Indispensable Mwawi
Inspires Queens to halt SA’s winning streak
There could have been no better platform than the global stage for Mwawi Kumwenda to prove that she is indispensable as she led the Queens’ revival campaign against rivals South Africa’s Spar Proteas yesterday morning with a vintage display which charmed the turnout at Sydney Olympic Park in Australia.
After a year in hibernation following a fallout with the Netball Association of Malawi (NAM), which seemed to be headed for a listless conclusion, the gangly shooter was elegant and subtle engine of the Queens as they saw off their continental rivals 58-51 in their opening 2015 World Netball Cup preliminary showdown to steer the Queens to first victory over the Proteas in six meetings.
The Proteas were swept aside with contemptuous ease as the irresistible pair of Mwawi and goal-attacker Sindi Simtowe turned on the magic with clinical attacking instincts—this was the stuff of netball fantasy.
Mwawi provided a showcase of her talents, converting 40 from 43 attempts; it certainly does not get sweeter than this.
First-quarter break saw a two-point lead to Malawi with the Queens displaying a physical game. Tight defence was a feature of their performance coupled with a combined Kumwenda and Simtowe’s 87 percent shooting accuracy.
South Africa got off to a nervous start, but managed to bridge the gap from a five-goal deficit to trail 14-12 at quarter time before amplifying the advantage to 27-22 and 41-37 in the subsequent segments.
In the second quarter, every attacking move counted and any misplaced pass ended up being a scoring chance for the opposing side, but the spirited Queens packed in the middle third of the court to successfully stifle South Africa’s attacks while creating enough space for Mwawi and Simtowe to slot in easy baskets around the circle.
As Mwawi scored from all over the circle to achieve a 92 percent shooting accuracy, Simtowe worked hard to ghost in on almost every rebound.
Intricate feeding from centre Takondwa Lwazi, who is the shortest player at the 16-team competition with a height of 1.6 metres, and solid defending tactics from captain Caroline Mtukule Ngwira, Grace Mwafulirwa Mhango and Towera Vinkhumbo-Nyirenda made the Queens a marvel to watch.
It was no wonder, therefore, to see the spectators roaring with delight every time the Queens intercepted the ball as they swept to a five-basket lead at half-time.
Onwards, the spirited Queens refused to be overpowered and they worked tirelessly to hang on to the lead although halfway through the third quarter, the Spar Proteas levelled the score at 33-33. At this point, coach Peace Chawinga-Kalua replaced recalled star Bridget Kumwenda with Thandi Galeta on the wing attack and the Queens reclaimed the lead by four baskets.
In the final quarter, refreshed Bridget took back the wing attacking role as the Queens improved their tally to nine-basket on their way to glory.
As the final whistle sounded, the Queens’ bench poured into the court and the on-court victory dance began. Nobody could blame them if they felt like flying, for this was surely a significant win, oh yes.
The result would as well help the Queens reclaim their fifth place which has been taken by South Africa after the latest world rankings released a few days ago.
In another encounter, England trounced Scotland 60-19.
In an interview through WhatsApp, Chawinga-Kalua said: “Thanks to God almighty for making this happen. The win will boost our team in the coming games.”
South Africa’s debutante Lenize Potgieter admitted suffering from nerves at the start of the match, saying: “I think our team didn’t gel at the beginning, we were shaking, we were nervous. I was very nervous, it was my first World Cup.”n
