Malawi secures win against Singapore
Malawi Queens secured their first win at the 2019 Netball World Cup, winning against Singapore by 49 goals.
The match which ended 87-38, puts the Malawi Queens in second position behind New Zealand and ahead of Barbados and Singapore in Group B.
Malawi, Uganda seeking wins
Malawi and Uganda will be playing to secure their first wins of the tournament, having lost against New Zealand and England respectively.
The Malawi Queens are set to take on Singapore, while Uganda’s She Cranes will play against Samoa later in the day.
South Africa, who won their opening game against Trinidad and Tobago, will play against Fiji on Saturday.
Zimbabwe loses to Australia
Tournament debutants Zimbabwe lost to Netball giants Australia in their second game, even though they still impressed the cheering crowd.
The match ended 73-37 in favor of the defending champions, who now have two wins out of two, having beaten Northern Ireland in their first game.
Zimbabwe will hope ti return to winning ways when they take on the European team, that on Saturday secured a 67-50 win against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka have now lost both of their matches at the World Cup, following their opening day loss to Zimbabwe’s Gems.
July 12: Highlights of Day 1
New Zealand 64 – 45 Malawi
Zimbabwe 79 – 49 Sri Lanka
South Africa 76 – 45 Trinidad and Tobago
England 64 – 32 Uganda
And that’s a wrap for a BRILLIANT opening day at the #Vitality Netball World Cup ?
One stunning opening ceremony ?
Thousands of superb fans ?
Eight ? gamesAll the best moments ?? pic.twitter.com/OpV3Qv91zm
— Netball World Cup (@NetballWorldCup) July 12, 2019
South Africa wins opening game
South Africa’s Proteas got off to a winning start, recording a 76-45 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.
‘‘At first it was a little shaky. But the second quarter, we stepped up. We did not know what to expect, we did not know how they played. Then the second quarter was better, because we could work things out,’‘ South Africa’s Bongiwe Msomi said.
South Africa will also take on Jamaica and Fiji in Group C.
Uganda loses to hosts England
Uganda’s She Cranes were not a match for the dominant host nation, the England Roses, who are playing to win the tournament in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
Despite the best efforts of She Cranes shooters Peace Proscovia and Rachael Nanyonga, England ran out 64-32 winners to open their home World Cup in solid fashion.
Uganda will also face Scotland and Samoa in Group D.
Malawi loses to New Zealand
The Malawi Queens put up a brave performance but eventually succumbed to New Zealand’s Sliver Ferns, by a scoreline of 64-45.
The action from Group B also saw Barbados kick off its World Cup campaign with an impressive 69-34 win over Singapore.
New Zealand take on Barbados tomorrow Saturday, while Malawi will hope for better results in their fixture against Singapore.
Zimbabwe’s historic win
Zimbabwe has made history, winning their first ever match at the Netball World Cup. The Gems won their match against Sri Lanka by 79-49, kicking off what could be a thrilling journey.
‘‘I have goosebumps, this is a dream come true! We didn’t know we had so many people supporting Zimbabwe, to see the whole arena supporting us like that was so exciting, said Zimbabwe goal shooter Joice Takaidza.
Zimbabwe is one of four African teams at the tournament that is being hosted in Liverpool, England. The others are Malawi, Uganda and South Africa.
The Zimbabwe Gems are in Group A, along with reigning champions Australia and Northern Ireland.
‘‘Zimbabwe are something of an unknown quality and will look to capitalise on that against higher ranked teams,’‘ Africanews correspondent, Yvonnie Akonda Sundu told us ahead of the tournament.
READ MORE: Rooting for African teams at 2019 Netball World Cup
In the other Group A game, Australia were leading Northern Ireland at halftime by 45-15. The game eventually ended 88-24 in favour of the Australia diamonds.
