Zimbabwe’s national netball team, the Gems, lost 86-30 to Australia in their opening match of the Netball World Cup underway in South Africa.
The tournament features 16 teams divided into four pools, with the top three from each pool progressing to the second stage. See pools below:
- Pool A: Australia, Tonga, Zimbabwe, and Fiji
- Pool B: England, Malawi, Scotland and Barbados
- Pool C: Jamaica, South Africa, Wales and Sri Lanka
- Pool D: New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad & Tobago and Singapore
There are three stages – two group stages, followed by a knockout and placing phase. The tournament features a round-robin format in the first stage, with each team playing three games. The top three teams from Pool A and B move forward to form Pool F, while the top three teams in Pool C and D form Pool G. The bottom team from each pool is effectively eliminated from the main competition, but moves into Group E to contest 13th to 16th place.
The second stage (Monday, July 31 – Thursday, August 3) sees the top two teams from Pool F and Pool G compete in a knockout phase to determine the winner. Once all the matches have been played, the top two teams in Pool F and Pool G qualify for the semi-finals. The remaining teams can no longer win the World Cup, but move on to final classification matches.
During the third stage of the tournament, matches are played to a result as there can be no draws. The semi-finals feature a crossover between Pool F and Pool G, with the winners progressing to the gold and silver medal match and the losers competing for bronze. Teams finishing third or fourth in Group F or G compete for fifth to eighth place, while the top two teams in Group E play a final classification match for 13th and 14th place, and the bottom two teams play for 15th and 16th place.
The Gems’ loss to Australia in their opening match is a setback, but the team will have further opportunities to progress to the knockout stage. The tournament promises to be exciting, with some of the world’s best netball teams competing for the title.
At the previous Netball World Cup in Liverpool in 2019, the Gems finished in eighth place. Australia is currently ranked number 1 while Zimbabwe is number 13.