That’s it from Allphones Arena
Australia complete the job, dispatching an English side that will leave a little disappointed not to have made the inroads they might have. Thanks to Erin Delahunty for her updates from the stadium and thanks to all you readers too. Make sure you stop by for more live action throughout this 2015 Netball World Cup.
And that's the game! A 10-goal win to the @AussieDiamonds but great game by both sides #AUSvENG #NWC2015 http://t.co/MTg00nnMOL
— Netball World Cup (@netballworldcup) August 11, 2015
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Game over! Australia beat England by 10 goals
Australia 51, defeat England 41
With under two minutes remaining and the result settled, Renae Hallinan is still chasing every loose ball like a terrier and Caitlin Thwaites continues to make the most of her extended period of game-time. Hallinan forces one last turnover (of course she does) and with that the Aussies bring it home by 10 goals.
Australia shot at 81% and England 85% tonight. The Aussies won the intercept stats 9-4 and conceded only 67 penalties to England’s 93. Stats are barely required in this case though, the Aussies starved the England shooters of opportunities and made the most of theirs. It was an emphatic win for The Diamonds.
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Australia 49 - 39 England (4th quarter - 2:20 remaining)
We’re into junk time now, England still pressing but with slightly less vigor now that the sting is out of the contest. They’ve conceded 91 penalties now, a figure that’s just ballooned as the game has gone on.
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Australia 47 - 36 England (4th quarter - 4:45 remaining)
The Aussies have tightened up on defence tonight and really given their shooters every opportunity to take the game away from England, the polar opposite of their subdued effort against the Silver Ferns. Now Thwaites puts them 11 up - the biggest lead of the night - with under five minutes remaining.
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Australia 44 - 36 England (4th quarter - 7:22 remaining)
Whack! Laura Geitz chases an interception and absolutely pole-axes Jade Clarke. Both had eyes for the ball alone and it was brave from both players but Clarke looks winded after having her legs taken from under her. Ouch. She’s a tough cookie though and gets up to big cheers from the crowd.
Australia 42 - 35 England (4th quarter - 8:04 remaining)
England are on a mini-run here, drawing within six goals as Housby breathes some life into the game. Can they sustain it? Not on Caitlin Thwaites’ watch, you’d think. England have nine minutes to pull off a miracle but Thwaites puts the Aussies back to an eight-goal lead with her side in possession.
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Australia 41 - 33 England (4th quarter - 10:57 remaining)
Geva Mentor is back on for England but what a body blow that Bassett forced her removal so early in the game tonight. She was monstering her in the opening quarter. Beckford-Chambers didn’t disgrace herself but takes a rest now and the Aussies give Bassett a spell and Caitlin Thwaites her first run of the night.
Three-quarter time - Australia lead by nine
Australia 39 - 30 England
The Aussies are well clear here and we get an insight why when Julie Corletto, with only seconds left on the clock and nothing much to gain, still desperately launches herself sideways for an intercept. Laura Geitz picks her up with a huge grin as they head to the huddle and why not? Things are looking good for the Diamonds.
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Australia 38 - 29 England (3rd quarter - 1:49 remaining)
Australia are having a far better night tonight, all things considered. Even fumbles seem to go their way and the smile on Bassett’s face as she puts them nine clear says it all; ‘this is actually a little bit fun’. The Aussies look like certain semi-finalists now, from here it’s a matter of maintaining form and avoiding injuries.
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Australia 35 - 28 England (3rd quarter - 3:45 remaining)
England are hanging in there but only just. Medhurst continues to run them off their feet in attack and as Liz Ellis notes, that’s opening up plenty of space for Bassett to lord it over Beckford-Chambers, outmatched in height if not strength. Housby keeps them in touch but the margin still sits at seven with no signs of budging dramatically.
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Australia 33 - 25 England (3rd quarter - 6:43 remaining)
Corletto and Geitz are like a SWAT team on defence tonight and that must surely breed a great sense of confidence throughout the rest of the Diamonds side. Serena Guthrie has had 60 collections for the English and looks suitably unimpressed that her team-mates close to goal aren’t taking advantage of her hard work. Housby is working hard too but it’s an uphill battle.
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Australia 30 - 22 England (3rd quarter - 10:43 remaining)
England manage a steadying score but then fail to capitalise on an interception, immediately turning the ball over to let Bassett back in. This could really slip away quickly if they’re not careful; Kim Green always seems to find a couple of metres of space through the middle and she’s controlling play beautifully. Guthrie shows great athleticism to keep a dying ball in play but double-teamed Bassett puts Australia eight clear again. She’s pretty hard to stop at the moment.
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Australia 28 - 20 England (3rd quarter - 13:20 remaining)
The Aussies start ferociously, forcing a turnover and then scoring through Bassett, who is infringed upon after some sharp work by Medhurst to keep the ball in play. In the blink of an eye some smart footwork by Green opens up Barrett for two more scoring opportunities and she nails them home to stretch the lead to eight.
