Netball World Cup 2019: Australia v New Zealand – live!

Q2 10 mins: Australia 24-18 NZ Browne isn’t bothered by the reach of Rore, she is outrunning her and hitting the circle edge so the arms don’t get in her way. NZ may look to bring on a speedier WD option.

Q2 8 mins: Australia 21-17 NZ Erin was right about Bassett – she is looking much more switched on this match than she has so far. Not so many of those little fumbles that were creeping into her game.

Q2 7 mins: Australia 19-16 NZ Folau adjusts by holding space to run into, rather than space for the ball to be passed into which helps her get around Bruce at last. A footwork call on Price gives the Ferns the opportunity to get back into it.

Q2 5 mins: Australia 19-14 NZ Another brilliant tip from Bruce – NZ will need to do something about their set up in the shooting circle.

Q2 4 mins: Australia 18-14 NZ A held ball call on Folau gives the Diamonds the chance to extend their lead back out.

Q2 3 mins: Australia 16-14 NZ The Ferns are showing hesitation in putting the ball into Folau with Bruce all over her. Bruce appears to have the upper hand in that battle so far. But at the other end of the court, Jane Watson is having some wins over Bassett as well.

Q2 1 min: Australia 15-11 NZ No changes for the second quarter for either team and the Diamonds continue on their merry way, scoring with ease.

What a first quarter! The lead and the ball swung wildly back and forth, but it was the Australians who settled when it mattered and finished with a few solid goals to take the vital first quarter lead.

Q1 14 mins: Australia 12-10 NZ Two attacking contacts at either end of the court send the ball back and forth and then both WAs make some crucial errors with offside and replay calls. It’s getting a bit scrappy out there.

Q1 12 mins: Australia 11-9 NZ A huge tip by Bruce sends the ball into Weston’s hands and the attackers are able to capitalise. These little moments will be make or break in this match.

Q1 11 mins: Australia 9-9 NZ Erin tells me that fans in the stadium are showing obvious frustration at the inability of the umpires to keep pace with the play. Will keep an eye on how that plays out.

Q1 10 mins: Australia 8-8 NZ Huge long shot from Folau just rolls out and gives the Diamonds the chance to equalise.

Q1 8 mins: Australia 6-7 NZ It’s a tough battle out there and neither team is giving an inch. The Ferns look frustrated with the tight one-on-one defence but are able to see through the mess at the moment.

Q1 6 mins: Australia 4-2 NZ The first turnover of the game is forced by Courtney Bruce and is worked down court to Steph Wood to score with both defenders out. Australia leads 4-2.

Q1 5 mins: Australia 3-2 NZ Australia definitely look the more settled at the start. The Ferns look rattled, passing backwards, quite hesitant on the feed. But none of that matters when Folau gets the ball in her hands and sinks the long bombs.

Q1 3 mins: Australia 1-1 NZ Tougher passage to goal for New Zealand, but they patiently work it in to Folau.

Q1 2 mins: Australia 0-1 NZ The first goal goes to Steph Wood and the Diamonds draw first blood on the night.

Q1 1 min: Australia 0-0 NZ Here we go! Australia with the first centre pass.

Erin has addressed my concerns on Caitlin Bassett, she tells me “I reckon CBass looks set; relaxed but focused.” Good news for Diamonds fans, hopefully she carries that into the game.

Something I’m looking forward to in this game is seeing how both teams respond to the pressure, having not felt it so far this world cup. It was interesting to talk to Diamonds’ performance analyst Dr Mitch Mooney before the tournament about how they assessed the silver medal in last year’s Commonwealth Games. The key for him was to figure out how they can learn from a big win the way they learn from a close win or a loss. It will be fascinating to watch if they have figured that out this time. More of Mitch’s thoughts in here:

Another update from Erin at the stadium. She just bumped into Collingwood Magpies coach Rob Wright and got his tip for the game. Rob is feeling pretty confident about the Diamonds’ chances and thinks they will get the win by eight.

Now Lisa Alexander says her part:

“This is our test – this is what we play for and do all that training for.”

She cites her attacking combination as an “experienced and winning combination.”

Noeline Taurua talking to the commentators over in Liverpool now.

“After this game we’ll definitely know where we are in the pecking order and what we need to improve on.”

Thinking back on that Australian line up and there is plenty to unpack there. Caitlin Bassett, while she’s scored plenty of goals in the first five games, has not looked at her best. Plenty of fumbles, some easy missed shots and her timing has been a little off. The Diamonds will need her to be at her very best tonight.

In the mid-court, Liz Watson is widely considered the world’s best WA, yet she is playing in C. This seems to be to make space for Kelsey Browne to be paired up with her old Lightning teammates in Bassett and Steph Wood. This has been a solid combination so far and hopefully the gamble to move Watson out of position pays off.

Jamie-Lee Price is fairly untested at this level and has not played much WD this season in Super Netball. The umpiring will also be a factor as Price has a tendency to get physical and it remains to be seen how much physicality the umpires will permit. If she is out of play too often, it will make the Ferns’ passage to goal much easier.

Erin Delahunty is live at the stadium and she tells me that there was a much bigger cheer for Australia than New Zealand when they entered the court. Interesting considering the usual animosity between English and Australian sporting fans. I wonder if it could have something to do with the fact that so many English players are in the Super Netball so English fans have been following the Australian competition and have warmed to some of the players? Or possibly there are just a lot of noisy Australians in the arena!

Of course the other big game tonight will be at 5am AEST when England take on South Africa. The Norma Plummer coached South Africans are in sparkling form and without Layla Guscoth in defence, the Roses may be vulnerable.

While both teams are still guaranteed to make the semi finals, it will be a fascinating test of where both teams are at before those important finals games.

Earlier tonight, Northern Ireland just squeaked home over Barbados with a 46-43 victory. That sends Northern Ireland into the 9-10 play off and Barbados into the 11-12 play off.

You can also refresh your memory with my team-by-team guide and laugh at how wrong some of my predictions were. They were simpler times – a week ago…

Before we get into the match, let’s catch up on what’s happened most recently. Before their rest day yesterday, the Diamonds easily accounted for Malawi – beautifully analysed here by the always wonderful Erin Delahunty who is on the ground in Liverpool.

Interesting to see who Taurua is running as her top line as well. They’re going for height in WD, which may cause problems for the Diamonds’ shortest player in Kelsey Browne at WA

GS Maria Folau

GA Ameliaranne Ekenasio

WA Gina Crampton

C Laura Langman

WD Katrina Rore

GD Casey Kopua

GK Jane Watsom

And the team list is in for Australia. Lisa Alexander has been pretty coy with her selections so far, so now we know what she considers her top 7.

GS Caitlin Bassett

GA Steph Wood

WA Kelsey Brown

C Liz Watson

WD Jamie-Lee Price

GD Jo Weston

GK Courtney Bruce

Well here we are, ready for the biggest game for the Diamonds so far. Neither team has really been tested yet – the Diamonds have an average winning margin of over 58 goals and while the Silver Ferns’ is considerably less, none of that tends to matter once these two teams get on the court. While the Ferns were disappointing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, causing barely a blip for the Diamonds, they look refreshed under new coach Noeline Taurua and certainly beat the Australians for experience. The question is whether they have the fitness to run out a game at this intensity for 60 minutes. With only Laura Langman and Maria Folau playing in the Super Netball, the majority of the Ferns play in the ANZ Premiership, which doesn’t provide the same level of intensity. So many questions, soon time for some answers!