Queensland Firebirds Ruby Bakewell-Doran and Donnell Wallam will debut for the Australian Diamonds in the upcoming Constellation Cup and England Series this October and November.
Dynamic defender Bakewell-Doran has been selected to play in the 14-strong Constellation Cup side against the Silver Ferns, while Wallam, who along with Bakewell-Doran was a training partner with the Diamonds’ Commonwealth Games team, has been named to face the Roses.
Experienced Diamonds and Firebirds attacker Gretel Bueta will line up against both the Silver Ferns and Roses.
Origin Australian Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich said she was looking forward to working towards these two huge international events and bringing test netball back home.
“The upcoming international series against NZ and England gives us a unique opportunity to continue to solidify what we have been building over the last 18 months and what we delivered from the Commonwealth Games,” Marinkovich said.
“While we are extremely proud of the result recently achieved at the Commonwealth Games we learned that the depth and competitive nature of international netball is ferocious. I am looking forward to reconnecting with our squad as everyone will be refreshed and reenergised to align our focus towards the 2023 Netball World Cup build.
“We will continue to develop and challenge the depth of our squad enabling players to make their contribution in building our way forward.”
The Diamonds, who are ranked number one in the world coming off the back of a gold medal in Birmingham, will complete a training camp at the AIS in Canberra before the international fixture gets underway in mid-October.
THE TEAMS
Constellation Cup
Sunday Aryang
Kiera Austin
Ruby Bakewell-Doran
Courtney Bruce
Gretel Bueta
Sophie Dwyer
Sarah Klau
Cara Koenen
Kate Moloney
Amy Parmenter
Jamie-Lee Price
Maddy Proud
Liz Watson
Steph Wood
England Series
Kiera Austin
Courtney Bruce
Gretel Bueta
Sophie Garbin
Paige Hadley
Sarah Klau
Cara Koenen
Kate Moloney
Amy Parmenter
Jamie-Lee Price
Maddy Proud
Maddy Turner
Donnell Wallam
Joanna Weston