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Australia 25 - 20 England (3rd quarter moments away now)
As the third quarter approaches many Aussies appear to be fuming that having been led to believe that The Diamonds’ games would be shown live on Ten’s digital channel, they’re actually being shown on delay, which does kind of stink. Live broadcasts are actually Foxtel-only, it would seem, a point that might have been spelled out a little more clearly in the lead-up to the tournament.
Both teams are shooting well tonight
Australia’s shooting accuracy is 83% and England’s is an impressive 87%, The Diamonds lead the intercepts 4-3. Turnovers have definitely cost England though.
Another intercept by @JulieCorletto before @England_Netball get their hands back on the ball #AUSvENG #NWC2015 http://t.co/kD3KWkEfpv
— Netball World Cup (@netballworldcup) August 11, 2015
Corletto is tearing them a new one! #NWC2015 #AUSvENG
— Chop (@idontclaire) August 11, 2015
Half-time - Australia leads by 5
Australia 25 - 20 England
Hallinan continues to hare around like a woman possessed and her efforts are symptomatic of the pressure the Diamonds are heaping on their opponents. Beckford-Chambers blocks Bassett beautifully to prevent a final score for the Aussies, so they go to the 5-minute half-time break with a five-goal lead and, you’d think, some degree of comfort that they’ve got the firepower to get this done.
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Australia 24 - 17 England (2nd quarter - 2:23 remaining)
Beckford-Chambers is positioned on Bassett now, using her insider knowledge as a former team-mate of the beanpole to decent effect at the moment (“Geva off is massive ...” says Erin courtside. Is she injured? It doesn’t appear so). England still struggles to make inroads on the Aussie lead but they’re making the Diamonds earn every possession.
Pamela Cookey lets fly with a shocker from point blank range, which would have put England within five but it’s a two-point play when Australia whip it down the other end for Barrett to score as half-time draws close.
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Australia 21 - 16 England (2nd quarter - 5:49 remaining)
The Aussies are too quick with their hands at the moment but Sonia Mkoloma has made an immediate impact as off the bench, swooping on an interception and helping England cut the lead to six. They still have a lot of ground to make up, but soon cut it to five with Kim Green looking decidedly unimpressed for the Aussies. It’s turnover central right now for both sides.
Australia 20 - 14 England (2nd quarter - 8:53 remaining)
England need to watch this lead the Aussies are establishing here because the game could slip away from them very quickly. Medhurst and Bassett continue to combine well, Medhurst with the muscle and movement, Bassett with her physicality and height. The latter prompts an English time-out and probably a defensive re-think when she puts the Aussies six clear. She’s giving them all sorts of trouble and it’s a real scramble for change in the English huddle.
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Australia 16 - 12 England (2nd quarter - 11:03 remaining)
Mentor is hammering Bassett at every opportunity here, ensuring a great duel between two of the key players. Renae Hallinan pulls off an eye-catching intercept at mid-court and that’s exactly the confidence boost she needs after lowering her colours against New Zealand. That helps open up a five goal lead to the Aussies but Cookey reels back one of those and continues to shoot well.
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Australia 13 - 10 England (2nd quarter - 13:02 remaining)
We’re under way in the second quarter with the Aussies immediately into attack but Chambers intercepts beautifully from within a wall of England defensive pressure. Tracey Neville looks on pensively as her side drags it back to a two-goal margin but lanky Barrett pushes it back to three.
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This is also great
@rustyjacko The Kiwis do mean netball themed adverts too... #EngvsAus https://t.co/WFrBCz3wrq
— Jonathan Harwood (@HarwoodTheWeek) August 11, 2015
Quarter-time - Australia leads by 3
Australia 12 - 9 England
There’s one final attack for the Aussies through Medhurst and from mid-range she nails it to send the Aussies to the first break with a healthy three-goal lead. The Diamonds have the upper hand but it’s been a real tussle so far. England certainly aren’t here to make up the numbers.
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Australia 11 - 8 England (1st quarter - 1:00 remaining)
There’s plenty of defensive pressure here from the Aussies with Corletto forcing plenty of passing errors and a real sharp edge when Australia enter their attacking third. Mentor is doing her level best to stop Barrett but she opens up a three goal lead with a minute to play in the first.
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Australia 8 - 8 England (1st quarter - 2:46 remaining)
Aaaand we’re now under way at Allphones arena, the arena with all the phones but not, says our reporter Erin, enough wifi bandwidth for the crowd to be able to use them. The small section of English fans - a Barmy Army of sorts - are really making their presence felt.
We’ve had a few technical difficulties here ourselves but we’re now back on track with Medhurst missing an opportunity to put Australia two up and England levelling it at 8-8.
The teams are now warming up
...well, the Aussies are actually in a huddle for now and looking very switched-on. Sharelle McMahon is on the sidelines talking up Australia’s attacking combination of Natalie Medhurst and Caitlin Bassett, but she seems to think Erin Bell will play a big role too coming in off the bench.
“We were all really disappointed in that performance against the Silver Ferns”, Medhurst noted in an interview earlier. She says Australia’s skills and intensity faltered under stifling Kiwi defence, and you’d think England will try and replicate that here. Geva Mentor will be all over Bassett.
We’re only a few minutes from the opening whistle now.
