JUST a few short months after calling time on her stellar international career, Bendigo's Caitlin Thwaites will represent the Australian Diamonds for one last time.
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Thwaites has been named in a 14-player Diamonds squad to play a Suncorp Super Netball All-Stars side in a bushfire relief charity match.
The March 1 game will be played at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena.
A star-studded Super Netball All-Stars squad will feature players drawn from five nations, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Trinidad and also some other Australians.
Among the overseas stars are prolific Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler, legendary New Zealand mid-courter Laura Langman, veteran England defender Geva Mentor.
Also picked for the All-Stars are Thwaites' Vixens team-mates Emily Mannix and Kate Moloney.
Thwaites announced her retirement from international netball last October, but not before helping the Diamonds to a win in their Constellation Cup decider against New Zealand in Perth.
She played 55 Tests in total and scored 1106 goals.
Her career highlights included winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2015 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
She also won silver medals at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and the 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool.
Caitlin Bassett, who brought up her 100th cap in Australia's last Test, will again captain the Diamonds, with the Vixens' Liz Watson the vice-captain.
"I think it gives us the opportunity to do something because we felt so helpless," Bassett said about the devastation caused by the bushfires.
"I guess it was a wake up that things are happening and the climate is changing and we have to really be smart about the way that we treat our environment because we live in the most amazing place in the world."
Diamonds: Caitlin Bassett (Giants, captain), Liz Watson (Vixens, vice-captain), Kiera Austin (Giants), Ash Brazill (Magpies), Courtney Bruce (Fever), Paige Hadley (Swifts), Sarah Klau (Swifts), Tegan Philip (Vixens), Jamie-Lee Price (Giants), Laura Scherian (Lightning), Caitlin Thwaites (Vixens), Gretel Tippett (Firebirds), Maddy Turner (Swifts), Jo Weston ( Vixens)
Suncorp Super Netball All-Stars: Jhaniele Fowler (Fever, Jamaica), Jo Harten (Giants, England), Nat Haythornthwaite (Swifts, England), Helen Housby (Swifts, England), Laura Langman ( Lightning, New Zealand), Emily Mannix (Vixens, Australia), Kristiana Manu'a (Giants, Australia), Geva Mentor (Magpies, England), Kate Moloney (Vixens, Australia), Chelsea Pitman (Thunderbirds, England), Karla Pretorius (Lightning, South Africa), Gabi Simpson (Firebirds, Australia), Shamera Sterling (Thunderbirds, Jamaica), Sam Wallace Swifts, (Trinidad).
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