The Welsh will begin their Australian preparations for the sport’s showpiece tournament against a side that is featuring players seen as future Diamonds.

It is a challenge that excites Wilcox, who is the Welsh Netball’s Head of Elite Performance.

‘‘We don’t know an awful lot about them, but obviously, we have had a look at who is in there. But we are expecting them to be really competitive,’’ she said.

‘‘The good thing for us is that we have opponents in our [World Cup] pool [Fiji, Uganda and Zambia] that we don’t have a lot of background knowledge on, so it will be good experience for us in adapting and adjusting as the game goes on.

‘‘We need to try out all our combinations and really go in and be competitive in what we have been working on in regards to our structures.’’

Wilcox’s 12-player squad features 301 games of experience, led by skipper Suzy Drane with 66.

‘‘We will be looking to focus on our consistency – something that we lacked a little bit of in our netball European champs, which we were relatively happy with,’’ the centre-wing defence said.

‘‘In our most recent warm-up game with England [which they lost 65-31], we had a great first quarter and then slacked off a little bit. So we will be looking on the consistency of what we can bring.

‘‘We expect pace and will be bringing a strong performance for 60 minutes.

‘‘This is their home, and they will be playing for their future playing careers and they will be very ‘together’, and that’s what we will be looking to do as well, to play as a full squad.’’

Along with Drane, Wales has four other players – Chelsea Lewis, Nicola James, Stephanie Williams and Emma Thomas – returning to the World Cup stage.

The team is in the state to fine-tune their preparations for the Netball World Cup, which will be held around Sydney’s Olympic Park from August 7-16.

They will also play matches against Scotland, who are also training in the state, and the Tassie Spirit in Hobart. Thursday’s game starts at 5pm, but spectators are advised to arrive by 4.30pm for the pre-match ceremonies.

Ticket sales are strong for the 3000-capacity venue, and are available online here, on 6344 9999 or on the door. Wales will hold an open training session at the Silverdome on Wednesday. 

WHAT: Australian Centre of Excellence v Wales

WHERE: Silverdome, Launceston

WHEN: Thursday. Game starts at 5pm, but people are encouraged to arrive by 4.30pm

TICKETS: Available online here on 6344 9999 or on the door at the Silverdome