Spar Proteas netball captain Khanyisa Chawane has described their historic 2-1 series victory over England’s Vitality Roses as an amazing feeling and a confidence booster before the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year.
The Proteas powered to a commanding 65-50 win over England in their final match of the series at Ellis Park Arena on Sunday to clinch the series.
The test series was part of their preparation for the Commonwealth Games from July 23 to August 2, where the two nations were drawn in the same group alongside Australia.
In the three-match series, they won the first game 52-48 before England hit back with a 61-49 victory in the second fixture. The hosts then held their nerve to win the series decider, and Chawane was pleased with her side’s performance.
“We always get England in the final of the nations cup or series and they always take a 2-1. I think finally things are on our side and the best of it is that it’s at home,” Chawane said.
“To finally beat England at home is an amazing feeling. We have a bright future. We are going to meet them in the group stages of the Commonwealth Games and this gives us a lot of confidence.”
Chawane explained how they got it right in the decider after losing the second match and said they were the hungrier team.
“We went back and looked at Sunday’s game. They came and restricted our movement. On their attack they had so much freedom, so today [Sunday] we went back to basics, and I think more than the game plan, it was the hunger to win,” she said.
We went back and looked at Sunday’s game. They came and restricted our movement. On their attack they had so much freedom, so today [Sunday] we went back to basics, and I think more than the game plan, it was the hunger to win
— Khanyisa Chawane, Spar Proteas netball captain
“We went out there hungry to win and you could see we went for every ball, we scored every ball. We jumped for almost everything to make sure we kept ourselves in a good position to take the win.
“When we took the lead we looked at each other and said, we are not letting them come back again, and we kept our lead.
“You could see how we were structured in attack. We didn’t give them chances to go out for our balls like they did before.
“We made sure we were well planned.”
Sowetan
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