England U-20 Netball Team Humiliate Botswana
Thato Kala | Monday August 11, 2014 13:39
The England team arrived in the country on Wednesday for a tour that will see them play Botswana teams and Namibia. They started off perfectly on Saturday when they took on the Botswana Under 20. England made their intentions to win the game clear as early as the first quarter when they raced to a 20-4 lead.
They remained in control of the game in the second quarter and managed to score 15 goals while the hosts only managed six. The score at half time was 35-10.
England maintained their form in the third quarter and scored 20 goals to remain firmly in control. They defended well this time around, only letting in one goal. They carried a comfortable 55-11 lead at the end of the quarter.
They finished off their opponents in the final quarter after notching up 16 more goals to win the game. Their visit is a boost for the senior national netball team who are preparing for the Africa Netball World qualifying games to be hosted in Gaborone next month.
Botswana also get to gauge their readiness for the qualifiers that roar to life on September 14 when they take on Namibia who have joined England on tour in Botswana. England is ranked third in the world and it is thought that the Under 20 team will give the senior team a good run as they prepare for the crucial games next month. England visited the country back in 2007. National team coaches trimmed their squad to 15 players who are fighting for the final 12 spots at next month’s qualifiers. Today at 3:30 pm, England lock horns with Namibia at the Otse College before Team BONA take on their siblings MaLittle at 5:00 pm.
Tomorrow, MaLittle will hope to redeem themselves against Namibia after Saturday’s battering at the hands of England. The game is pencilled in for 3:30 pm at the same venue while England face Team BONA straight after that game.
On Wednesday, the visitors England and Namibia clash again, while Team BONA and MaLIttle face off again.
The final games on Thursday will pit Namibia versus Team BONA and England against MaLittle.