For four long years the Australian Diamonds have been haunted by an absence. After securing the Netball World Cup trophy consecutively in 2007, 2011 and 2015, a one-goal loss to the old enemy New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup was painful. That it happened just one year after a devastatingly similar one-goal loss to England at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, and swept their trophy cabinet bare, made it all the worse.
A four-goal win over Jamaica in the gold medal match at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year appeared to steady the ship and put the team back on course. But after a gruelling Super Netball season filled with off-court distractions, a grand final won by a team with no Diamonds in it, and facing the prospect of playing on the biggest stage without star shooter Gretel Bueta, there were times when this World Cup looked out of reach.
