Proteas look to win their first World Cup medal in 24 years
PROTEAS coach Norma Plummer yesterday named a 12-member squad that will be looking to win the country’s first Netball World Cup medal in 24 years.
The South African netball team will feature at its eighth tournament in Liverpool in July hoping to equal or improve on their silver medal from 1995.
The Proteas shocked New Zealand 59-57 at the 1995 Netball World Championship to earn a place in the final where they lost to Australia to claim the silver medal.
The squad boasts a wealth of depth, featuring seven players who played in the previous tournament in Sydney.
Proteas captain Bongi Msomi, Erin Burger, Karla Pretorius and Maryka Holtzhausen will be going to their third World Cup having previously represented the Proteas at the 2011 and 2015 editions.
Plummer, who will be coaching the Proteas at the World Cup for a second time, said she had selected the best possible squad for the global showpiece.
“Getting the best players to come with to Liverpool is a very important and critical part of our preparations,” Plummer said.
“Based on the data that I collected, I was then better placed to make my decision with the assistance of the bench.”
Plummer coached Australia to two World Cup gold medals in 2007 and 2011, and will be looking to add another feather to her cap as a mentor to the Proteas.
The legendary Australian coach said she worked with the SA-based players during a week’s camp in Pretoria where she did assessments during the Netball League.
The locally-based players featured in the Netball League as part of the Smileys team under the tutelage of Dorette Badenhorst.
“I have spent some time also assessing some of the players that are plying their trades in England, New Zealand and Australia, this also helped us identify who we need and what value will they bring into the team especially when it mattered the most,” Plummer said.
The team will leave SA on June 27 for a series against Wales before they make their way to Liverpool for the World Cup.
The SA team have been unable to repeat their performance from 1995, finishing fifth on four occasions (1999, 2003, 2011 and 2015) and sixth in 2007.
The Proteas will go up against three island nations, opening their account at the World Cup against fourthranked Jamaica while they will also face Trinidad and Tobago, and Fiji. The Proteas squad:
Lenize Potgieter (GS), Ine-Marie Venter (GS), Maryka Holtzhausen (GA), Renske Stoltz (GA), Erin Burger (C), Izette Griesel (C/WA), Khanyisa Chawane (C), Bongiwe Msomi (WA), Shadine van der Merwe (WD), Karla Pretorius (GD), Phumza Maweni (GK), Zanele Vimbela (GK)