Eleanor Patterson admitted it was a “bittersweet” feeling after she ended up setting for silver in the women’s high jump final at the Commonwealth Games.
The term ‘setting’ is not usually the right one when it comes to silver medals but even Patterson herself conceded it was a disappointing result when speaking with Channel 7 post race.
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Australia’s Eleanor Patterson reacts after the women’s high jump final athletics event. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)Source: AFP
“It’s bittersweet. I didn’t perform,” she said.
“Lamara (Distin) was the best athlete on the day. I’m really impressed by her and proud of her.
“But I am just quite frustrated with myself. I did not come here today and perform how I know I can and how I usually do.”
Patterson was the raging favorite after stunning the world by becoming the first Australian to win the women’s high jump gold at the World Athletics Championship.
Her chances of taking home gold in Birmingham only received another boost when fellow Australian and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nicola Olyslagers pulled out with a calf injury.
Browning FALLS, relay goes begging! | 00:28
Jamaican Lamara Distin had other ideas though, setting the tone with a first-round clearance at 1.95m that Patterson could not match with three attempts.
That mark was seven centimeters less than Patterson’s stunning effort at the World Athletics Championship, which made it harder to take for the Australian.
“I’ve had a bit of a sore ankle but that’s no excuse,” she added.
“I was struggling to get my rhythm a little bit and wasn’t switched on enough, I don’t know. It’s frustrating.
Ollie Hoare has come from the clouds in the final stages to claim Commonwealth Games gold in the 1500m.
Hoare blitzed the field in the home straight as he stormed past Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot in the last 10 meters to cross the line in a games record time of 3:30.13 – edging the Kenyan by .09 of a second.
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The Aussie stalked Cheruiyot, the world champion and defending Commonwealth Games champion, as they came around the final bend and turned on the gas at the perfect moment.
“Hoare lifting here, lifting with a big run,” Bruce McAvaney said.
“He’s coming with a mighty run, the Aussie’s a chance. Cheruiyot goes up … here comes Ollie Hoare with a flashing run I reckon he’s going to get there.”
“And it is!” Tamsyn Lewis-Manou shouted as Hoare crossed the line.
“It’s an extraordinary moment in Australian sport. It’s one of those that we will etch in the history books forever and how lucky we are to have been here and for you to have watched it,” McAvaney said as Hoare slumped over in disbelief on the ground. “The last 100m is the stuff of legends.”
“Take your hat off, that was just brilliant and a new Games record,” Lewis-Manou said.
“He has just beat a sensational field. I have waited until the exit route, got out and that finish was brilliant.”
“He takes down two world champions in the home stretch, it’s just magical. It’s what you dream about,” McAvaney added.
Hoare, 25, spoke about the gold medal moment after completing a lap of victory around the stadium.
“That last lap I just wanted to stay relaxed and I knew that my time would come. It’s hard to believe when you have guys there that are absolute class. But I was able to get out and I just had the kicker at the end and it was spectacular,” Hoare said.
Hoare got emotional during the interview as he dedicated the run to his late grandfather.
“I’d like to dedicate that race to my pop he was a life member at Southern Districts athletics club and he was a World War 2 veteran, Sargaent Fred Hoare.
“He passed away just after the World Champs and it was a very difficult time for me because of how bad I’d just raced and to hear that news of a guy who would have a stopwatch at every race when I was growing up going through the sport, to not have him there to watch was tough but I’d like to dedicate that race to my pop because he is the reason why my family loves this sport and the reason why I am here today.
“So Pop, I know you’re watching. I’ll have a glass of red for ya mate. That was a good one.”
Australian viewers couldn’t believe what they’d just witnessed with Hoare’s run one we’ll remember for years and years.
The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph wrote: “Here comes Ollie Hoare with a flashing run. Bloody hell. Some kind of guts to run down two world champions. Just wow.”
Former Boomers coach Brendan Joyce wrote: “Wow Australia we have a new champion to be proud of! What a run in the 1500! Ollie Hoare you were incredible!”
ABC journalist Peter Gunders wrote: “Ollie Hoare! What a race. My heart is racing, we nearly lost our voices cheering, and I think we just woke up the whole street.”
Former AFL star Kane Cornes wrote: “World class run, how tough is he. Bruce is a genius.”
