Official England Netball Website
England V Malawi
Test Series
England v Malawi
Test Series
England v Malawi
14th-18th April 2008
Sponsored by
www.co-operative.coop
1st TEST - 14 April Sheffield Arena
ENGLAND 66 MALAWI 36
TELEVISED:
Tuesday 15th April - Sky Sports 2 at 5pm & Sky Sports Xtra at 9pm
A capacity crowd at the Hallam FM Arena was treated to a display of vintage African netball when the Malawi Queens took on England in the first match of the Co-operative International Test Series. England ran out 66-36 winners with some impressive pace and clinical finishing, but the Malawian side was far from disgraced and veteran GA Mary Waya, now in her 25th year of international netball at the age of 39, drew plaudits for her performance which kept the visitors in the game. England started at a blistering pace, with Sara Bayman and Jo Binns leaving the Malawian defenders chasing their tails as the ball moved into shooters Cookey and Brownfield at pace. England led 18-7 at the end of the first quarter and despite some spirited defence from Malawi who put more pressure on the England feed and disrupted their rhythm, had increased their lead to 31-19 at half time. New England coach Sue Hawkins was able to switch her line up during the second half, and was pleased with the way that the young England squad responded. "Despite bringing on different players during the match, we didn't lose our momentum, and I am very pleased that every player we introduced made an impact. We were particularly strong through the third quarter and stamped our authority on the game."
2nd TEST - 16 April Skydome Arena Coventry
ENGLAND 56 MALAWI 40
TELEVISED:
Thursday 17th April - Sky Sports 2 at 5pm & Sky Sports Xtra at 9.30pm
A capacity crowd at the Coventry Skydome was treated to a feast of netball flair as the Malawi Queens netball side fought all the way, before losing the Co-operative Netball International 56-40 to a superb England performance. After losing the the first test by 30 goals, Malawi was determined to put in a more competitive performance and, inspired by a magnificent performance by veteran GA Mary Waya (which earned her the Co-operative Player of the match award), they were more controlled and more accurate in finishing off their attacking moves. The visitors remained in contention right thorugh the first period, ending it only 15-9 behind and trailed by only 11, 28-17 at half time. Sasha Corbin was particularly impressive for England at WA, combining well with Jade Clarke to keep the impetus in England's favour, despite some fine defensive work by the Malawian back line. England coach Sue Hawkins took the opportunity to introduce Serena Guthrie, 17, for her first senior cap at the start of the fourth quarter, and the match finished with a 56-40 win foir England.
3rd TEST - 18 April: Wembley Arena
ENGLAND 61 MALAWI 36
TELEVISED:
Saturday 19th April - Sky Sports Xtra at 5pm & 11pm
Sunday 20th April - Sky Sports Xtra at 2pm
England's netballers were made to battle all the way to a 61-36 victory over Malawi in the third Co-operative International test match at Wembley Arena, after their African visitors came out firing from the first whistle. Having won the first test by 30 goals and the second by 16, many in the capacity crowd felt that the match could be a runaway win for England, but Malawi had other ideas. Inspired once more by the irrepressible Mary Waya, the visitors led 5-0 early on. Thereafter, England's centre court pace and power, inspired by a matchwinning performance from TeamBath's former England U21 captain Sara Bayman, and a gritty and commited defensive job by England captain Amanda Newton was enough to see the home side through to win in front of a capacity crowd at Wembley. Malawi's veteran shooter Mary Waya was once again her side's inspiration. In her final international appearance, Waya scored 18 goals and dazzled the crowd with her fast hands and clever changes of pace and direction. Talking after the match, England head coach Sue Hawkins felt her team had battled hard: "We started very slowly, probably because our warm up wasn't that sharp, but I was pleased with how we worked our way back into the game. Malawi have posed us several challenges this week, and it is great for world netball that they are emerging as a real force to be reckoned with." The success of The Co-operative International series has been recognised back home in Malawi, where the government has today announced a $2 million US grant to the national netball association, and committed to build the country's first indoor netball court so that its teams can continue to train and improve.
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