Australia may struggle to raise a sweat during the group phase of next year's Netball World Cup after being drawn with three relative minnows.
The International Netball Federation announced the draw and finalised schedule on Saturday for the tournament to be staged in Liverpool, England.
Defending champions Australia are in group A along with world No.8 Northern Ireland, 13th-ranked Zimbabwe and 26th-ranked Sri Lanka.
They play in that order, with the Northern Ireland clash on July 12 being the tournament opener.
Australia will chase a 12th crown and their fourth in a row, having triumphed on home soil in Sydney in 2015.
NETBALL WORLD CUP GROUPS
Group A: Australia, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka
Group B: New Zealand, Malawi, Barbados, Singapore
Group C: Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji
Group D: England, Uganda, Scotland, Samoa