The Kookaburras are through to the final at the Commonwealth Games after surviving a nail-biting thriller against England.
Controversy exploded in a rollercoaster fourth quarter as the Aussies pulled off an incredible comeback win.
Australia was down 2-0 and it looked like an enormous upset was on the cards, before the Kookaburras launched a brave fightback to win 3-2 and keep their perfect record of never missing a Commonwealth Games final, and never surrendering the Commonwealth crown they have worn since the sport was introduced to the Games.
In the end it was the Aussies desperately trying to hold on in the final minutes as England couldn’t find a way to break the Aussie defense despite a barrage of penalty corners.
The Kookaburras got their crucial third goal in controversial circumstances with England calling for a review leading up to the moment where Daniel Beale tapped on the winning goal.
Australia was looking to re-start play quickly after the referee pulled England up for touching the ball with their feet.
England challenged that Australia did not let the ball be stationary before resuming play.
Replays showed it was questionable that the ball had been stationary at any point.
Former Hockeyroos star Georgie Parker said the goal should have been technically disallowed, despite saying the goal should stand because the quick re-start was “in the spirit of the game”.
She said if she was the official video review she would have taken the goal off Australia.
“This is very much a ‘letter of the law’ thing,” she said on Channel 7.
“You are meant to stop the ball before you take the free hit.”
She went on to say: “It basically stopped for me. I would hate if this (review) went through.
“It didn’t stop, but I would hate it if they disallowed it for that. Teams are doing that fifty per cent of the time, including England.
“I will be so disappointed, but look, I mean, technically, that is the rule, you are supposed to stop it or make an effort to stop it.
“I would be so disappointed. For the sake of what is in the spirit, I think England are clutching at straws, but technically (it should be disallowed).
“Every team does that, and you want to be playing a fast-paced game of hockey, that is why that rule was brought in.
“Technically, maybe that was the wrong decision.”
The goal stood, despite England players continuing to protest with the on-field referee.
The drama only increased from there as the Kookaburras were also hard done by when they reviewed a call that awarded England a penalty corner for the ball jumping up and almost-touching the leg of an Aussie defender. Despite the ball clearly not touching the Aussie, the call was not overruled by the official review.
There was also another call that went against Australia with Jeremy Hayward getting struck in the torso off an England penalty corner with the referee awarding England another penalty corner despite the Aussie appearing to be inside the 5m distance from when the shot was taken.
Aussie commentators Georgie Parker and Alister Nicholson on Channel 7 both judged that Heywood had got inside the 5m mark after bolting from the goal mouth at the start of the penalty corner.
England had a flurry of penalty corners in the final minutes, but simply could not find a way past the Aussie defense and keeper Andrew Charter.
England even had a penalty corner with 25 seconds to play with the game coming down to the final second of the match before the siren finally sounded.
The key difference was the quality in the final third with Australia scoring one goal from its three penalty corners, while England was unable to score once from its 14 penalty corners.
England scored after just four minutes when Charter made a rare mistake when trying to save a fairly straightforward shot from wide of the goals.
England made it 2-0 when they capitalized on Australia being given a yellow card.
Blake Govers scored from a penalty corner just four minutes before half time to give Australia hope.
Jacob Anderson then leveled it up at 2-2 with a sweet backhand shot on the run that beat the keeper just moments before the end of the third quarter. England had been holding on for the entire quarter with two players off the field as a result of yellow cards.
In the end, all that matters is that the Kookaburras are through to the end.
Earlier, India defeated South Africa in the other semi-final.
The gold medal game is scheduled for 9.30pm on Monday (AEST).
It comes after the Hockeyroos on Saturday morning won their semi-final in a blockbuster against India to set up a gold medal showdown with England at 12am on Monday morning.
Aussie hero Jemima Montag wasn’t alone out there as she powered to an incredible back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 10km walk.
The 24-year-old inspired the country all over again as she covered the distance in an incredible time of 42 minutes.
She says she had her own special kind of inspiration hanging on her wrist the entire walk.
An emotional Montag opened up about the special connection she has to her late grandmother through a piece of jewelery that once belonged to the Holocaust survivor after crossing the finish line.
Australian Associated Press reports the bracelet was cut into three pieces two years before Judith’s death with one piece each given to Jemimia and her two sisters.