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Foxtel are currently showing Australia’s 2011 triumph...
Which brings me to another point: their ‘Centre Pass’ show had a lovely feature on Austalia’s 1987 side earlier today, wall-to-wall with boxing kangaroos, Annie Sargeant, Sue Kenny, dead-eyed Vicki Wilson and some genuinely incredible fan fashions as the Trinidadians upset the Aussies.
That Aussie side prepared for the tournament – remarkably played on that red stuff they use for athletics tracks (I think that’s the technical name for it anyway) - with a 10-day training camp that was so ludicrously-intense that a number of players were lost to injury before the games even started. Sports science has made a some inroads since, I guess.
But the Kiwis won that one and did so wearing a truly classic Adidas ‘3-stripe’ kit. It was a rough tournament at times, too. “The Jamaican goalkeeper punched the English goal shooter, it was wicked,” said Kiwi Joan Solia with a huge grin at one point, before adding that she was “shit-scared” of her ice cold, aviator-clad coach Lois Muir. Brilliant stuff.
The toss
Is won by Australia, who Erin is telling me will take the centre pass. They’re all business right now, stern-faced, focused and perhaps a little chastened by the New Zealand experience the other night. England, by contrast, are smiling and waving at the crowd, a sign you’d guess that they know they’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose tonight. It’s been a good week for England beating up on Aussies, so who knows?
Some tournament highlights so far (well, a few of mine anyway)
There’s been upsets aplenty, none more so than the Diamonds’ shock loss to New Zealand. Uganda have been something of a surprise packet too, beating better-fancied Fiji a couple of days back and pushing both Wales and Malawi all the way. How about Harriet Apako, 42 years young and only 152cm but certainly punching above her weight so far. And up before our game tonight, Jamaica pushed the Kiwis all the way, didn’t they? I thought Romelda Aiken might demolish them for a while there.
Bust most importantly, this tournament has spawned a great TV advert, with The Diamonds’ ‘Chemist Warehouse’ effort now looking like Australia’s answer to the Ronaldo-led Brazil one that Nike did in 1998. Nobody has ever shot a container of multivitamins with the dead-eyed accuracy Caitlin Barrett shows here, surely?
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Our teams tonight
Erin Delahunty is courtside now and has the line-ups for us. Australia’s bringin’ their A game to the table.
Australia : Caitlin Bassett, Julie Corletto, Kimberlee Green, Kim Ravaillion, Laura Geitz, Natalie Medhurst, Renae Hallinan, Bench: Caitlin Thwaites, Erin Bell, Rebecca Bulley, Paige Hadley, Sharni Layton.
England: Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Geva Mentor, Jade Clarke, Joanne Harten, Pamela Cookey, Serena Guthrie, Stacey Francis. Bench: Helen Housby, Rachel Dunn, Sara Bayman, Sonia Mkoloma, Tamsin Greenway.
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Preamble
Good evening all and welcome to this huge Netball World Cup clash between old foes Australia and England. Hosts Australia are the obvious favourites to take out the tournament but enter this game on the back of a shock loss to lesser-fancied New Zealand, who hadn’t bettered them in the previous 10 meetings. Chaos!
Diamonds defender Julie Corletto spoke to the media earlier today about that very topic. “Obviously that hurt a lot, losing that game to New Zealand,” she said. “We looked at some video yesterday and had a great training session so we’re ready to go for this game tonight against England I can’t wait. We’re all so excited to step out there.”
One of the major issues for Australia in the New Zealand loss was the struggles of goal defence Sharni Layton, a bona fide gun who is nevertheless playing out of position at goal defence and struggled against the Kiwis, over-committing on intercepts and often leaving Australia exposed. She’s definitely in Australia’s best seven but certainly not going to pinch the goalkeeper position off her skipper Laura Geitz, so it’s a tough one to juggle.
Her - Caitlin Bassett, meanwhile, spoke today of her own “massive journey” to reach the 50-game milestone for her country, which she brings up tonight. Her clash with Geva Mentor will be a fascinating feature of tonight’s game because the Englishwoman matches up on the towering Aussie as well as anyone. Just a quick reminder heading into this game: the top two sides from this Pool F will proceed straight to the semi finals, as will those in Pool E, so there’s plenty at stake.
Let’s be honest, history is certainly not on England’s side tonight - they still haven’t beaten the Diamonds in 12 attempts at World Cups - but at least enter this one with renewed expectations of upsetting the apple cart because they’re much improved and actually boast the most experienced squad in the tournament. You’d assume that England will really be pulling out all stops for their coach Tracey Neville, who lost her father Neville this week and must be doing it tough. Following tonight’s game the Aussies will meet the Proteas, who belted Wales 68-40 earlier today.
If you’d like to get in touch throughout this clash, you can get me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or via Twitter: @rustyjacko – hopefully we’ll also have a few updates from reporter Erin Delahunty, who is at the arena tonight.
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Rusty will be here shortly to guide you through proceedings at Allphones Arena tonight, giving you just enough time to remind yourselves just how the Diamonds were proved human by the Silver Ferns of New Zealand.
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