By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE’s trailblazing netball national team the Gems will take on the mighty of New Zealand Monday Morning in their first game in the World Cup preliminaries Stage two at the World Cup in Liverpool, England.

The match starts at 10am Zimbabwe time.

Zimbabwe won a thrilling match against Northern Ireland 51/49 to book a place in the next stage of the competition against all odds and with the weight of expectation from a restless success starved nation weighing heavily on their shoulders will now be expected to do one better and progress again.

With the top three teams from the four groups A to D in the preliminaries Stage One progressing to the next round to form two groups of six, Zimbabwe pulled through as the second best team in Group A.

The Gems, advanced from Group A alongside defending world champions Australia and their last victims Northern Ireland, who finished third. Zimbabwe will now form Group F together with the top three teams from Group B – New Zealand, fellow Africans Malawi and Barbados.

Group G is made up of Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Uganda and Scotland from Groups C and D.

The 12 teams will battle for a semi-final berth. The top two teams in both groups will qualify for the semi-finals while the remaining eight will play for overall positioning.
The bottom finishers from the first stage, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Fiji and Samoa form Group E where they will play for position 13 to 16.