Malawi National Netball Team will return to Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, hoping to make amends to their poor start in the Spar Challenge International Netball Test Series against hosts South Africa this afternoon.
The Queens suffered compressive hammering after they went down to the fifth ranked 68-31.
It was a victory that underlined South Africa’s supremacy, registering their 26th victory against Queens 12 in 39 matches, with one draw.
The Queens last lost by a similar margin in 2020 when they went down to South Africa 69-28 at Sun City.
Thursday’s match provided a platform to both teams as they went into the match with a new coach and captain each.
At the end of the final whistle, it was Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk and captain Khanyisa Chawane who had a dream start to their careers as Malawi mentor Joanna Kachilika and captain Towera Vinkhumbo trooped out dejected, not realising what had hit them.
At the same time, Queens went into the camp full of confidence following Nico Group’s sponsorship but South Africa were equally full of life as their sponsors increased their package.
Currently, South Africa have vowed to register a clean sweep in all the three test series, with the last match pencilled for Sunday at the same venue.
Meanwhile, Kachilika admitted that her charges struggled after the first two quarters but she promised to improve the side.
“Our performance was not good. Even though we started well in the first and second quarter we lost concentration and we did not keep consistency. We made a lot of turnovers which contributed to the final result.
“People should not lose hope. This was the first game and it did not go well. As we go back to our drawing board we will see and rectify the turnovers to do better,” Kachilika said.
On her part, Vinkhumbo echoed the sentiments.
“Today we did not perform well. We had a lot of negatives which we need to correct. Today we did a lot of turnovers and we did not keep possession,” she said.
Queens are ranked seventh in the world and they have fused some youngsters due following the retirement of Takondwa Lwazi and Jane Chimaliro. The absence of top shooters Joyce Mvula and Mwawi Kumwenda was also felt.
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