Of diamonds and Gems: Gems fail to sparkle against Australia

Brandon Moyo, [email protected]
IT was not the way that Zimbabwe would have wanted to open their 2023 Netball World Cup account after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Australia at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday.

The Gems, as the Zimbabwe senior netball team is affectionately known, suffered a heavy 86-30 loss in their first campaign of the historic global showpiece.

The World Cup, which got underway yesterday is the first Netball World Cup to be played on African soil.

Zimbabwe was looking to cause the first major upset of the tournament as their opponents, Australia, who are also known as the Diamonds are the number one ranked side in the world and as such it was a tough task for Felistus Kwangwa and her team.

The Gems were put on the back foot as they trailed from the first quarter to the last, with Australia proving to be untouchable as they sent a strong message. In the first quarter of the game, Zimbabwe had something to play for on the scoreboard as they were trailing 20-11, however, the Australians came out guns blazing in the second quarter doubling their points.

Going into half-time, Australia was now leading 41-18 and all hopes of recovery for the Gems were now fading. In the third quarter, the Gems failed to contain their opponents, conceding 21 points again while they could only manage six as they went into the final quarter trailing 62-24.

In the final quarter, Zimbabwe could only manage six points again to take their tally to 30 while the merciless Diamonds scored 22 points to make it 86 and open their account on a high note while relegating the Gems back to the drawing board.

Zimbabwe, who are in Pool A will play their second match of the tournament today against Fiji and will be hoping to bounce back and collect maximum points. After today’s must win encounter against Fiji, the Gems will be back in action tomorrow for yet another crucial encounter against Tonga to round up their group campaigns.

In another Pool-A match played yesterday, Tonga beat Fiji 56-51.