Jamaica beat New Zealand to keep Proteas in with a semifinal chance

The Proteas remain in contention for a place in the semifinals of the Netball World Cup. 

That is thanks to Jamaica doing South Africa a huge favour by beating defending champions New Zealand 59-48 in their closely-contested match at Cape Town International Convention Centre on Thursday. 

This win means Jamaica, who have won all their five matches, will be top of Group G with New Zealand in second spot at present, but the Silver Ferns may be overtaken by South Africa if the hosts beat Uganda in Thursday’s 4pm game. 

But South Africa still face a challenge. They are not only faced with the daunting task of beating hugely-improved Uganda, but must also do so handsomely as they have an inferior goal difference percentage — 117.6% to New Zealand’s 170.6%. 

In the other match played in the morning England produced a solid performance to edge Australia 55-56. 

It was a first World Cup victory for England over Australia, it also meant the Roses have retained their 100% record in the tournament with five wins from as many matches. 

“I guess we are not that different from some of the top teams, we know we have depth in this group. The one thing we have said is we may not have the turnover right away, but as long as we are still in the game we have hope,” said England coach Jess Thirlby. 

“The players have done a great job in the opening five games because they have given us the confidence to turn to the bench, not simply to rest somebody but to elevate our performance.”

Australia coach Stacey Marinkovich said the match had too many stoppages, which denied them rhythm. 

“There were a lot of momentum shifts throughout the game and the circle was efficient and the shooting percentage was high. There were moments where we certainly had the upper hand.”