Netball Super League | Vitality Netball Superleague Watch: Australia v Zimbabwe

All ten Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) sides are being represented at the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool this July. When Australia face Zimbabwe at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, on Saturday 13 July, one player who was involved in the 2019 VNSL season will hope to star.

The Lowdown

Reigning champions Australia are aiming to achieve their fourth consecutive World Cup title.

With coach Lisa Alexander at the helm since 2011, the Aussies have enjoyed their fair share of success under her leadership but missed out on adding another Commonwealth Games gold to their collection after being beaten by England in the 2018 final.

Following on from that defeat, only seven players of the 12 involved in that squad will be involved in this year’s World Cup. Furthermore, only three – captain Caitlin Bassett, Caitlin Thwaites and Paige Hadley – remain from the 2015 team that took the top prize on home soil in Sydney.

Zimbabwe are the only team in the tournament to be making their first World Cup appearance.

Thirteenth in the world, the Zimbabwe Gems qualified for the World Cup in style, winning all of their matches bar one (against Uganda) at the Regional Qualifier – Africa in August 2018. They’ll be one of four African nations competing at the World Cup, the other teams being South Africa, Malawi and Uganda, meaning Africa has more teams competing in Liverpool than any other INF region.

VNSL Players involved

Adelaide (Adz) Muskwe (Zimbabwe & Severn Stars)

Adelaide Muskwe, who plays at either goal defence or wing defence, joined Severn Stars for her first season in the Vitality Netball Superleague in 2019. With speed and power in abundance, Muskwe is a hot prospect for the future.

Head-to-Head

With Zimbabwe making their World Cup debut in 2019, this will be the first time that the Gems and Australia have gone head-to-head in the sport’s pinnacle event.

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