Since the last edition of the NS SCOREBOARD, we’ve seen three competitions decided.
South Africa’s Telkom Netball League came to its conclusion with Gauteng Jaguars incredibly taking out their fourth straight title. They were the dominant team throughout the compressed 2 week tournament and comfortably defeated rivals Free State Crinums in the final.
In New Zealand, the Cadbury Series was contested between four kiwi teams; the Silver Ferns, the NZ A side, the NZ U21s and the NZ Men. Through the rounds, it was clear that the Men’s team and the Ferns were the dominant sides, and they duly met in the final. The men’s team had won quite easily when they met on the Thursday in round 2, but the final was a very different story. The Silver Ferns were on right from the opening whistle. They successfully nullified the men by playing in a controlled fashion, leaving little opportunity for their height and athleticism to take over. It was the first time the Ferns had beaten the men in four clashes over the two years of this competition.
After taking out that series, the Silver Ferns then went on to play in a 3 test series against the England Roses for the Taini Jamison Trophy. This was the first international netball series since Covid-19 put a halt to things early in the year. New Zealand went on to win the series 3-0, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story. The England side, missing all of their Super Netball stars, was more than competitive and looked to have the kiwis under great pressure at times during the series. Most particularly in game two, the Roses put up a great show, winning the second quarter to take the half time lead.
In the end though, the kiwis just had too much class. But the Roses would have gained valuable experience from this tour. George Fisher had a good series at goal shooter, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis impressed when given the opportunity at goal attack, Fran Williams and Razia Quashie were strong in defence and Laura Malcolm went well in the unfamiliar role of wing attack. All in all, there is a lot to look forward to from this team.
For New Zealand, Maia Wilson goes from strength to strength as a goal shooter, and her combination with captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio is going to cause trouble for opposition teams for years to come. In defence, Sulu Fitzpatrick and Kelly Jury took it in turns to shine at goal keeper while Jane Watson has settled into her role at goal defence. The midcourt positions are still up for grabs it seems.
Netball New Zealand and England Netball are to be congratulated for getting this series off the ground and giving fans around the world some top class international netball to watch.
2020 TAINI JAMISON TROPHY – New Zealand v England
SQUADS:
New Zealand
Karin Burger
Gina Crampton
Ameliaranne Ekenasio (C)
Monica Falkner
Sulu Fitzpatrick
Kelly Jury
Claire Kersten
Shannon Saunders
Whitney Souness
Jane Watson
Maia Wilson
Sam Winders
England
Halimat Adio
Imogen Allison
Amy Carter
Eleanor Cardwell
Jade Clarke
Kadeen Corbin
Sophie Drakeford-Lewis
George Fisher
Jodie Gibson
Serena Guthrie (C)
Laura Malcolm (C)
Gabriella Marshall
Vicki Oyesola
Yasmin Parsons
Razia Quashie
Fran Williams
FIRST TEST:
New Zealand 54 (14, 9, 16, 15) def England 47 (12, 13, 8, 14)
New Zealand
Starting 7:
GS Wilson
GA Ekenasio
WA Crampton
C Saunders
WD Winders
