Jewels take Africa Cup preps to Cape Town
The Debmarine Desert Jewels will use the Spar National Netball Championships in Cape Town as preparation for the Africa Netball Cup in September, head coach Julene Meyer confirmed to Sport Wrap yesterday.
Namibia’s senior women’s team will compete as an invitational side in the A section at Stellenberg High School, with Meyer travelling with an 18-player squad to give all players court time.
The Jewels open their campaign against Johannesburg Netball Association at 08:00 today, according to the latest schedule received before going to print yesterday.
“We are looking forward to giving all players a run to give maximum exposure and an opportunity for the combinations to settle and be tested under pressure,” Meyer said.
The team is also scheduled to play two matches against Botswana during the championship.
Warm-up games
Meyer’s side had also been scheduled to face Zimbabwe, but she confirmed that they withdrew at short notice from the matches set for 12 to 16 August.
“We had to find an alternative option to get warm-up games in preparation for the [Africa Netball Cup in Kenya], and this is a suitable option,” Meyer said.
The South African tournament will therefore provide the Jewels with several competitive matches as they continue preparing for the Africa Netball Cup.
Meyer said the fixture list remained subject to change because teams were only completing registration yesterday and withdrawals had already affected the original programme.
The earlier fixture list also included matches against Alfred Nzo, Tshwane A, Dr Kenneth Kaunda A and Botswana. The final schedule was expected to be confirmed after registration late last night.
