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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
AS the countdown to the 2023 Netball World Cup continues, Zimbabwe’s Gems are hoping to take their preparations to the next level as they brace for their second successive appearance at the big stage.
The global event runs from July 28 to August 6 with 16 countries competing and it’s now less than 200 days to go before the tournament roars into life in Cape Town, South Africa.
Zimbabwe will be among the 16 countries at this year’s Netball World Cup following their qualification last August.
They made their maiden appearance in 2019, in Liverpool, England, and they won the hearts of many after an amazing show at the global stage.
Expectations are probably high this time around, taking into account their exploits during their debut appearance. But there is need also to be realistic, considering the varying factors that contribute to a team’s success or failure when competing at this level.
Gems coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki said looking at the work they need to put in, time is not on their side.
He underscored the importance of friendly games against some of the top teams as it will give them a better assessment of the players.
“Taking into consideration the work we need to put in, to come up with the best team, we now don’t have much time.
“What we are expecting is to get some friendly matches against teams like Malawi, Uganda, (and) if we can go to Europe it will help us. As the technical team, we would really want to have some friendly matches against strong teams.
“Sometimes losing is not important, what is important is what you benefit and when you start reducing the scores against those top teams, losing by small margins, it means you are improving and that’s what we are looking for.”
After their qualification, the Gems went on to take part in the Spar Diamond Challenge in November. The tournament featured Scotland, South Africa’s senior team and the President’s XII.
Zimbabwe managed just a draw against Scotland and lost the other matches.
So far it is the only competition they have had towards preparing for the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa.
There is still more work to do for the team to be in a position to compete with some of the world’s best and the availability of resources will be key.
“Of course, we lost to South Africa but we have teams like Scotland, we were able to hold them to a draw. It’s important that we got a draw from the preparations we had, it helped us because there are areas we observed and adjusted so that we can improve our play.
“So there are a lot of things we noticed and one or two areas we can improve, and we will work towards that,” Mutsauki said.
For the 2023 Netball World Cup, Zimbabwe were drawn in Group A together with former champions Australia, who were the runners-up in 2019, Tonga and Fiji.
Interestingly, Zimbabwe and Australia were drawn in the same group, in 2019 and the former lost.
Mutsauki, who was the Gems’ assistant coach in 2019, is alive to the challenge ahead.
“Australia is not a new team and everyone knows that Australia are a good side . . . What’s important is for us to have a game-plan and give them a good run. Fiji and Tonga . . . we are still trying to find out how they play, especially Tonga, we don’t know how they play,” said Mutsauki.
Mutsauki said the door is still open to other players as they seek to come up with the best team for the World Cup.
“So we are saying the door is still open, those who can come and fight for positions in the national team, they are welcome. What is important is one’s performance, that’s what we consider,” said Mutsauki.
South Africa’s Spar Proteas are hosting the Quad Series this month that will feature defending champions New Zealand, Australia and England. This is another opportunity for them to prepare their team ahead of the World Cup.
Zimbabwe Netball Association president, Letitia Chipandu, said they were scheduled to have a meeting yesterday to finalise how they will proceed with the preparations for the World Cup.
Online Reporter