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Johannesburg - The Spar Proteas will be out to make up for their dismal performance at the upcoming Quad series.
The series consists of four teams – New Zealand, England, South Africa and Australia.
The Proteas are flying to England on Tuesday and their first match will be against the Australian Diamonds on Saturday.
After the first leg in London, the four teams will head to Johannesburg for the South African leg, which will be played at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena.
The Proteas will host the New Zealand Silver Ferns on January 25 and the England Roses on January 28.
Excellent job
After announcing the squad on Friday, head coach Norma Plummer said she was happy with the progress made by the players at the training camp.
“There was no club netball during the festive season, so the players had to work on their own fitness programmes. However, I was very impressed with the amount of work they were able to put in. They did an excellent job of keeping fit,” said Plummer.
“We played several matches and, with only 16 players in the training camp, they had very little time off, but were still able to keep up the intensity".
Plummer’s latest squad suggested she relied on the tried and tested players, as former Under-21 player Shadine van der Merwe is the only newcomer to the 12-member squad.
Bottom of the log
Plummer said she was impressed by Ina-Marie Venter’s improvement.
“She is so much better than she was in last year’s Quad Series. She is proof that travelling with the senior players pays off. She looks much more experienced now and she had the best shooting figures at the training camp".
It remains to be seen if the team will improve after finishing at the bottom of the log in the past three tournaments.
The Proteas’ 54-51 win against England was the team’s only victory during the Quad series last year.