Montag’s grandmother survived the trauma and terror of Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War 2.
Judith missed Montag’s special moment on Sunday morning and her competition at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, however, she was there to see Montag win gold on the Gold Coast four years ago.
She said she draws inspiration from reading about her brave grandmother and even tracked down and translated old letters she had from when she was just 12 years old in the Nazi work camp.
“In some of her love letters and journal entries she wrote about just trying to make it through the next hour, the next day, just hoping to meet her dad at the gate with a piece of bread,” Montag said.
“What I take from that is in a race, it’s one kilometer at a time, it’s one step at a time, not thinking about the finish line.
“You just had to have such a careful balance of taking risks and being a little cheeky when it was possible.
“Stealing scraps of food, running from one line to the other if it meant not being put to the gas chamber, and then sticking by the rules, when it was the right thing to do so.”
She said she regularly thinks about some of her grandma’s shattering experiences when looking for that little bit more courage and fight when she is out on the track.
“They marched through snow and cold for days on end in little sandals, and hardly any clothing,” she said.
“She and her sister took their waist bands and tied their wrists together and they said ‘we’re getting through this together or not at all.’
“So just visualizing her walking on ice, not knowing when her next meal would be or if she’d survive.
“This (race walking) is fun and this is something I choose to do and yes, it’s hard, but someone just two generations ago had that level of strength and I know it’s with me now.”
Australia has had a double-medal finish in the men’s decathlon for the first time in a century in an extraordinary end to the event on Saturday morning (AEST).
Daniel Golubovic and Cedric Dubler fell agonizingly short as they desperately tried to steal the gold medal from Grenada’s Victor Lindon in the final 1500m run.
Dubler, a national hero from his viral act of mateship during at the Tokyo Olympics, went into the final night session with a lead of 39 points with only the javelin and 1500m to go.
However, he was brought undone by a fifth place finish in the javelin and simply had too many points to try and catch up in the 1500m.
Golubovic put together a colossal effort in the final event, crossing the finish line first to take the silver medal with a final score of 8197 points.
Day 8 WRAP: ‘National disgrace’ rocks Comm Games as Hockeyroos survive shootout
Daniel Golubovic congratulates an exhausted Lindon Victor at the finish line. Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP.Source: AFPCedric Dubler and Daniel Golubović.Source: AFP
Lindon was more than 100m behind Golubovic as the Aussie crossed the line.
With the Grenadian looking dead on his feet with 25m to run, it suddenly appeared that Golubovic was about to take the gold. He needed to win by more than 23 seconds.
However, Lindon fell over the line with two seconds to spare. Dubler, who took the bronze medal, Golubovic and Lindon were all left waiting to see the exact results show up on the big screen before they could learn who had won the gold medal.
It eventually showed up on the screen that Lindon had done enough to fall over the line with a final score of 8233. Dubler finished with 8030.
Golubovic was smiling through the heartbreak at the end of the race.
Lindon Victor and Kurt Felix of Team Grenada, Harry Kendall of Team England, Alec Diamond, Daniel Golubovic and Cedric Dubler of Team Australia and Karo Iga of Team Papua New Guinea celebrate at the end of their ten events. Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
“Thank you, I had to dig for that,” Golubovic said afterwards.
“It is cold out here and there is nothing in the works. Two decathlons in 12 days – I don’t recommend it.
“It’s been an incredible experience, coming down and moving back to Australia and back to Brisbane during COVID, it’s been a wild few years and it’s been a long process to get here. It feels so good to be on this stage right now.
He said he is looking forward to getting some sleep after completing two decathlon events in the space of two weeks, after also competing at the world championships in Oregon last month.
“Tired. Very tired,” he said when asked how he felt in an interview with Channel 7.
“It was a tough race, I knew it was going to be, I had to leave everything out on the line and we did just that, that was every possible thing I could leave out on the track, and it landed where it did, but I am so incredibly proud to have performed the way I did and backed it up two times in a row and to have it come down to the 1500 was a lot of fun.”
Aussie star Michelle Jenneke has run the fastest time of her life to thunder into the final of the 100m hurdles at the Commonwealth Games.
The 29-year-old was looking absolutely shredded as she stood on the starter’s blocks before her heat and it turns out there is no secret behind the physical shape she is in which has her running the best times in her entire career. She told Channel 7 after the race she is in “the shape of my life”.
