England Netball | World Indoor Netball Championships: 6’s Day One

History was made on day one of the World Indoor Netball Championships in South Africa as all three England Nets teams – Ladies, Mixed and U21 Women – got their campaigns up and running.

After the day started with the opening ceremony, it was straight into matches (4 x 10-minute quarters) at the Paarl Action Sports Arena.

Here’s an explanation of the competition scoring system and how day one (Sunday 4th August) panned out…

Scoring System

1) The intention of this scoring system is to provide further strategy and interest to all matches regardless of the total team scores, and the following match points will be awarded under this system;

Win 4 Points Draw 2 Points Loss 0 Points Default Win 8 Points Default Loss -8 Points

2) In addition to the above match points, the team scoring the most goals in each quarter will be awarded an additional point and this is known as a skins point.

3) One skins point is offered for each quarter, making a total of four skins points per game.

4) In the situation where the goals scored by each team in any quarter are equal, the skins point to be awarded for that quarter will jackpot forward to the next quarter or backwards in the case of the last quarter.

Mixed

AUS 45-46 ENG

First England Nets Caps: Janis John | Michael Clarke | Dayna Kosega

It was a nervy start for the team in their first game of the tournament but by half time, the nerves had gone and they were playing great netball. At one point during the third quarter, they were down by 10 goals and they managed to turn this 10-goal deficit around to win by one taking the final quarter 14-8. They collected six points after winning two quarters and the game.

Player of the Match: Janis John

“It’s amazing – it’s the first time England Nets Mixed have ever beaten Australia!” – Ryan Allan

RSA 31-35 ENG

First England Nets Caps: Charlotte Jordan

England started with the same six from the Australia game. The team made a strong start but let South Africa get back into it with a few unforced errors. Despite not playing to their full potential, they still managed to win three quarters and the game totalling seven points.

Player of the Match: Michael Clarke

“It was a strong defensive showing from England as we got the win and seven out of eight points.”

NZL 52-30 ENG

New Zealand came out of the block firing and led by eight before England scored. Their tall and athletic defenders put a lot of pressure on links and attacks with England finding it quite hard to get going against such a strong team. In the third quarter, England played their game, stuck to structure and it paid dividends with them winning the quarter.

Player of the Match: Jen Walsh

“Even though we lost by 22 goals, this is a massive improvement for England Mixed against the 6’s world champions New Zealand. New Zealand have set the benchmark of what we need to achieve and how we need to play to win a medal. Credit to New Zealand, they were well drilled and executed their game plan and deserved the win.” – Ryan Allan

England Mixed finished the day second in the table (14 points) with New Zealand (22 points) leading the way.

Ladies

AUS 48-50 ENG

The team bossed the attacking third complimented by some sharp and accurate shooting.

Player of the Match: Francesca Wells

“The ladies really needed this win. They have worked so hard in training which paid off with this superb victory” – Sharron Lewis-Burke

NZL 65-49 ENG

First England Nets Caps: Nicky Savill

The team struggled to find their rhythm during the game. There were too many unforced errors and the shooters were tight in their shots.

Player of the Match: Florence Edwards

“The team displayed strong drives and distribution throughout the match” – Sharron Lewis-Burke

RSA 54-39 ENG

First England Nets Caps: Alexandra Boughey

The team started well but again struggled with sticking to task as the game progressed.

Player of the Match: Alexandra Boughey – she was pivotal in the team achieving the skins point

“I am extremely proud of the ladies. I set them instructions to win a skins point which they achieved with a very determined and strongly executed fourth quarter; from defence through attack to goal. A great and very positive way to finish the day” – Sharron Lewis-Burke

England Ladies finished the day third in the table (7 points) with New Zealand (18 points) and South Africa (20 points) leading the way.

U21

RSA 57-44 ENG

The team started well in their very first game of the tournament. It was very noisy inside the arena, meaning they couldn’t always hear instructions from the bench. It was an amazing atmosphere but quite a change from the usual training environment – an eye opener!

Player of the Match: Victoria Lavender

“It was a great match to start with and we’ve learnt a few things about what we need to produce when we play South Africa again.”

ENG 36-38 AUS

First England Nets Caps: Emma Linnett

The Australian style of play is a bit different to the South African style. The team had to try to figure out how to get through the zone they created all the way down the court. They really learnt from it and at one point, it was neck and neck. However, they were pipped in the last few seconds by a two pointer.

Player of the Match: Emily Geear

“It was really good to see the girls pick themselves up from a slow start of that game. If the quarter had been longer, we could have won.”

NZL 67-40 ENG

England tried a different style of tactic for the shooters which really paid off. However, it was a very physical game and the girls let it get the better of them.

Player of the Match: Kalea Stagg

“Unfortunately it wasn’t the score we wanted but we need to make sure we are attempting goals a lot more.”

England U21 finished the day fourth in the table (3 points) with South Africa (10 points), Australia (22 points) and New Zealand (29 points) leading the way.

You can follow England Nets on their World Indoor Netball Championships campaign on their official Twitter and Facebook accounts.

For more information, visit the World Indoor Netball Association website.

Photo credit: James Everley

Tags:

Australia England Nets England Nets Ladies England Nets Mixed England Nets U21 Women New Zealand South Africa World Indoor Netball Championships

Previous Story Joanna Adams announces her departure as CEO of England Netball

Next Story Umpires appointed to 2020 Vitality Netball Superleague