Australia and England to vie for Netball World Cup title

England booked a place in their first ever Netball World Cup final with a 46-40 victory over defending champions New Zealand in their semi-final clash at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Saturday, while 11-time champions Australia held off a formidable fight from Jamaica to earn a 57-54 victory and a place in Sunday’s final.

Sunday’s lineup will see Malawi taking on Tonga at 9am in a battle for seventh place.

Hosts South Africa then face African rivals Uganda once again in a fight for fifth spot at 11am.

The bronze medal match will be contested between Jamaica and New Zealand at 4pm, before the 6pm final between England and Australia after which the 2023 World Cup champions will be crowned.

Before Saturday’s semi-final action, Fiji secured 11th place at the tournament with victory over Trinidad and Tobago, while in the final playoff match of the evening, it was Wales who beat Scotland 57-42 to secure ninth spot.

Scotland centre Iona Christian said it was a disappointing result.

“We weren’t consistent enough today. But the fact that we are in the top 10 at a World Cup for the first time since 1991, in that sense it is great. We have a young, exciting team for the future,” Christian said.

The win means Wales have now won six of their encounters against Scotland.

Cape Times