Richard Boock: A chance to avenge that last-minute loss

Now that the America's Cup has been lost to Switzerland and the cricket World Cup is across the Tasman, attention is starting to turn towards New Zealand's next major crusade - the world netball championships in Jamaica.

The Holy Grail of netball will be contested in the Caribbean from July 11-20, when the Silver Ferns have the chance to snuff out the memory of that dramatic last-second loss to Australia in the 1999 final.

This time round, New Zealand's task may be even harder as they face a potential semifinal match-up against Australia or Jamaica.

To underline their threat at home, Jamaica upset Australia the other day in the third test, leaving the defending champions with plenty of food for thought after a hard-fought, four-match series.

Complicating New Zealand's assignment is the fact that the world championships will in some ways mimic the cricket and rugby World Cups in that a series of easy games will be followed by a couple of sudden-death encounters.

To ensure the necessary tempo and degree of intensity in the big games, the Ferns will need to show no mercy during the early rounds, even if it means running up cricket scores against some of the weaker opponents.

As was also shown at the cricket World Cup, the most crucial time for our netballers will arrive on April 22, when the selectors name their 12-strong squad to travel to Jamaica.

All the planning, strategy meetings and practice will count for little if the selectors fall at the first hurdle, or - as we saw last month in South Africa - conspire to pick the wrong team for key games.

The Silver Ferns are fortunate that their squad seem relatively settled and gave a reasonable account of themselves during the summer tour to England, winning (as expected) all three tests.

If there are a few areas of doubt, they probably revolve around the shooting circle and the mid-court, where pressure is mounting on the incumbents to hold off some strong claims from rivals.

Irene van Dyk and Belinda Colling are certainties, but the same cannot yet be said of back-up shooter Angela Mitchell (nee Evans), who apparently did not quite cement her place during the England tour.

The position is a critical one for the world championship squad, particularly if the selectors stick with their plans to use Adine Harper as the other shooting option, given she plays most of her domestic netball in the mid-court.

If Mitchell is under threat, it is most likely from Flames' shooter Jodi Te Huna, a national squad member who has more height and is a more realistic option as an international goal-shoot.

She has played three seasons of National League netball beside van Dyk and is now a team-mate of Colling's, giving her a useful head start in terms of combinations.

The main question hovering over the mid-court is whether Force utility Temepara Clark can win a place in the squad ahead of the Magic's Jenny-May Coffin.

Clark has hardly done anything wrong since being recalled to the national squad and continues to light up any mid-court she graces.

But Coffin would seem to have the inside running on the back of some strong and prolonged form, and particularly after she turned on a series-saving performance during New Zealand's last tour of Jamaica.