Thwaites in and Green out for opening Diamonds Test
Australian shooter Caitlin Thwaites looks set to make her international Test debut after being selected in the Diamonds 12-player team to take on England in the opening game of the Holden Netball Quad-Series on Sunday.
Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander is hoping to give all 12 players, including the uncapped Thwaites, the opportunity for court time if given the chance at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
“I would like to try and use all 12 players in this game but we’re always mindful that we need to be respectful of our opposition and how they perform on the day,” Alexander said.
The most notable omission is mid-courter Kim Green who has been sidelined for the first Test with a recurring foot injury, along with defender Chanel Gomes.
Alexander has identified her side’s ability to collect any loose ball as a key statistic if the Diamonds are to build on their third-Test victory over New Zealand in their last outing despite dropping their first Constellation Cup series.
“I think we’ve really built well on the Constellation Cup series, even though it was a disappointing overall result, definitely the final Test pointed in a direction of where we need to go and the sort of performance we need to put out there on a consistent basis,” Alexander said.
“We’re really after improvement, increasing our intensity out on court and winning the pick up statistic which is really important to us as a team, it’s a good measure of how intense and sharp we are as a team and a group.”
“We want to see all of our statistical areas improving in this Test against England.”
Australian Diamonds team for first Test versus England:
Caitlin Bassett, Erin Bell, Madison Browne, Rebecca Bulley, Bianca Chatfield, Catherine Cox (vice-captain), Renae Hallinan, Mo’onia Gerrard, Chelsea Pitman, Susan Pratley, Caitlin Thwaites, Natalie von Bertouch (captain)
The 2012 Quad Series kicks off at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, on Sunday 14 October when the Australian Diamonds host England followed by the New Zealand Silver Ferns taking on South Africa. The opening game of the Quad-Series can be watched live on FOX SPORTS News (Channel 513), Telstra BigPond Sport and listened to live via ABC Grandstand.
