Netball: Diamonds' gem fires up forlorn Flames

By RICHARD BOOCK

They might be out of semifinal contention, but the Auckland Diamonds are still having a major say in the destiny of netball's Coca Cola Cup.

The wildly erratic Diamonds gave another glimpse of their capricious nature while upsetting the second-placed Capital Shakers 67-56 on Saturday night, in a result which has greatly boosted Canterbury's chances of hosting one of the semifinals.

In a match featuring the world-class shooting talents of Irene van Dyk and Elaine Davis, the Diamonds' commitment to a sustained through-court defence tipped the scales in the end and left the Wellingtonians facing a likely travelling assignment in the semifinals. The Shakers stay in second-place on the league table for now but have a bye next week and will probably be overtaken by the Canterbury Flames, who are expected to dispatch the struggling Cometz in the last round of pool play.

Flames' coach Margie Foster said yesterday that her side was almost as delighted as the Diamonds when they heard the final scoreline from Auckland's Unitec Stadium on Saturday night and realised the possible play-off implications.

The Flames had earlier drawn 48-48 with the Otago Rebels in Dunedin, and had driven back to Christchurch in a cloud of disappointment, believing they had blown their chances of hosting a semifinal.

"Then we heard the result from Auckland and everything picked up pretty quickly," said Foster.

"We've got a great chance of hosting our first-ever semifinal, and I can tell you, that sounds a lot better than travelling down to Invercargill to play the Sting.

"Obviously it's one step at a time and we're not going to count our chickens, but we've definitely got a lot to play for next weekend and I'm not going to let the girls forget that."

The Sting maintained their unbeaten record and their position at the top of the points table after beating the Western Flyers 66-48 at Stadium Southland, despite having Silver Fern shooter Donna Loffhagen sidelined with elbow and finger injuries, and making an unconvincing start to the match.

With one round remaining, the Invercargill-based side have already qualified as top seeds, and will be joined in the play-offs by the Shakers, the Flames and the Force.

The Force travel south to play the Sting this weekend and, unless they cause a huge upset, will probably return a week later for a semi-final.

At the other end of the table, the Magic notched their first win of the season yesterday when they over-ran the Cometz 62-39 at Papatoetoe.

Davis, meanwhile, who made the most of her side's productive defence against the Shakers while sinking 54 goals from 58 attempts, will soon have a chance to cause similar problems for the Silver Ferns after being named in the Rest of the World team to play three tests against New Zealand - starting late next month.

The star Jamaican shooter will be joined by mid-court compatriot Nadine Bryan in the 14-strong world selection, which features a strong representation from Australia's world championship-winning machine, including coach Jill McIntosh, captain Kathryn Harby, mid-courter Shelley O'Donnell, shooter Sharelle McMahon and defender Liz Ellis.

Ellis seems likely to be engaged in an enthralling match-up against the newly domiciled van Dyk, who although suffering from restricted opportunities against the Diamonds on Saturday night still managed to nail 40 from 44.

Rest of the World: Kathryn Harby (captain), Sharelle McMahon, Liz Ellis, Shelley O'Donnell (Australia), Villimaina Davu (Fiji), Elaine Davis (vice-captain), Nadine Bryan (Jamaica), Alex Astle, Tracey Neville, Helen Lonsdale, Olivia Murphy, Amanda Newton (England), Leana Du Ploy, Rosina Magola (South Africa).