Jenneke finished second in Heat 3 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham and moves into the final with the second-quickest overall time, behind only world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria.
Jenneke’s time of 12.63 will not count as a new personal best because the time was wind-assisted.
However, the form is undeniably there.
Her run on Friday night (AEST) would suggest she is a red-hot medal chance, but she is toning down expectations for the final on Sunday night where five of the eight runners were also in the final of the World Championships in Oregon last month .
“This is a very strong field,” she said.
“It’s a very strong field here. I don’t know if I’ll quite be good enough for a medal, but hopefully I can run a personal best and we’ll see where that puts me.”
It is clear she deserves her place alongside the fastest runners in the world.
“Even when I was young at my first world champs I was never really intimidated by anyone,” she said.
“I feel like for me, when I go out there I’m just trying to put my best foot forward and they’re doing the same thing and if they beat me, they beat me. As long as I’m doing my best then that’s all I really care about.
“I’m not too worried about what the other athletes do, except for using them to try and get faster time.”
She said her peak physical condition is simply the result of finally being able to have a stretch without injuries where she could get in an extended training block.
“I haven’t really changed things. It’s just one of those things where I’ve been able to string together some training where I haven’t been injured,” she said.
“So I’ve actually been able to get every session done. When you do that things seem to come together. That’s really all it is. Nothing too special.”
Jenneke ran a career-saving personal best time of 12.66 at the World Championships.
Jenneke’s time wasn’t even enough for her to sneak into the final as Amusan obliterated her personal best time by almost 0.3 seconds to set the new world record at 12.12.
Jenneke’s time in Oregon made her the second-quickest women’s 100m hurdler Australia has ever produced, behind only Sally Pearson.
Jenneke famously went viral with her trademark pre-race shake at the 2012 World Junior Championships and it ultimately led to her being one of the highest-profile stars of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Jenneke was once a household name who attracted global attention — and major endorsement deals from some of the world’s biggest companies. She was sponsored by Coca-Cola at the Rio Games and her face was plastered across billboards in the Brazilian city.
But she copped fierce criticism for a disappointing showing at those Games, finishing a kilometer in her 100m hurdles heat.
Australian track and field coach at the time, Craig Hilliard, accused Jenneke of arriving in Rio out of shape and questioned whether distractions away from the track contributed to her lackluster showing. Athletics Australia then cut her funding from her.
She rebounded for a strong performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal.
Four injury-riddled years later and Jenneke is doing plenty to make Australia fall in love with her again.
The Australian women’s cricket team will face New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games semi-finals this weekend, but most Aussie supporters won’t be awake for the must-win contest in Birmingham.
The semi-final fixtures were unveiled on Friday morning AEST, with hosts England scheduled to take on powerhouse nation India on Saturday at 11am local time.
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Meanwhile, world champions Australia will battle their trans-Tasman rivals in the evening timeslot, meaning fans back home hoping to cheer on Meg Lanning’s side will need to set an alarm for 3am AEST on Sunday morning.
Kiwi viewers have been treated to a slightly less painful 5am start time.
Swapping the fixtures would have given three of the competing nations a prime broadcast timeslot for their respective audiences, but accommodating India’s massive fanbase has seemingly been prioritized.
Australia was undefeated in the group stage, defeating India, Barbados and Pakistan to cruise through the knockouts.
New Zealand, meanwhile, suffered a horror collapse in their final group stage match against England on Thursday, managing just 9/71 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first at Edgbaston.
Maddy Green top-scored for the Kiwis with 19 as veteran seamer Katherine Brunt rattled the New Zealanders with a classy spell of 2/4 from three overs in the Powerplay.
“We were well below par and it wasn’t through lack of effort or lack of planning or anything like that, I think you just get days like that,” New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said.
“It’s never nice to be a part of but we’ve got to flush it down the dunny pretty quickly and move on to something that’s actually really exciting for us, playing in a semi-final against Australia at a Commonwealth Games.”
England chased the 72-run target with more than eight overs to spare and seven wickets in hand.
Regardless, Australia remain firm favorites to return home with the coveted gold medal around their necks, having not lost a 20-over match since March 2021.
“I think a lot of the pressure is going to be on Australia,” Devine said.
