The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
The Zimbabwe senior netball team have turned to veteran players to boost their squad ahead of the 2023 World Netball Cup qualifiers, with Patricia Malaudi being the latest to be recalled.
The Gems are having problems with their midcourt, and with the qualifiers drawing closer, they have opted for experience ahead of youthful exuberance.
Zimbabwe are expected to be part of the qualifiers, which run between August 20 and August 27 in Pretoria, South Africa.
They are largely expected to grab one of the two available spots to make it to the global showcase after Malawi and Uganda gained automatic qualification based on their International Netball Federation rankings.
Uganda are ranked sixth while Malawi are a rung below.
South Africa’s Spar Proteas, who are also ranked fifth, qualified as hosts.
With the midcourt giving coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki a headache, he has turned to seasoned Malaudi, who plays for ZDF Queens.
“We want to bolster the midcourt … it was one of our major weaknesses during the Malawi tour.
“Malaudi brings in the experience and height we need. However, she is not guaranteed of the bib; she has to fight for it,” Mutsauki said.
Malaudi was part of the Gems 2019 World Netball Cup squad that made an impression at the tournament in Liverpool.
She broke into the senior team in 2014 when she was 19.
Back then, “Savlo”, as Malaudi is known in netball circles, was on the books of Ngezi Platinum Queens and had shone brightly during the AUSC (African Union Sports Council) 2014 Region 5 Games hosted by Zimbabwe. She, however, spurned the national team call-up back then.
“The call-up came as a shock because by then I was very young, and being in netball circles, I knew some of the senior players; they looked quite old,” said the 1,75-metre-tall centre/winger.
“I had no confidence and felt I was too young to fit in, so I told myself that I would not go to camp.”
Zimbabwe Netball Association (ZINA) officials had to travel to Ngezi to convince her to join the team.
Interestingly, she eventually came in and instantly made an impact.
“On the third camp, we went to South Africa and I was cast into the deep end; I had to play in the first seven.
“I recall the fear, I had no confidence but the coach calmed me and told me to take it like any other game.
“I had to make an impression for everyone to see that I had come there to stay, so I gave it my all and after the game it was all praises and compliments,” she said.
Over the years, she grew to be an effective starting attacker until Covid-19 knocked her off her perch.
Malaudi gained weight during the two-year Covid-19-induced break, which affected her performance.
She has since been struggling to make the cut in the Gems.
This, she said, gave her the pressure to lose weight and work her way back.
“I was emotionally wounded, I had made a name for myself and to let it go down the drain was not an option, so I had to push myself,” she recalls.
She has lost considerable weight as she now weighs 74kgs from the previous 97kgs.
Her target is to shed further weight to 68kgs by the time they travel to South Africa.
“I had to adopt a rigorous training schedule; it is paying off … I got a late call-up but that call turned my life around and restored my pride.
“We have to work hard as a team because this is not about personal glory. However, personally I have to justify my call-up as I look forward to another ecstatic moment at the World Cup.
“A lot has changed, there is fresh blood in camp, which means more competition and as the seniors we have a huge role to play both on and off the court…”
Captain Felisitus Kwangwa described Malaudi as a phenomenal player who has the much-needed experience for high-pressure games.
“Malaudi has what it takes.
“At the 2019 World Cup qualifiers in Zambia, she stood out. I had never seen her steal the show like that and this is where we want her to get to.
“I will not talk of the World Cup because that was an ecstatic moment for all of us; we played and conquered the world,” said Kwangwa.
