Australia has exacted revenge on defending champions England with a 60-51 win to reach the netball final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Key points:
- The Diamonds led England at every change
- Gretel Bueta was outstanding with 43 goals from 44 attempts
- The Diamonds face Jamaica in the final
The Diamonds will face Jamaica in the gold-medal match after the Caribbean nation defeated world champions New Zealand 67-51 in their semifinal.
Jamaica beat the Diamonds 57-55 in their final pool match last Thursday.
The Diamonds’ victory over the host nation was built on the brilliance and fluidity of their movement as they repeated their Quad Series final demolition of England in London in January.
It gives the Diamonds the chance of a fifth Commonwealth Games crown after they were sensationally dethroned in the 2018 Gold Coast final by Helen Housby’s last-ditch goal.
This time around, the Diamonds took command midway through the first quarter and never released their vice-like grip.
Inspired by the brilliance inside the shooting circle of Gretel Bueta, who dominated England’s defenders with her 43 goals from 44 attempts, the Diamonds led by three after the first quarter, six at half-time and nine after the third.
It was a relentless stranglehold, the speed of Australia’s ball movement in contrast to England’s cumbersome build-up towards the net.
Every one of Stacey Marinkovich’s team, led by captain Liz Watson and Courtney Bruce, had a fine match.
There had been a bizarre early stoppage in the opening period at 3-3 when England’s Layla Guscoth crashed into the net post while trying to make an interception.
That prompted a delay to the game as running repairs were made to the post, but from that moment Australia never looked back.
The Diamonds have reached the final of every Games since netball became a fully fledged part of the program at Kuala Lumpur in 1998, winning gold in 1998, 2002 and 2014.
AAP/ABC
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