NEW ZEALAND (64) defeated MALAWI (45)

New Zealand has exorcised any past demons from its shock loss to Malawi at last year’s Commonwealth Games, downing the Queens by 19 points on the opening day of the Netball World Cup. In the first completed match of the tournament, the Silver Ferns took control early with a six-goal lead at quarter time and really strangled the life out of Malawi in the second term, restricting their opponents to just six goals as they raced to a 15-goal lead at the main break. It was tight after half-time but New Zealand still managed to extend its lead by four, eventually getting up 64-45. It was far from a disgraceful loss for the Queens who actually had more possession (53 per cent), but with 23 turnovers to 15, Malawi coughed up the ball more than they would like. New Zealand’s 100 per cent accuracy of the long bomb was a treat to watch, whilst the defensive duo of Casey Kopua (nine deflections, three centre pass receives, two rebounds and two intercepts) and Jane Watson (three deflections, one intercept) restricted Malawi to just 60 per cent under the post. Maria Folau continued her terrific form in the goal circle with 39 goals from 43 attempts, while Ameliaranne Ekanasio posted an accurate 20 from 21. Laura Langman was unsurprisingly solid in the midcourt with 19 goal assists and 23 feeds. For Malawi, the goal circle duo of Joyce Mvula (22 goals from 27 attempts) and Jane Chimaliro (18 from 22) were impressive, although they would have loved to have had Mwai Kumwenda out on the court. Takondwa Lwazi (18 goal assists, 35 feeds) was also impressive playing through wing attack, as was Towera Vinkumbo up the other end with three rebounds and an intercept.

BARBADOS (69) defeated SINGAPORE (34)

Barbados has taken care of business in its opening round match with Singapore, smashing the lowest ranked nation by 35 goals in a dominant performance by the Americas qualifier. From the first whistle until the final one, it was all the Bajan Gems who posted 33 goals to 14 in an explosive first half to all but seal the victory early on. They did not take the foot off the pedal in the second half, though Singapore found greater fluency through to its goal circle reaching double figures in both terms, but Barbados comfortably got home 69-34. The winners dominated across the court, smashing their opponents in feeds (93-57), intercepts (16-7) and rebounds (13-3) with height being a huge factor in the result. Barbados’ goalkeeper Shonette Azore-Bruce was a star with a massive 10 rebounds, four intercepts and four deflections, while partner in crime in the defensive circle, Rhe-Ann Niles-Mapp showed all her years of experience with six deflections and two intercepts herself. Up the other end, Latonia Blackman (22 goals from 23 attempts) and Shonic Wharton (27 from 29) were on point, while Amanda Knight was terrific in the midcourt with 16 goal assists, 29 feeds and three intercepts, whilst wing attack Damisha Croney helped herself to 15 goal assists and 25 feeds. For Singapore, Sindhu Nair had seven deflections and two intercepts, wile the bulk of the scoring was left up to Charmaine Soh (21 goals from 31 attempts).

AUSTRALIA (88) defeated NORTHERN IRELAND (24)

It was a clinical performance from the Aussie Diamonds who proved that they have a point to prove and are seeking redemption. The relatively new-look team held no punches competing hard across the court and using their connections to render Northern Ireland scoreless for the opening four and a half minutes of the first quarter. Sarah Klau made her presence felt in her debut game picking off passes and using her netball smarts to move her feet and get around the body of Emma Magee and Shaunagh Craig. Klau finished with a whopping six gains, four intercepts and five deflections. The Diamonds’ pressure right across the court proved to be too hot to handle with each player firing on all cylinders and flying down the court with precision and pace. The connection between former Sunshine Coast Lightning attacking trio Caitlin Bassett, Steph Wood and Kelsey Browne was in full flight with the three linking up with ease and sighting one another in the goal circle with ease. Browne was awarded Player of the Match honours given her impressive performance, hitting the circle edge time and time again while showcasing her dynamic footwork to outmanoeuvre her opponent. Lisa Alexander made a host of changes at half time swapping five of the starting seven with Paige Hadley making her much-awaited return to the Diamonds coming on in centre, relieving Liz Watson of her duties in the third. Hadley used her strength and vision to pierce through the defence. Meanwhile the transition from Bassett and Wood to Caitlin Thwaites and Gretel Tippett was seamless with the two goalers only missing two shots for the game and finishing with 25 from 26 and 18 from 19 respectively. Although it was a relatively one sided affair, Northern Ireland had passages of good play led by the likes of Caroline O’Hanlon who was strong through the midcourt driving hard before she was helped from the court after a big collision with Jamie-Lee Price. Overall it was an impressive performance from Australia who limited Northern Ireland to a mere nine goals in the second half of the game credit to their defensive pressure and strength around the contest.

ZIMBABWE (79) defeated SRI LANKA (49)

In a history-making day, Zimbabwe won its first Netball World Cup match on debut, downing Asian region qualifiers, Sri Lanka by 30 goals in a high-scoring affair. The Gems took control and extended their lead each term to the point it was 11 by the final break. The floodgates opened in the last term as the debuting nation piled on 26 goals to seven in the final term with ease getting to the post. Joice Takaidza posted the most goals (59) of any player in the first session as she and Ursula Ndlovu (14 goals from 15 attempts) created all sorts of headaches for Sri Lanka. Whilst the goalers were posting up high numbers at great accuracy, it was the defensive end getting it done with Felisitus Kwanga picking up seven intercepts, five deflections and a rebound, reading the Lankans’ feeds through to the circle perfectly. Sri Lanka relied too much on their towering goal shooter, Tharjini Sivalingam who admittedly was unstoppable when the ball went in her zone, shooting 44 goals from 45 attempts, but with her posting almost 90 per cent of Sri Lanka’s total goals, it became more predictable to defend. Dulangi Wannithileka did score from all of her five attempts in goal attack, also having 17 goal assists and 21 feeds on the day. Neither side took a shot from long range, preferring to get the ball in close, but Zimbabwe were cleaner with the ball as the Lankans turned the ball over 38 times and were well beaten in gains (5-21) and intercepts (3-13) with Zimbabwe fans confident they can be a serious player in this year’s World Cup.

