Jess Thirlby is preparing for England to cement their “best bit of history” as they take on New Zealand in the semi-finals of the Netball World Cup. A first final is the goal.
After convincing victories over Barbados, Malawi, Scotland, Tonga and Fiji, Thirlby’s side shocked Australia, the world’s best, by beating them 56-55 on Thursday. One-point wins over green and gold is how England make history in this sport: five years ago they beat Australia 52-51 at the Gold Coast Games to take their only Commonwealth gold medal.
Commonwealth nations are the best netball has to offer, so a World Cup pits regular nemeses together. Australia, England, Jamaica and New Zealand are the last four teams in contention in South Africa. Even though the
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