St Clair export Paige Hadley has been named in the Australian squad for the upcoming Netball World Cup.
The 12-strong Diamonds team, plus three reserves, is led by captain Liz Watson and vice captain Steph Wood.
Watson is joined in the midcourt by Ash Brazill, Hadley and Jamie-Lee Price.
Wood has been selected alongside goalers Kiera Austin, Sophie Garbin and Cara Koenen.
The defenders include Sunday Aryang, Courtney Bruce, Sarah Klau and Joanna Weston.
The Diamonds, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, will start their 2023 Netball World Cup campaign on Friday, July 28 against Zimbabwe.
The 10-day competition concludes with finals on Sunday, August 6.
Ruby Bakewell-Doran, Kate Moloney and Donnell Wallam have been selected as the traveling reserves.
Under new World Netball rules, the three reserve players can be promoted into the playing list of 12 as permanent replacement players. Once a player in the playing list has been permanently replaced, they cannot return to play in the tournament.
Origin Australian Diamonds head coach Stacey Marinkovich said selection was incredibly tight.
“We have incredible strength and depth in our squad, which is a credit to each player’s ability to perform in both the Diamonds program and the Suncorp Super Netball League,” Marinkovich said.
“We are confident we have the versatility across our combinations, and I’m excited by the variations we can put out on the court in Cape Town.
“We have been building towards the 2023 Netball World Cup and we look forward to the challenge of taking on the world’s best.”
