Australia coach Lisa Alexander admits she could face the axe following Sunday’s Netball World Cup final loss to New Zealand in Liverpool. Alexander’s side went down 52-51 in a dramatic encounter to surrender the World Cup for the first time since 2003 at the M&S Bank Arena.
The loss follows the stunning late defeat to England in the Commonwealth Games final on the Gold Coast last year which led to an overhaul of the squad for this World Cup. Although she selected the youngest squad of all the top four teams in the tournament, Alexander knows success is expected of the team ahead of her debriefing with Netball Australia in Melbourne when she returns home later this week.
The 54-year-old Alexander has been in the role since 2011 when she replaced Norma Plummer. Up until last year, Alexander has overseen success after success starting with gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and followed by the 2015 World Cup triumph in Sydney.
However, the Melburnian knows full well the high expectations placed upon the 11-times world champions and admits she doesn’t know if she will be around to oversee the next cycle with her contract up for renewal next year
“As a coach I am definitely motivated [to carry on],” Alexander said. “But we’ll have to talk about that later. Netball Australia expects success and one of the things I am judged on is benchmark events.”
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