Malawi Queens face Fiji this morning in their first PacificAus Pool A match in Gold Coast, Australia.
The match throws off at 11.30am local time.
The Queens, ranked sixth in the world, are the highest ranked team at the eight-team tournament, but coach Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa played down their superiority in an interview, saying most teams have improved in recent years.
She said: “The whole team arrived yesterday [Saturday] around midnight.
“We are preparing well and hoping for the best. We always look forward to creep out.”
Nevertheless, the Queens are odds-on favourites based on past results as their opponents, ranked 19th in the world, have never beaten them.
Malawi will be without their four overseas-based professionals, namely UK-based goal defenders Caroline Mtukule-Ngwira, Towera Voinkhumbo-Nyirenda and goal shooters Mwawi Kumwenda-M’mbwana based in Australia and Joyce Mvula-Nyirenda, who plays in New Zealand due to club commitments.
But their absence gives Chawinga-Kaluwa a chance to try seven new faces she has included in the 14-member squad.
The rookies are shooters Salome Nkhoma and Stella Materezi, mid-court Lelli Banda and Florence Gamuka and goal defenders Chifuniro Moses, , Shabel Bengo and Beauty Basiao.
The Queens want to use the tournament to tune up for the 2023 Netball World Cup scheduled for Cape Town, South Africa this July.
The Queens second match is against 39th-ranked Papua New Guinea tomorrow before lining up against 18th-ranked Samoa on Wednesday in their final pool match.
Pool B has Zambia, Kenya, Tonga and Singapore.
