Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games netball schedule confirmed
THE Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games match schedule has been announced, with the six automatic qualifying nations sorted into their groups. Top ranked Australia will face fourth and fifth ranked Jamaica and South Africa in Group A, whilst arguably tournament favourites New Zealand take on third ranked England and sixth seed Malawi in Group B.
The Silver Ferns are reigning World Cup Gold Medallists and will be looking to add another major medal to their tally having won in Liverpool in 2019 with a one-goal defeat of the Diamonds. In the same event, England comfortably grabbed bronze with a 16-goal win over South Africa, the first time the African nation had won a medal since 1995, whilst the Roses claimed their third consecutive bronze at the event.
Home nation England won the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in Australia, defeating the Diamonds in one of the most nail-biting finishes in history. Jamaica claimed the bronze with an equally stunning upset of New Zealand. With two consecutive one-goal losses in major events, the Diamonds will be hungry to answer back under new coach Stacey Marinkovich.
The remaining six available spots – three nations in each of Group A and B – will be determined following qualifying. Whilst this means the full schedule of exact opponents is yet to be determined, the schedule of those automatic qualifying teams has been confirmed by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
CONFIRMED MATCH SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 30
England vs. Malawi
Jamaica vs. South Africa
Monday, August 1
Australia vs. South Africa
New Zealand vs. Malawi
Thursday, August 4
Australia vs. Jamaica
New Zealand vs. England
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games netball matches begin on Friday, July 29 with the top four ranked teams all in action against qualifiers. The group matches will run until Thursday, August 4 with the Silver Ferns and Roses closing out the proceedings in what is likely to determine top spot in Group B, with Australia and Jamaica’s clash earlier that day also potential for the same thing.
Friday, August 5 will feature the bottom eight sides to determine finishing order between fifth and twelfth – for world ranking purposes – with the full day’s action beginning with eleventh up against twelfth. That features four matches, concluding with fifth up against sixth – likely to be the two automatic qualifiers who failed to finish in the top two of their respective groups.
The action heats up another notch on Saturday, August 6, with the two semi-finals. The top ranked nation in Group A will face the second ranked nation in Group B, and vice-versa. The winners progress to the Gold Medal match, whilst the losers progress to the Bronze Medal match.
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[…] the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games edging closer and closer, the first match schedules for the netball event have been released this week with a huge week-long group stage preceding the semi-finals and eventual medal matches. With six […]