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THE Zimbabwe’s netball team retained their 12th position on the latest World Netball rankings released in London on Thursday.

This follows their outing at the Pent Series and African Championships, which were hosted in Windhoek, Namibia, in December last year.

Despite suffering a defeat against lower ranked Namibia at the championships, the Gems, as the team is affectionately known went on to retain their global ranking position.

Meanwhile, the South African women’s team retained fifth place in the latest World Netball rankings released on Thursday, while Uganda moved into sixth place.

There has been no change in the top five netball nations with Australia ranked number one, the World Champions, New Zealand, ranked number two and the Commonwealth Games Champions, England ranked third.

They are followed by Jamaica and South Africa.

Uganda, a growing force in world netball, have risen to number six, replacing South Africa’s long-time nemesis, Malawi, who have dropped to seventh place.

Uganda benefited from their strong showing at the Africa Netball Cup in Windhoek, which was won by South Africa, who defended their title in style, winning every match.

The East African side went into the tournament on a high, having won the Debmarine Pent Series, which involved hosts Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya.

Uganda was unbeaten in that tournament, which is part of a series aimed at helping lower-tier countries to improve their rankings and qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August.

Zambia dropped two places to 17th, and Namibia moved up three places to 22nd. — Zim Sport Live.