GD Watson
GK Fitzpatrick
Shooting stats:
Wilson 34/39 (87%)
Ekenasio 24/26 (92%)
Falkner 0/1 (0%)
Team Total: 58/66 (88%)
Assists 53 (Crampton 21)
Gains 15 (Fitzpatrick 7)
England
Starting 7:
GS Corbin
GA Cardwell
WA Malcolm
C Guthrie
WD Clarke
GD Williams
GK Quashie
Shooting stats:
Fisher 18/22 (82%)
Cardwell 15/17 (88%)
Corbin 7/9 (78%)
Drakeford-Lewis 5/5 (100%)
Team Total: 45/53 (85%)
Assists 42 (Drakeford-Lewis 12)
Gains 11 (Williams 6)
Player of the Match: Sulu Fitzpatrick (NZ)
SECOND TEST:
New Zealand 54 (14, 9, 16, 15) def England 47 (12, 13, 8, 14)
New Zealand
Starting 7:
GS Wilson
GA Ekenasio
WA Crampton
C Saunders
WD Winders
GD Watson
GK Fitzpatrick
Shooting stats:
Wilson 38/41 (93%)
Ekenasio 16/18 (89%)
Team Total: 54/59 (92%)
Assists 50 (Kersten 14)
Gains 14 (Fitzpatrick 5)
England
Starting 7:
GS Cardwell
GA Drakeford-Lewis
WA Malcolm
C Guthrie
WD Clarke
GD Williams
GK Quashie
Shooting stats:
Cardwell 19/21 (90%)
Fisher 17/17 (100%)
Drakeford-Lewis 11/14 (79%)
Corbin 0/1 (0%)
Team Total: 47/53 (89%)
Assists 43 (Malcolm 18)
Gains 7 (Quashie 4)
Player of the Match: Laura Malcolm (Eng)
THIRD TEST:
New Zealand 62 (12, 14, 19, 17) def England 47 (10, 9, 16, 12)
New Zealand
Starting 7:
GS Wilson
GA Ekenasio
WA Crampton
C Kersten
WD Burger
GD Watson
GK Jury
Shooting stats:
Wilson 44/47 (94%)
Ekenasio 17/18 (94%)
Falkner 1/2 (50%)
Team Total: 62/67 (93%)
Assists 61 (Kersten 27)
Gains 17 (Jury 7)
England
Starting 7:
GS Fisher
GA Drakeford-Lewis
WA Malcolm
C Marshall
WD Clarke
GD Williams
GK Quashie
Shooting stats:
Fisher 26/28 (93%)
Cardwell 14/17 (82%)
Drakeford-Lewis 7/8 (88%)
Team Total: 47/53 (89%)
Assists 42 (Malcolm 20)
Gains 14 (Quashie 6)
Player of the Match: Maia Wilson (NZ)
New Zealand won series 3-0
Series shooting stats:
New Zealand
Wilson 116/127 (91%)
Ekenasio 57/62 (92%)
Falkner 1/3 (33%)
Team Total: 174/192 (91%)
England
Fisher 61/67 (91%)
Cardwell 48/55 (87%)
Drakeford-Lewis 23/27 (85%)
Corbin 7/10 (70%)
Team Total: 139/159 (87%)
CADBURY NETBALL SERIES
NZ Men 73 def NZ U21s 44
NZ Silver Ferns 59 def NZ A 44
NZ A 57 def NZ U21s 53
NZ Men 60 def NZ Silver Ferns 47
NZ Men 64 def NZ A 37
NZ Silver Ferns 81 def NZ U21s 33
3/4 Playoff
NZ A 68 def NZ U21s 47
.
FINAL
NZ Silver Ferns 55 (16, 9, 17, 13) def NZ Men 52 (10, 12, 17, 13)
Silver Ferns
Wilson 27/30 (90%)
Ekenasio 21/25 (84%)
Selby-Rickit 7/14 (50%)
Team Total: 55/69 (80%)
Assists 51 (Ekenasio 19)
Gains 10 (Watson 3)
NZ Men
Levi 36/39 (92%)
Jefferies 8/10 (80%)
Powell 8/10 (80%)
Team Total: 52/59 (88%)
Assists 48 (Patu, Tangira 13)
Gains 9 (Schuster 4)
MVP: Maia Wilson (Silver Ferns)
NZ Silver Ferns won Cadbury Series
TELKOM NETBALL LEAGUE
Final Ladder
Division 1
1 . Gauteng Jaguars . 19 pts
2 . Free State Crinums . 12 pts
3 . Golden Fireballs . 12 pts
4 . Southern Stings . 9 pts
5 . North West Flames . 8 pts
6 . Kingdom Stars . 0 pts
Division 2
1 . Mpumalanga Sunbirds . 14 pts
2 . Western Cape Tornados . 14 pts
3 . Eastern Cape Aloes . 12 pts
4 . Kingdom Queens . 10 pts
5 . Northern Cape Diamonds . 6 pts
6 . Limpopo Baobabs . 4 pts
.
DIVISION 2
3/4 PLAYOFF:
Western Cape Tornados 44 def Mpumalanga Sunbirds 25
FINAL:
Eastern Cape Aloes 35 def Kingdom Queens 31
.
DIVISION 1
3/4 PLAYOFF:
Golden Fireballs 39 def Southern Stings 35
FINAL:
Gauteng Jaguars 38 def Free State Crinums 26
Player of the Final: Jenny van Wyk (Jaguars)
Player of the Tournament: Izette Griesel (Jaguars)