“They’ve certainly come into this competition as favorites and hopeful of taking that gold medal whereas a lot of people didn’t think we’d maybe make the semi-finals.
“We can really take that on board and just play with a bit of freedom and take it to the Aussies. We obviously know them really well, so I think our plans are going to be pretty spot on and likewise they know us really well too. It’s always just a great battle against the Australians.”
Five days ago, Madison de Rozario won one of the toughest marathons of her career.
It left her completely exhausted — usually the marathon is the final event in for track and field.
However, she wasn’t going to let that stop her from adding to her growing legacy as one of Australia’s finest athletes.
So, the defending champion hit the track for the 1,500-meter race and, in the process, won her fourth Commonwealth Games gold, the most of any Australian para athlete.
Madison de Rozario will be one of the biggest names competing for the Australian team. (Getty Images: Alex Davidson)
De Rozario had hoped to sit back in the race and watch the field fight it out in front of her before making her charge.
However, it was a slow start, and she knew that, if she was going to win, she was going to have to change her tactics and go for broke.
“I realized I was going to be out front from one lap in. When you commit to taking the lead, you have to just back yourself,” she said.
While she looked comfortable for most of the race, the final stretch was tense.
De Rozario looked to be tiring, as Scotland’s Samantha Kinghorn started to push up.
The Australian — who is coached by retired legendary para athlete Louise Sauvage — managed to find just enough to pull ahead once again, while compatriot Angie Ballard produced a barnstorming final few meters to pip Kinghorn for silver.
“I definitely lost it for a little bit there. Angie came home so strong and Sam’s last 300 [metres] was unbelievable. [I’m] so happy I just managed to hold on to win,” Rozario said.
It was extra special to share the podium with her teammate, too.
“She has been in my corner since day one. We’ve been to four Paralympic Games together and to get to do this is its amazing,” she said.
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It was even more impressive considering the physical toll the marathon took on her — she described it as one of the most challenging courses she had ever tackled.
And, even though the 28-year-old thought she had recovered, she quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“About maybe 600 meters into my warm-up, I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m definitely still feeling those 42kms in the arms today’. So, definitely brought that with me out there.”
De Rozario’s racing wheelchair was damaged in transit to Birmingham, and she had to rely on a cable-tie quick fix to hold it together for the marathon.
It’s been a hectic few days since then to get it ready for the track.
“This chair’s been driven all over the UK to try [to] get it fixed and, and I’ve had so many people come together [to help],” she said.
“Finishing touches this morning on it, so it’s something in the last-minute, kind of pulled together.”
De Rozario collected two Commonwealth Games gold medals on the Gold Coast in 2018, in the 1,500m T54 race and the T54 marathon.
It’s difficult to ask athletes to reflect on their achievements while they’re still in the thick of competing, so Rozario is simply enjoying this one before moving on to the next.
“Each race really does exist on its own, and so each one means as much as the last one.
“It’s incredible to look back on a career and be proud of it as a whole, but you remember each race and how it felt at the moment.”
Australia has suffered a historic three-goal loss to Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games, rocking their gold medal campaign in Birmingham.
The Diamonds had been expected to sail through their Pool A matches and meet the second ranked team in Pool B in the semi finals.
But they coughed up a six-goal lead heading into the final term to suffer their first ever loss to the Sunshine Girls.
A brilliant 47 goals from international superstar Jhaniele Fowler and some remarkable defensive efforts from Shamera Sterling ensured Jamaica nailed a 57-55 win.
Fox Netball’s Catherine Cox said the Diamonds “just shut up shop” in the last quarter as Jamaica ran home with the win.
“Australia couldn’t win the ball back – it was some brilliant defensive work from Jamaica. They really just lifted another level in the fourth quarter,” she said.
Questions will be asked of coach Stacey Marinkovich’s selections, with just Sunday Aryang entering for four minutes in the second term and Sarah Klau coming on to a rejigged defensive line with four minutes remaining in the match.
Gretel Bueta finished the pick of the Diamonds attack, despite being silenced in the final quarter by Sterling, with 36 goals from 39 attempts.
Steph Wood’s night ended with 19 goals at 86%.
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Australia opted to start Gretel Bueta at goal shooter, with Steph Wood and Liz Watson out in front of her. Kate Moloney got the nod at center with Ash Brazill, Jo Weston and Courtney Bruce rounding out the defensive trio.
