Legends' unanimous candidate for Diamonds skipper leads Australia to victory in Constellation Cup

The star Diamond backed by two Australian netball greats to become the sole captain has led her troops to victory in her first match as skipper.

Former Diamonds captain Liz Ellis and former star Australia goal shooter Catherine Cox are firm believers that Liz Watson should have been named the solitary skipper for the Constellation Cup.

The legendary duo have roasted Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich over her call to employ a leadership rotation policy, in which a new skipper would lead Australia in all four games.

After Australia fell to New Zealand in the first Test under the captaincy of Caitlin Bassett, the Diamonds tonight struck back in a 45-36 victory under the reign of Watson.

"It was really good fun," Watson said of captaining the Diamonds on Nine's post-match coverage after leading Australia to victory at Christchurch Arena.

"The girls have been so supportive.

"It was an honour to do that and I'm glad we got the win.

"In the first game we were a little bit hesitant in the way we were playing, and watching the footage back this morning it was clear where the mistakes were coming from.

"I think the girls did a good job to speak about that this morning and put it out there on the court today."

Bassett had been the Diamonds' sole captain since August 2017 and has long been an immovable force in Australia's starting seven.

But Marinkovich has opted for a "squad leadership approach" for the four-Test series against the Silver Ferns, in which she's expecting one of her players to stand out as a leader that cannot be overlooked.

Ellis slammed Marinkovich over that decision in Nine's post-match coverage of the first Test.

"We felt there was going to be an Australian captain named. It would make sense at the start of a new era with a new coach," Ellis said.

"Do you stick with Caitlin Bassett? Do you move to a new captain? She felt that she wanted to rotate the leadership. I feel like that's the wrong thing to do. As a former Australian captain I want a leader named.

"I felt like tonight there was nobody to stand up and rally the troops, especially when Caitlin Bassett went off. There's players who are out there trying to prove that they should be leaders and that's terrific.

"But that probably is a reflection of how Stacey Marinkovich operates. I think she sits back and will take her time - whatever time she feels she needs to make the right decision - regardless of what people like me or Catherine say."

Cox said during the same post-match coverage that Watson was "a very obvious" candidate for Australia's captain.

"To me it is precious time that you're wasting. I also think that it's very obvious, very evident, who your next captain should be - and that's Liz Watson," Cox said.

"I think she's the best leader on the court, she's always on the court, one of the most consistent and high-performing in that side. Give her the role."

Christchurch Arena will also host the third Test on Saturday and the fourth on Sunday.

The final two matches had been scheduled for Tauranga but were relocated due to Auckland's COVID-19 outbreak.