Everything you need to know for the Commonwealth Games

England won a dramatic gold medal last time out on the Gold Coast beating Australia in the final, while Jamaica triumphed over New Zealand to claim bronze.

There are a whole host of Vitality Netball Superleague stars in action, so here is everything you need to know ahead of Birmingham 2022.

What is netball?

If you are starting as a complete novice, you have come to the perfect place.

Here is a handy guide to explain all the basic rules of the game:

And Birmingham 2022 have explained how those rules will work for the Games here.

You’ll know your bounce passes from your foul throws in no time.

Which countries are playing?

There will be 12 teams in action at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham with the teams split into two groups.

In Group A is Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Scotland, Wales and Barbados, while Group B is made up of New Zealand, England, Malawi, Uganda, Trinidad & Tobago and Northern Ireland.

When is it?

The first match gets underway at 12:00pm BST on Friday 29 July, with group games going on every day until 4 August.

Friday 5 August is when the teams who finished 3rd-6th in their groups battle it out for the classification spots, with, for example, 3rd in Group A playing 3rd in Group B to decide who finishes 5th and 6th.

Here is when you can watch our Dragons athletes at @birminghamcg22 over the coming weeks!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇿🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇹🇹 pic.twitter.com/zKY6HT2fDZ

— Celtic Dragons (@celtic_dragons) July 25, 2022

The next day sees the four semi-finalists battle it out for a place in the gold medal match before Sunday 7 August will see the medals handed out.

The bronze medal match begins at 13:30 before the battle to be named Commonwealth Games champion gets underway at 20:30.

Where can I follow?

If you can get yourself to Birmingham, there are still tickets left here.

In the UK, the BBC will broadcast the Commonwealth Games across TV and radio, but if you miss anything check the VNSL website for daily round-ups of all the best action.

The VNSL social media channels are also the place to be, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

If you want your info straight to your inbox you can sign up to our newsletter.

Which VNSL stars are set to feature and when?

All 12 of Scotland’s squad play in the VNSL, with ten Wales and seven England stars playing in the UK. 

Five other countries have VNSL players in their squads, with Wasps’ Gezelle Allison named amongst Jamaica’s reserves.

Here is your comprehensive list of every VNSL star in action and when:

Saturday, August 6

Jamaica vs New Zealand – 9am to 11am

England vs Australia – 2.30pm to 4.30pm

Sunday, August 7

Bronze medal match – 1.30pm to 3.30pm

Final – 8.30pm to 10.30pm

Friday, July 29

Session – 12pm to 3.30pm

England 74  – 22 Trinidad & Tobago

Session – 6pm to 9:30pm

Jamaica 72 – 43 Wales

New Zealand 79 – 20 Northern Ireland

Saturday, July 30

Session – 12pm to 3.30pm

Australia 83 – 30 Scotland

England 66 – 41 Malawi

Session – 6pm to 9:30pm

Jamaica 68 – 49 South Africa

New Zealand 53 – 40 Uganda

Sunday, July 31

Session – 12pm to 3.30pm

Malawi 54 – 41 Northern Ireland

South Africa 91 – 36 Barbados

Session – 6pm to 9:30pm

Uganda 62 – 28 Trinidad & Tobago

Scotland 42 – 48 Wales