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Netball Proteas to Jamaica
2008-11-05 16:45
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Johannesburg - The Spar South African netball team leave for Jamaica on Thursday to take part in a tri-nations tournament against the hosts and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Proteas are brimming with confidence after their three-nil clean sweep over Barbados in Cape Town last month. However, they might find the other two Caribbean countries a tougher nut to crack - Jamaica are ranked fourth in the world and Trinidad and Tobago are ranked eighth, with South Africa in ninth position.
The Bajan coach, Harriet Waithe, said after the series against South Africa that she believed the Proteas had a good chance against Trinidad and Tobago.
"After the first two Tests, I thought they might struggle, but if they play the way they did in the final Test, they will give Trinidad and Tobago a very good run for their money," she said.
Proteas coach Carin Strauss was very upbeat about the tour.
"The girls are a happy bunch and we are excited about the tour. We are aiming to play in the finals and to do that we have to overcome their physical challenge, because that is how they play their netball. Our target remains making it to the finals and after our recent performance against Barbados I have every reason to believe we can make it. This is definitely going to be a tougher challenge but we are ready for everything."
Team captain Liesel Wium was equally excited about the tournament.
"The team is pumped up after the successful showing against Barbados in the Challenge Cup in Cape Town. We are motivated by the fact that we'll be moving up the world rankings if we do well in the Caribbean. Our main objective is to reach the finals and we aim to play consistently in all our matches."
The team selected for the tour is relatively young, although many of the players have represented South Africa at Under-21 level. Wium is the most experienced player, with more than 40 international caps and two years of professional netball in New Zealand.
The players have been in a training camp since Tuesday to work on areas such as defence.
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