Spar Proteas dominate Malawi Netball test

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The Proteas maintained their winning ways with a convincing 68-32 victory over Malawi in a SPAR Challenge which kicked off on Thursday in Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg.

This saw the home team taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series currently being hosted by the City of Johannesburg .

Meanwhile, in the match played as a curtain-raiser to the women’s game, South Africa’s national men’s team beat Zimbabwe 51-36. They will play two more matches two hours ahead of the women’s tests.

SPAR Challenge action continues with the second test between the SPAR Proteas and Malawi on Saturday, with the third and final test on Sunday at 15:00.

Jenny van Dyk and Khanyisa Chawane launched their tenures as new head coach and captain respectively.

SPAR Proteas Coach, van Dyk, said they are proud of the team dedication and performance added that it was a “remarkable performance”. 

van Dyk said their decision to start Nicholé Breedt (formerly Taljaard) on wing attack rather than her usual position of goal-attack (GA) and Kamogelo Maseko’s excellent performance as GA was to test the waters.

The team captain, Chawane said leading the squad as new captain was exciting and scary at the same time.

She continued: “Playing in the United Kingdom(UK) in the last year has influenced what we bought back to the team. The experience has also benefited the team in other way.”

Zanele Mdodana, Proteas assistant coach, expressed satisfaction about the team’s performance in her first international match as the new assistant coach.

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“We did so well, however we want to keep this performance or improve there (and there). There are no complains, we are proud of our team,” she explained.

Other team player, Kamogelo Maseko highlighted that the atmosphere in the camp was so electrifying.

“The new coaches are trying to find the right balance between being creative on court, controlling the game and keeping ball position,” she remarked.