Part of the action on Saturday
* As they face Northern Ireland this afternoon and New Zealand on Monday
Maravi Express
England were just technically superior when they focused on giving intensive pressure on Malawi national netball team shooters Joyce Mvula and Mwai Kumwenda, who committed many forced errors as they lost 66-41 in the Queens’ opening 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
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Overall 17 penalties against the Queens provided England plenty of ball to work with, in which they led 19-9 in the first quarter and 16-11 in second.
In the third, the Queens managed to rattle England, who were relishing good home support at the NEC Arena, when they took a 12-8 lead in the third quarter only to draw it 13-13.
The hosts, who are aiming to defend the title they won on the Gold Coast four years ago, reasserted themselves quickly in the last quarter for a comfortable 18-8 and a 66-41-66 last whistle triumph, they second win after emphatically beating Trinidad & Tobago 74-22 on Friday.
The Queens face Northern Ireland this afternoon and up against New Zealand on Monday from 20:00hrs; then Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday, August 3 from 20:00hrs and Uganda on Thursday, August 2 from 16:00hrs.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games are being beamed live on DStv and GOtv SuperSport channels.
The Queens’ best result at the Commonwealth Games is being 5th in 2010 and 2014 and also achieved the same position in 2007 at the Netball World Cup — having participated in six times.
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In 2012, they competed in the Fast5 tournament in Auckland, New Zealand where they had several historic results including wins over Australia and England to finish finished in 5th place, just narrowly missing out on the finals.
In the 2010 edition, they went on to draw against powerhouses Australia while at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Queens defeated the second-ranked team in the world, New Zeland — for the first time in history.
Nicknamed the Vitality Roses, England have won the Commonwealth Games once while winning the bronze medal at the Netball World Cup.
As for Northern Ireland, their best result was 7th in 2014 Commonwealth Games and 7th in the Netball World Cup in 1983.
New Zealand have won the Commonwealth Games twice in 2006 and 2010 while claiming the Netball World Cup five time — 1967, 1979, 1987, 2003 and 2019.
The Calypso Girls of Trinidad & Tobago’s best placing at the Commonwealth Games was 10th in 2014 and joint 1st in 1979 Netball World Cup while Uganda’s best result at Commonwealth Games is 6th in 2018 and 7th in 2019 Netball World Cup.
The She-Cranes are currently ranked seventh in the INF world rankings — one place behind the Queens.
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The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games are being beamed live on DStv and GOtv SuperSport channels.
Live broadcast details of the 2022 Birmingham Games today and tomorrow, Monday are (all times CAT):
Today 31 July
10:25: Lawn Bowls – SuperSport Football and SuperSport GOtv Football
12:25: Swimming, Session 5 – SuperSport La Liga, SuperSport Maximo 2 and SuperSport GOtv La Liga
16:25: Gymnastics, Women’s Individual All Around Final – SuperSport Variety 2
17:55: Hockey, Men, India v Ghana – SuperSport Variety 3 and SuperSport GOtv Select 1
22:55: Hockey, Women, Australia v South Africa – SuperSport Variety 4 and SuperSport GOtv Select 2
Monday 1 August
10:50: Hockey, Women’s, Wales v Ghana – SuperSport Variety 3 and SuperSport GOtv Select 1
11:25: Table Tennis, Women’s Team Finals – SuperSport Tennis
18:55: Judo, Men’s & Women’s Finals – SuperSport Variety 4, SuperSport Maximo 2 and SuperSport GOtv Select 2
20:55: Swimming, Session 8 – SuperSport La Liga, SuperSport Maximo 2 and SuperSport GOtv La Liga
21:50: Netball, New Zealand v Malawi – SuperSport Variety 4 and SuperSport GOtv Select 2