due to a power outage at the Gabba. But there was a difference – while the AFL players returned to the field to complete their match, the netballers were forced to abandon their game, which was declared a draw.
“Earlier today we had to delay the match within the match session time window,” Netball Australia head of integrity Nicole Malcher said during an interview with Fox Sports. “We extended it to allow us to complete the match within 120 minutes. Because we’ve extended it into that time, we don’t have enough time to complete it within the session time window so we do have to declare the match at half-time [and] both teams will have two points for tonight’s game.
Considering these events, is a 120-minute window to complete a match reasonable? Netball matches are 60 minutes in length, with four-minute breaks at quarter-time and three-quarter-time and a 12-minute break at half-time. Each team is also allowed two 90-second tactical time-outs a half. This already amounts to 92 minutes without taking into account any injuries or extra time. It would not take a particularly long delay to push a match outside of that window and cause it to be abandoned.
Let’s stop pretending netball is a real sport