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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter

THE senior women’s national netball team entered their second week in camp with coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki saying the expected friendlies that are being organised by the national association will go a long way in getting the team ready for the World Cup qualifier.

The Zimbabwe Netball Association revealed that they have engaged South Africa, Uganda and Malawi for friendlies between April and June. They are yet to finalise the actual dates but are hoping to play the three countries as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifier to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in August.

The Gems began their camp early this month in Harare with the technical team led by Mutsauki engaging several new players.

Mutsauki said playing with the top teams on the continent is good for exposure and boosting the players’ confidence ahead of the qualifier.

“We are looking forward to the friendlies. We don’t consider winning during the friendlies but improving on those areas the team will be lacking. So when we go for the friendly matches there are a lot of things we can pick and improve. “So we need those friendlies and if we play South Africa and Malawi, they are the netball powerhouses in Africa, that will be good for us. So we can gain a lot of experience, that exposure is important for our team. “Playing with the best players, some of them based in Europe, it will boost our players’ confidence, so we would really love to play those countries,” said Mutsauki.

Zimbabwe finished fifth at the previous Africa Cup staged last November in Namibia.

And they know they have to up their game if they are going to secure their place at the 2023 World Cup in South Africa.

Mutsauki is aware of the task at hand and admits they need to improve but pointed out that the team’s performance at the continental show-piece was also affected by the long break due to Covid-19. “I think (at the) Africa Cup we were affected by the fact that we were coming from lockdown and we didn’t get more time for preparation. Our players’ fitness level was very low, so it affected us because other countries continued training while we were not. “So finishing fifth it pushes us to improve. We know we have to improve because if we do not improve it means we won’t qualify.