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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
WITH the Gems set to return into camp during the first week of May, assistant coach Tatenda Shinya has said they are looking forward to have some of the foreign-based players joining the squad before this year’s Netball World Cup in July.
The senior national netball team is on a short break after a month-long training camp in Harare.
They are scheduled to regroup during the first week of May.
“So far so good. We have rested for a while, we are going back early May in camp, and we are going to bring in some of the foreign-based players now so that they can gel with the other players.
“We have been watching their games, they are playing very well. We are happy that we are just going to make them fit in the team.
“We still have all of the players, trying to make sure we don’t select someone who doesn’t deserve to be in the team.
“We have Nyasha Makunde, who plays in Australia, then we have Joice Takaidza, who is also in Australia, and captain Felisitus Kwangwa (based in the UK), who will join later. But it seems everything is going as we planned.
“We are expecting Joice and Nyasha in the camp. The captain will come in the last camp just after they finish their games,” said Shinya.
Kwangwa plays for Surrey Storm in the Vitality Netball League in the UK and their season ends in June.
The Gems assistant coach said the sponsorship by Nedbank is a motivation to the national team.
“Actually we are very happy as the Gems for the sponsorship that Nedbank has managed to give us . . . This comes at the right time because everyone is geared up, even those who are playing abroad.
“To us it’s something that has motivated us in preparation for the World Cup.”
Zimbabwe are one of the four African countries that will compete at the 16-team Netball World Cup competition due to take place from July 28 to August 6 in Cape Town, South Africa.
They are up against 11-time champions Australia, Tonga and Fiji in Pool A, in the preliminary stages.
The Gems’ last competition was last year in November when they took part in the Spar Diamond Challenge in South Africa.
The technical team has underscored the importance of friendly matches to have a better assessment of the players and this will enable them to come up with a formidable side.
“We still have time. Three months is enough for good netball players to just gel because we are not talking of players that are being groomed. We are talking of professional players who are coming from competitive leagues just coming in to gel.
“I think now we just need to work on our set plays, on how we can play our game as a team, the type of play that we want to use, come the World Cup. And we are also hoping to work more on our mid-court because we still have a mid-court that needs to be worked on very much. That’s our main area of concern.
“But it seems other areas have come up well. So our main concern is our mid-court and also to come up with the best team in this second camp, so that come the last camp it will be obviously the final team,” said Shinya.
The Zimbabwe Netball Association have indicated that they would want to push for another month in camp and are hoping to play Uganda and Malawi in friendly games ahead of the team’s departure for South Africa.
Sharon Bwanali, who is one of the Gems’ senior players, said it has been encouraging to see some of the young players that were part of the previous camp making positive strides.
“Netball is a team sport, we have been working together and so far they have adjusted and are fitting in well. We are teaching them everything, and the combinations are coming up well,” said Bwanali.
The technical team roped in Young Gems goal shooter Thandazile Ndlovu and Nikkie Mandeya, who can play in defence and as a mid-court player. Ndlovu and Mandeya were part of the Young Gems team that won gold at the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations Championships in Malawi last year.
Online Reporter