Dinaledi, Zebras stumble at crucial moments
It was a crucial week for the Zebras and the netball national team, Dinaledi. But at the end, there was disappointment.
The Zebras fell 1-0 to Madagascar on Saturday to leave their chances of qualifying for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) finals hanging threadbare.
A kind draw saw the Zebras pitted against relative lightweights, Eswatini and Madagascar.
However, Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote’s charges were outplayed for much of the 180 minutes against Isihlangu semnikati, escaping on away goals rule, after the match was tied at 2-2.
Against Madagascar on Saturday, the Zebras came unstuck and now face a mammoth task to reverse the score line in Antananarivo this week (Friday). If the Zebras fail to qualify for their first CHAN finals, they will know it was a chance missed after they had avoided regional powerhouses like Angola, South Africa and Zambia.
The Zebras are already starring down the barrel in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after two rounds of play. Botswana anchors Group J with one point and it could be a long way before another dance at the continental showpiece. The Zebras first and only appearance at the finals thus far came a decade back.
In the meantime, the spotlight has firmly fallen on the lap of the Mares who have done well after making their debut at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations this year. Despite winning one game, the Mares were largely impressive and left lasting impressions. They jet out to the COSAFA Women’s Championships this week hoping to put a firm stamp of dominance in the region. The Mares, like all other COSAFA women’s national teams, have constantly played second fiddle to the dominant Africa champions, Banyana Banyana.
With the Mares off to South Africa for the COSAFA tournament and the Zebras choking at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium against Madagascar, there was no good news from netball. Dinaledi, as the netball team is known, operated in fits and starts as they won two games and lost three during the recently concluded World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. Botswana lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe, while managing a narrow victory against Namibia and a convincing win over Tanzania.
However, the results meant they only finished third in their group and could not make the semi-finals, effectively ruling the team out of the running for a World Cup berth. Next year’s World Cup will be held in Cape Town and it was going to be a dream appearance for Dinaledi to play next door. However, that opportunity was passed as Dinaledi were not really at the races. It could be a blessing in disguise as the team did not prove that it deserves to be among the elite at next year’s tournament.
Losing to Kenya in the sixth place play-off showed the team was off pace, despite the celebrated achievement that for the first time, Botswana won a quarter against South Africa.
Usually the output is driven from the input, and while teams like Zimbabwe travelled to the UK to prepare for the tournament, Dinaledi were ‘indoors’. The result was that Zimbabwe reaped the rewards and qualified for the World Cup. It is ironic to expect results where there was no allout effort. You reap what you sow; you cannot short circuit the system and expect to get away with it.