England secured their place in the final following a 46-40 victory over defending champions New Zealand while Australia secured their spot after a 57-54 win over Jamaica in the semi-finals of the Netball World Cup.

Scotland 42-57 Wales

In their 11th matchup at a Netball World Cup, Wales beat Scotland 57-42 to move up to ninth place. With this win, Wales has now won six times in a row when they play Scotland.

The first quarter was very close, with both teams making quick passes and strong feeds into their own goal circles. Georgia Rowe and Phillipa Yarranton, who shot for the Feathers, made all of their shots. On the other hand, Beth Goodwin and Niamh McCall, who shot for the Thistles, missed six shots between them. The Welsh also had most of the ball in the first few minutes, which gave them a 12-10 lead after 15 minutes.

As the game moved into the second quarter, Wales kept picking up speed with smart interceptions and smart changes of play. Rowe and Yarranton kept doing what they were doing and only missed one shot on goal. Goodwin and McCall, on the other hand, had trouble finding the net again and let four valuable goals slip away. Ella Powell-Davies and Christina Shaw, who were on defence, were putting pressure on them, and it was clear that it was having an effect. At the halftime break, Wales had a four-goal lead (25-21).

Wales started the third quarter with the same seven players who had been on the court since the beginning of the game. Scotland made a few changes to try to turn the game in their favour. It didn’t seem to work, though, because Wales grew their lead to a comfortable 10 points (42-32).

In the last 15 minutes of the game, the Feathers kept up the pace, making the Thistles play catch-up. With seven minutes left on the clock, the gap grew to 11 points, making it impossible to catch up. Wales moved the ball down the court towards their goal circle, and Rowe and Yarranton made shot after shot to win.

Jamaica 54-57 Australia

In the second semi-final of the day, Jamaica and Australia produced yet another thrilling match.

In spite of a valiant effort to reach their first-ever Netball World Cup final, the Jamaicans were unable to pull off the second upset of the day after England’s victory over New Zealand, as Australia prevailed 57-54.

This is the third time in the tournament’s history that the Diamonds and Sunshine Girls have met in the final four. The Diamonds have won all three previous final-four meetings, most recently in 2015 when they went on to win their 11th title.

If they had achieved their goal on Saturday, the Jamaicans would have denied Australia a spot in a Netball World Cup final for the first time in history.

As expected, and following the pattern of the England vs. New Zealand semi-final earlier in the day, the first quarter was a close one, with the teams trading goals and reaching the first break tied at 14-14.

In her 100th match for Jamaica, Jhaniele Fowler was, as usual, a tower of strength and composure in the circle, with only one error. But it was custodian Shamera Sterling’s extraordinary effort to steal the ball from Cara Koenen at the other end that really boosted her team just as they were beginning to fall behind. The Sunshine Girls gained momentum and were able to score three consecutive goals to make up their deficit and level the scoreboard before halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, the confident-looking Diamonds increased their intensity. They were able to establish a five-goal advantage after forcing the Jamaicans to commit numerous errors. A number of Jamaican substitutions, including the introduction of Adean Thomas at centre, injected the team with energy.

Again putting their bodies on the line, the Jamaicans fought their way back to tie the score at 40-40. The Diamonds were able to regain their composure in the final minute to force a turnover, ensuring they would enter the final break with a two-goal advantage.

This advantage did not last long, however, as the Jamaicans quickly closed the gap and then took the lead at the beginning of the final 15 minutes. The Sunshine Girls regained the lead by returning to a shorter, sharper style of play and displaying greater patience with the ball. However, because Courtney Bruce increased the defensive pressure, the safe, short game did not last.

With less than five minutes remaining, Bruce caused a pivotal turnover by sending one too many dangerous high passes into the circle. In order to avoid the same fate as the defending champion New Zealand team, they needed this margin to pull away, apply more pressure, and ultimately secure a hard-fought victory.

While Australia had lost to England in their final group game earlier in the week, this was Jamaica’s first loss of the tournament, but it was the decisive loss that ended their quest for the gold medal.

England 46-40 New Zealand

With a close 46-40 win over the reigning champions, New Zealand, England reached the Netball World Cup final for the first time.

As soon as the game started, it was clear that England was nervous. Both teams were having trouble getting through the middle, with New Zealand holding balls and England’s defence led by Geva Mentor keeping things close.

New Zealand was the first team to find their rhythm and stick to their game plan, but players like Layla Guscoth kept bringing England back into the game. After the first quarter, England and New Zealand were tied at 9-9.

England’s shooting circle was still a little shaky as their defence worked. Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell were slowly getting into the game as New Zealand powered through the last five minutes of the quarter to tie the game at 20 each at halftime.

As the game kept going back and forth between these two teams, England put Jade Clarke in at centre for the third quarter, and Fran Williams then joined the fight.

The Silver Ferns finally took the lead when they intercepted a Nat Metcalf pass with three minutes left in the third quarter. However, England got back in the game when Clarke intercepted a pass, which led to a Housby goal on the hooter, bringing the score to 32-32 with one quarter to go.

As soon as Imogen Allison came back on at Centre in the last quarter, England got to work. A huge interception from Mentor in the circle kept the Silver Ferns from getting back into the game.

But New Zealand kept coming back into the game, and with five minutes left, they tied the score at 40 each.

With only four minutes left, a huge interception by Williams gave England a two-goal lead. Cardwell made it three goals before Housby added two more.

When England got the ball back with one minute left, the crowd went crazy. Cardwell added another point, and the bench cheered as England won 46-40.

Fiji 71-37 Trinidad & Tobago

After beating Trinidad and Tobago 71–37, the Fiji Pearls came in 11th at the 2023 Netball World Cup.

In the first half, Fiji Pearls did a great job and had a 34-15 lead.

Unaisi Rauluni was named the match’s best player, and she also got her 60th cap for the Fiji Pearls.