Here are the starting 7s
Speaking of starting line-ups, here is how the two teams shape up.
Australian head coach Stacey Marinkovich has reverted back to the starting seven she ran in the opening match. These combinations were more successful, as shooting duo Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin spearheaded the attack and the likes of Jamie-Lee Price kept pressure on England in the midcourt.
Lois Pearson had a stellar game for the Roses in Sydney and the Diamonds struggled to shut her down as she spent 60 minutes in wing attack, so Marinkovich has responded and gone back to what she knows. Price is a strong body and will make her presence known in that tight man-on style defence the Diamonds were lacking in that position.
For England, as you’d expect. The Roses are sticking with the team that were able to turn their fortunes around in game two. They went from losing by 13 goals to winning by three. And they only made one subsitution all game in wing defence. So Roses head coach Jess Thirlby is backing in her winning players to hopefully produce the same tonight.
England have only ever beaten the Diamonds in a Test series once before throughout history, back in 2013. But they’ve never quite been able to do it on Australian soil. Can they do it tonight?
Watson hits a legendary milestone
Australian skipper Liz Watson has been named in the starting seven tonight which means she’ll match Vicki Wilson’s 42 international appearances as the second-most capped Diamonds captain.
Watson will likely surpass that in the upcoming Constellation Cup series against New Zealand to hold that title on her own. But the midcourter is still a while off Michelle den Dekker’s record 71 caps.
All set for the decider
Hi there and welcome back to ABC Sport’s live blog on the Australian and England netball Test series.
Game 1 in Adelaide went the Diamonds way, 70-57
Game 2 in Sydney was won by the Roses, 61-59
Game 3 in Bendigo will decide the series tonight
It’s been 10 years between games in the regional Victorian city. The last time they played there was in 2014 funnily enough against the Roses again, where Australia claimed victory. Is that a good omen we wonder?
Given how tight Game 2 was on Sunday afternoon we’re hoping for another tight affair. The first centre pass tonight will happen at 7pm AEST and I’ll be updating you here with all the live action.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