For Jamaica, Jhaniele Fowler started at GS, with Beckford and Williams at GA and WA respectively. Nicole Dixon-Rochester was center with Super Netball trio Jodi-Ann Ward, Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling the starting defenders.
The world’s best shooter started the match with a bang, with five quick goals to open up the first break of the match for Jamaica.
Courtney Bruce kept her West Coast Fever teammate in Fowler as high as she could, but Shanice Beckford was brilliant around the edges to keep feeding from close range.
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Browning finishes 0.06 off a medal! | 00:25
Bruce and Jo Weston got early tips, but it was Jamaica who were able to convert while down the other end the connection to Gretel Bueta just fell away.
“The Diamonds are stunned here,” commentator Sue Gaudion said.
Australia scored just three goals in the opening seven minutes, before Steph Wood went from range and leveled up scores.
A Jodi-Ann Ward intercept gave Jamaica the lead once again as the long ball caught Weston’s eyes down.
“They exposed the Diamonds defense again,” Gaudion said.
A quick double play by Bueta ensured the Aussies took the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first term.
Coach Connie Francis was left less than impressed when the Sunshine Girls threw away a brilliant Sterling intercept.
“But that is the issue – the conversion of those brilliant moments,” commentator Cath Cox said.
By the first break, it was Australia leading by one goal.
The Aussies went unchanged for the second term – the first time this tournament coach Stacey Marinkovich has opted for no changes after a break.
A big Sterling rebound gave Jamaica the first opportunity, but they couldn’t convert as Courtney Bruce’s brilliant hands over disrupted play.
“There’s plenty of feeling out there,” Cox said.
“Courtney Bruce giving the death stare to Beckford.”
The Aussies chanced their luck feeding Bueta with Sterling in hot pursuit but the move continued to pay off.
When Shanice Beckford found the top of the circle, the Sunshine Girls opted for a rare straight ball feed to Fowler.
“On the circle edge, feeding to Fowler – unbeatable,” Cox praised.
A rare mistake by Bueta saw the replay called, but once again Jamaica couldn’t convert as Khadijah Williams was penalized for footwork.
“It’s the simple things letting Jamaica down isn’t it,” Cox said.
Sunday Aryang was introduced at goal defence, joining her Fever teammates Bruce and Fowler in the goal circle.
And she almost had the immediate impact, getting a tip on a high ball to Fowler, but ultimately couldn’t stop the conversion.
Beckford had a brilliant intercept in front of Ash Brazill and suddenly the margin was back to one.
“Connie Francis willing them on,” Gaudion praised.
Wood backed her teammate Bueta when she went with the feed from the transverse, and the Firebird didn’t let her down with beautiful hands.
“The courage to let that go over the best goal keeper in the game… look at that take,” Cox praised.
By half time, it was Australia leading 30-29.
Weston returned to the court as some bad hands by Wood allowed the Sunshine Girls to draw level early in the third.
Jamaica managed to pull down another deflection but once again threw it away in the midcourt.
“That long outlet ball, if they just shortened it up and do one safety ball, I reckon they’d get themselves on the attack,” Cox said.
A rare shooter contact call on Fowler handed Australia the chance to pull away. Sterling’s cheeky pickup when Bueta put the ball down to set the penalty didn’t go unnoticed by the umpire as suddenly the lead was back out to four.
The physicality stepped up in the third, with Brazill getting under the skin of Adean Thomas and sent sprawling into the goal circle off the ball.
Once again, a Ward pick up on the circle edge ended up sailing over Fowler’s head as another turnover was wasted.
A second straight rejection from Sterling was called for obstruction as the crowd started to find their voice.
A misdirected midcourt ball ensured another turnover as the Diamonds extended the lead to six – the biggest of the match.
A strong take by Bueta over Sterling in the dying seconds pushed Australia out to a 46-40 lead at the final change.
Marinkovich went unchanged once again for the final term as Jamaican wing defender Jodi-Ann Ward came through with the deflection to help her side close within three.
Williams’ return at WA lifted the Sunshine Girls’ attack in the final term as they looked to find their rhythm to Fowler once more.
And when Wood couldn’t regather the short ball, and got done for replay, Jhaniele Fowler made the Aussies pay seconds later to close within one goal.
