tawandamusarurwa
Veronica Gwaze in CAPE TOWN, South Africa
THURSDAY will be remembered as a unique day in netball history, as England upset 11-time champions Australia, while Jamaica stunned defending champions New Zealand at the ongoing 2023 Netball World Cup.
England snatched a spectacular 56-55 victory, while Jamaica outsmarted the tournament favorites 59-48.
This was England’s first-ever World Cup victory over Australia at a World Cup tournament and eighth victory at all netball tournaments.
The result means England finished top of Group F and will most likely meet New Zealand in the semi-final.
Jamaica will play Australia.
Despite the loss, the Silver Ferns are still likely to progress to the semi-finals, as hosts South Africa still had to beat Uganda by a big 63-score margin later on Thursday.
In other matches, Wales and Scotland claimed victories to set up a battle against each other for ninth place.
Meanwhile, after successive wins against Sri Lanka and Singapore, Zimbabwe will take on Barbados on Friday in a fight for 13th place.
Bongani Ndlovu