JAMAICA (85) defeated FIJI (29)

The Sunshine Girls starred with a 56-point win over the Fiji Pearls who simply could not stop the scoring prowess of Jamaica. Fiji struggled from the first whistle with Jamaica kicking into gear and covering all options while making the most of their opportunities under the post. The Sunshine Girls have a plethora of options with star players across the court particularly in the defensive and offensive circle. Romelda Aiken got the nod at goal shooter over Jhaniele Fowler and although she had a relatively shaky start the star shooter worked her way into the match scoring 26 goals from 36 attempts at 72 percent. Shanice Beckford made her presence felt on the court in the first quarter with the speedy goal attack creating space and showcasing her accuracy to post with long bombs sitting at 11 from 13. Though Jamaica got off to a hot start it was the third quarter that really blew Fiji away with a 27 to four goal quarter highlighting their scoring ability and defensive pressure. Fowler made her way onto the court slotting goal after goal finishing with 33 from 35 at 94 percent for a half of netball. with such a strong lead the Sunshine Girls made a few changes in the goal circle pushing Aiken out into unfamiliar territory at goal attack with Fowler down back in goal shooter making for a dynamic and tall goal circle that proved difficult to control. Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Shamera Sterling and Vangelee Williams all starred getting hands to ball with ease and applying strong hands over pressure creating doubt in the minds of Fiji shooters. The top scorer for Fiji was Unaisi Rauluni who managed 10 from 13, she was closely followed by Lydia Panapasa who scored seven from nine. Unfortunately for the Pearls they were unable to penetrate through the defence of Jamaica who clogged up space and came off the body to pick off passes and propel the ball back down the court with pace and precision.

SOUTH AFRICA (76) defeated TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (45)

The South Africans have showed much improvement in recent years, and well and truly showcased their skills dominating against Trinidad and Tobago at every turn. The match started relatively even with both sides capitalising off turnovers, sharing the ball evenly with the SPAR Proteas only up by four goals at the first change. It was the second term that got the ball rolling for the Proteas, with Lenize Potgieter (42 goals from 43) backing up a dominant first term and shooting 16 goals – more alone than Trinidad and Tobago in the second. The third term went much the same, with the Proteas limiting goal opportunities but Trinidad and Tobago lifting their defensive pressure to deny South Africa easy ball in attack with Shaquanda Greene racking up three gains to sit equal with South Africa’s Karla Pretorius for the quarter. The South Africans pulled out the margin again in the final quarter, shooting 20 goals to 11 in the last on their way to a 31 goal victory. Sam Wallace was impressive as ever in the loss, capitalising off plenty of opportunities at the post and shooting 28 goals from 30 attempts as she topscored for Trinidad and Tobago. Defensively, South Africa’s Pretorius was dominant as ever, racking up seven gains and four intercepts, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Aniecia Baptiste racked up eight deflections (two to advantage) and three gains in goal defence. Through the midcourt, Bongi Msomi got plenty of the ball with 17 centre pass receives and 31 goals from 45 feeds while Maryka Holtzhausen had a blinder in at goal attack with 18 goals at 82 per cent, 22 centre pass receives, 18 goal assists and two intercepts. Trinidad and Tobago’s Rhonda John-Davis racked up 17 assists from 32 feeds, while Candice Guerero had 14 from 25 in centre.

SCOTLAND (53) defeated SAMOA (35)

It started off as a close contest before Scotland pulled away in the second half to claim the all important win. Samoa put up a fight going in hard and sticking to their structures to work their way through the defence and feed the ball into the shooters particularly in the first quarter with only two goals separating them at the break. But Scotland just chipped away and slowly wore down their opponents to open the game up and capitalise. In the goal circle the likes of Bethan Goodwin and Lynsey Gallagher stood up with their composure and accuracy second to none with 21 from 25 and 23 from 27 respectively. Youngster Emma Barrie also got a run in at goal shooter showcasing her ability to have an influence on the play slotting eight from nine. Defensively Emily Nicholl was solid for Scotland winning back a fair share of the ball credit to her clever footwork and ability to read the play and drop into holes amassing four gains, two intercepts and five deflections. Though Samoa were unable to sustain their first quarter performance across the whole game they had glimpses of brilliance moving the ball with pace and skill to dodge their way through Scotland’s pressure and deliver into the goal circle. Toa Tanimo impressed throughout the match with her composure and accuracy to post leading the way for Samoa with 18 goals from 20 attempts at 90 percent. Goal attack Sanita To’o was pivotal in attack both in the goal circle and across the transverse line to bring the ball down into the shooting third with 13 feeds and 12 centre pass receives highlighting the wealth of work she does off the ball. Rachel Rasmussen and Gene Solia-Gibb worked exceptionally well in defence bouncing off one another and applying good pressure to try and limit the forward thrusts from Scotland picking up a combined six gains, one intercept and nine deflections credit to their hard work.