Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sport Hub
ZIMBABWE’s Gems feel they are ready to upstage Malawi when the Southern African netball giants clash in a four-day international friendly series that starts at Sunrise Sports Club in Harare this afternoon.
As part of a broader scheme to widen their player base, the Zimbabwe Netball Association have also included the Gems development side, Zambezi Eagles and the men’s team – Golden Flyers – be part of the fiesta.
Malawi will also be accompanied by their men’s side, while Botswana who had initially been of the series, have pulled out of the contest.
For years, Gems who are rated 13th on World Netball rankings have suffered the humiliation of being dominated by the Malawians who regarded as the eighth best side.
While they may have struggled against Malawi, the Gems underlined their growing reputation when beating Namibia at the African Championships last year to settle for bronze.
The Gems also dominated Uganda, a regional powerhouse marking a highlight in their rigorous rebuilding exercise which has been ongoing since 2019. This afternoon, head coach Ropafadzo will be hoping to turn the tables on Malawi.
“This is the first time that we are playing Malawi after our historic win last year at the African Championships and we are hoping to win again,” he said.
“We are well aware that friendly games are not really about results but lessons, relations, cultural exchange among other things.
“However, a positive result will go a long way in boosting our confidence because remember we have relative green horns on our team, they still lack the confidence especially when playing these big teams.”
The friendlies will act as preparatory games for the Gems who are set to take part at the Celtic Cup in Scotland between November 26 and 30.
This will be a week before Malawi then host the African Championships on their home soil, where they will once again take aim at the Gems.
However, the broader picture for both sides is to eventually grab the solitary 2027 World Cup ticket and make it to the finals slated for Australia.
Mutsauki believes that the friendly games will help the Gems evaluate their rebuilding exercise on a competitive platform.
“It is very important for us to play these highly-ranked sides because it gives us the highly competitive platform that we need to weigh ourselves.
“So far the preparations have been going on well, no injury scares except for our captain Felisitus Kwangwa who is out currently.
“We have identified two or three rising defenders to fill in her position and I believe the youngsters will step up and prove themselves against Malawi.
“Malawi have one of the strongest attacking third in the region, their shooters are very strong and it will take character for our defenders to be able to stop them.”
Defenders Kelly Muyambo, Tanaka Makusha, Nikkie Mundeya and Elizabeth Mushore, will be battling it out for the Goal Defender position to stop Malawi’s lethal shooter Tendai Mashamba from scoring.
In the mid court, returning vice-captain Claris Kwaramba and Assah Zimusi are expected to find a solution to tame an evergreen Malawi Centre Takondwa Lwazi, who is arguably the best attacker in the region.
“We must be psychologically and tactically disciplined in applying the right strategies in our games.
“The players must be able to stick to instruction, apply themselves correctly which is part of what we have been working on in our sessions.
“Currently I want to believe that all our players are in a proper state; it is very important in games of this magnitude.
“I believe that it is very important at national team level that analyses and instructions are transferred by the players into actions so we are ready to look into all this in these games,’’ added Mutsauki.
Kwaramba who will be standing in as the captain for Kwangwa also declared her team ready for the Malawian test.
