Queens need to beat Uganda to reach fifth-place playoff

* Towera Vinkhumbo voted Most Valuable Player after triumph over Tonga

* Hosts South Africa needed to beat Uganda by 64 goals for them to be in top 4 but managed to win by 52-50

Maravi Express

In a crucial clash that could have a far-reaching impact on the world rankings, 6th-ranked Malawi Queens beat 7th-ranked Tonga 56-51 and will now have to beat Uganda in their next 2023 Netball World Cup match if they are to retain their hopes of reaching the fifth-place playoff.

The Queens’ Towera Vinkhumbo voted Most Valuable Player of the match in a victory that was closer than appeared in the final scoreline — a neck-to-neck 13-13 in the opening quarter as the two sides matched each other’s physicality and intensity; followed by 31-26 in the second; 46-40 in the third and 56-51 as final score.

The goal shooting percentage for Malawi was 93.3% and 87.9% for Tonga. The Queens’ goal shooter Joyce Mvula and goal attack Mwawi Kumwenda kept the score ticking over with regularity that saw the Malawians leading a quarter 11-1 at one point.

Several crucial substitutions saw Tonga managing to stem the flow somewhat towards the latter part of the period, but they still found themselves five goals down by the end of the half.

Mwawi Kumwenda went down with an apparent injury midway through the third quarter and was replaced at goal attack by Jane Chimaliro by they maintained their lead with just one goal between the sides in the quarter score.

The Tongan Tala then turned the tables in the final quarter as the Queens began to tire and Kumwenda returned to court to shoot four of her side’s 10 goals, but the Tongans outscored the African side with 11 of their own.

The Malawians had done enough damage in that crucial second quarter, however, and held on for the 56-51 win.

Meanwhile, with an insurmountable task ahead of them, South Africa took to the court for their Pool G match against Uganda in which they need to beat the She Cranes by 64 goals and prevent their opponents from scoring more than 20.

But the hosts manage to win 52-50, leaving them out of the top four but the victory, however, was sweet revenge for the 48-54 loss they suffered at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when Uganda relegated them to sixth place in the playoffs.

In a Pool G encounter, Jamaica scored their first win over New Zealand at a World Cup when they beat the defending champions 59-48 New Zealand — which is the second time in a year the Sunshine Girls have handed the Silver Ferns a loss after last year’s victory in the semifinal of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Jamaica started off slow, but once they found their rhythm, victory was never in question. Jamaica topped the pool with New Zealand in second spot.

In a Pool F match, England scored their first-ever World Cup victory over 11-time champions Australia — being only the eighth time overall that the Roses have managed to beat the Diamonds since the teams’ first match in 1956.

It was England goal defence Fran Williams’s brilliant deflection in the final moments that prevented Australia from securing a draw.

The win means England finishes top of Pool F with Australia second.

With a handful of Scottish supporters singing ‘Flower of Scotland’, the Thistles secured a 62-46 victory over Fiji in a Pool F match and it was the sixth World Cup meeting between the two countries and the Scottish victory has levelled matters at three victories each.