Malawi Queens chalk second win
Malawi National Netball Team Tuesday cruised to a routine win over lowly ranked Papua New Guinea ahead of today’s clash against Samoa in the on-going PacificAus Netball Series in Gold Coast, Australia.
Sixth ranked Queens started with a strong line in their bid to win convincingly to finish at the top of Group A.
Seasoned Sindi Simtowe-Msowoya and Jane Chimaliro started in attack whereas Shira Dimba and Takondwa Lwazi were linking the defence and attack.
At the back, The Queens had Grace Mwafulirwa-Mhango, Lauren Ngwira and Martha Dambo.
The Queens were a dominant force throughout the match but also made some forced errors against Papua New Guinea, who are ranked 39 in the world.
At the end of the first quarter, Queens comfortably led 20-9 before extending the lead to 35-22 at half time.
In the closing stages, Queens made some changes but the notable one was the introduction of youthful shooter Stella Matelezi of Blue Eagles Sisters for Chimaliro.
Matelezi made some good runs into the ring but, by then, victory had already been assured.
Chawinga-Kaluwa did not respond to our questionnaire.
However, former netballer Neffie Kammata said the Queens should not read too much into the results.
“The games should be used purely for assessment. Otherwise, it is good that, at least, Matelezi was given a chance. I am told she is good. I hope she will be given much time to learn,” she said.
Meanwhile, Group B has teams such as seventh-ranked Tonga, Zambia (16), Singapore (27) and Kenya (35).
Play-offs will start Thursday and finish on Saturday to determine the final standing on the log table.
The Queens are using the series to prepare for the 2023 Netball World Cup to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