Liz Watson overcooked the lob to Bueta, and remarkably the Sunshine Girls took the lead with eight minutes to play.
“We haven’t seen that this game – that is the pressure. Mistakes like that have been few and far between for the Diamonds,” Cox said.
Despite Jamaican assistant coach Rob Wright pleading with his defenders to shut down Wood’s influence, it was Bueta they silenced as Wood had to step up.
And the Lightning star was up to the challenge with three successive mid-range shots.
Another Diamonds turnover, this time from Weston to her Vixens’ teammate Watson, gave Jamaica a two-goal buffer as injury time was called.
Weston headed to the bench, Bruce pushed out to GD and Sarah Klau was introduced for her first minutes of the night.
When Shamera Sterling came up with the big rejection and regather, Jamaica pushed out the lead with just a minute to play.
And in remarkable scenes, the Sunshine Girls held on in the thrilling final seconds with Shanice Beckford landing the final goal of the match.
In the end, it was Jamaica who claimed the win 57-55.
The Australian put together another superb all-round performance in Wednesday’s Commonwealth Games match against Pakistan in Birmingham, extending her golden run in the T20 format.
McGrath top-scored with an unbeaten 78 (51) before claiming three wickets to help the Aussies secure a convincing 44-run victory at Edgbaston.
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The 26-year-old smacked 10 boundaries and a six over fine leg in the penultimate over, combining with opener Beth Mooney for an unbeaten 141-run stand as Australia registered a team total of 2/160.
It ranks as the largest third-wicket partnership for Australia in women’s T20Is.
McGrath later collected career-best figures of 3/13 from three overs with the ball, finding herself on a hat-trick in the 17th over after removing Bismah Maroof and Tuba Hassan in consecutive deliveries.
The South Australian’s career stats are nothing short of absurd – since making her T20I debut in October last year, McGrath has scored 339 runs at 169.50.
Her strike rate of 156.22 is arguably even more impressive.
McGrath has only been dismissed for less than 70 eleven in 12 T20 internationals; during last week’s thrilling victory over India.
“When I got out the first time, I did joke that I was going to retire and keep that average for the rest of my career,” McGrath told reporters after the win.
“I’m quite enjoying the T20 format, I just get to go out there, play with a bit of freedom, play my shots and I know that if it doesn’t come off, I’ve got that many explosive batters coming in behind me
“(My form) is a big surprise and I’m still pinching myself. But I just love playing in the Australian shirt and I love every moment I get to do it.
“So at the moment, it’s nice that I’m contributing to some team success and I’m just riding the wave and enjoying my cricket because it’s been a lot of fun.”
McGrath’s bowling has been equally as damaging in the T20 format, taking 10 wickets at 11.00 with a strike rate of 10.2.
She joins Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez on an illustrious list of cricketers to score 70+ runs and take 3+ wickets in a T20I more than eleven.
McGrath has essentially made herself undroppable, pushing superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry out of the national T20 line-up.
“She just seems really clear on her role in our team, and also has got some great clarity on her own process within her own game,” Mooney said.
“She just comes out and takes the pressure off the other batter out there, which was me today, which I was really grateful for.
“She’s just really clear on her own game plan and she comes out with that confidence when she first walks out there, too, so that helps as well.”
Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy and skipper Meg Lanning were cheaply dismissed in the Powerplay, each returning to the sheds for 4.
Healy’s form with the bat in the game’s shortest format may be cause for concern – since the start of 2021, she has averaged 8.77 with the bat in T20 internationals.
Aussie seamers Megan Schutt and Darcie Brown each snared early breakthroughs in the Powerplay before McGrath combined with spinners Jess Jonassen and Alana King to roll through Pakistan’s middle order.
Lanning’s side, who were undefeated in the group stage and remain red-hot favorites to win the coveted gold medal, will next face either England or New Zealand in the semi-finals on Saturday.
“Pressure is a bit of a privilege in my eyes,” Mooney said.
“There’s certainly no amount of pressure that’s more than what we put on ourselves to perform day in and day out.
“The challenge that awaits us is really exciting. Semi-finals are sometimes harder than finals. You have to be on your game from ball one.
“You want a spot in that gold medal match. We know on our best day we can beat anyone.”
