is sixth on the official world netball rankings.
There are plenty of reasons for optimism, especially given the age of the squad, but once again, the 2015 World Cup will feel like a missed opportunity.
Plenty of questions had been asked during the week about whether the Diamonds could bounce back from last Sunday’s loss to New Zealand in the preliminary stages of the competition.
Sharpshooter Caitlin Bassett led the way with 47 goals from 50 attempts, combining almost flawlessly with West Coast Fever teammate and goal attack Natalie Medhurst despite hustling Kiwi captain Casey Kopua at keeper.
The result of Alexander’s hard reality check was a 10-goal win over world No. 3 England that was “still not flawless, but much better”.
“Although the South Africans matched England goal for goal early on, England’s rugged defence, through-court ball-speed and unerring accuracy gradually wore them down”, says AAP.
New Zealand will seek a first world title since 2003 when they take on hosts Australia in the final.
Needing to hit back in the second quarter, Jamaica found themselves stymied by a clinical Australia whose shooters missed just one attempt as they took control of the contest.
And as she hobbled around afterwards with both knees packed in ice, the 2007 and 2011 World Cup-winning veteran said a hat-trick was every bit the fairytale ending she’d hoped for.
The spotlight was on us, the expectations were on us, ” she said.
“The team has made us proud not only for Malawians but for Africa although it did not make it to the semi-finals” he said.
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Geitz was ferocious against a nervy-looking Bailey Mes, constantly in the hunt and nailing a game-high nine deflections against the flow of play, even taking out centre Laura Langman in the process. The English were on a mission to be slightly less disappointing than they were at the Commonwealth Games past year.
