The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze Sports Reporter
AFTER initially rejecting her first senior national netball team call-up, Patricia Malaudi had to go through a torrid time in camp.
Malaudi, a ZDF Queens trusted centre, recalls her first senior national team invitation in 2014, when she was 19.
She refers to it as her worst experience in the last six years.
Her call to national duty came when she was still on the books of Ngezi Platinum Queens.
It was shortly after she had wowed the nation when Zimbabwe hosted the AUSC 2014 Region 5 games.
But Malaudi rejected the invitation and would not even tell her mother, teammates nor friends about it.
“The call came as a shock because I was very young, and already being in netball circles, I knew some of the senior players — they looked quite experienced,” said the tall centre.
“I had no confidence and felt I was too young to fit in, so I told myself that I would not go to camp and simply kept quiet about it, knowing that if I told anyone, they would convince me to go.”
Zimbabwe Netball Association officials had to travel to Ngezi where they convinced her to join camp.
She remembers the tough times she had to endure as some of the senior players allegedly abused her.
“That camp was really tough; it was not rosy. Being a first-timer, a lot would happen in the changing rooms, but managers and coaches never got to know about it.
“Some senior players give new players a tough time: there is bullying, verbal abuse and at times they even get physical on court, but coaches never notice.”
When she failed to cope, Malaudi contemplated abandoning camp, but Felistas Kwangwa — now the Gems captain (still an amateur then) — consoled her. On court, Malaudi played well and quickly fitted in.
However, the story was always different in the dressing room.
For her first camp, she made it in the first twelve as a substitute wing defender.
“On the third camp, we went to South Africa and I was thrust in the deep end. I had to play in the first seven and you know how it is when suddenly the big names feel you are a threat.
“I remember how I trembled; 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 to stay, so I gave it my all and after the game it was all praises and compliments. Having set that tone on my first full appearance, I told myself that I had to go back and work extra hard to protect my position, and I have been doing that since.”
Over the years, she has grown to be an effective initiating attacker in midcourt.
Although she has settled and become accustomed to the dressing room politics, she is seldom vocal.
Malaudi has won several caps for the senior team, played at the Netball World Youth Cup and featured in the first seven at last year’s Vitality Netball World Cup.
ZDF Queens coach Joel Sibanda described Malaudi as one of the country’s best mid-court players.
She joined the army side in 2017, after leaving Glow Petroleum Queens. Sibanda sought the centre’s signature after losing several games owing to yawning gaps within his mid-court.
“I do not regret the signing. I had a problem in mid-court, so when she came, everything was solved. She delivered just like we had signed her for. She still has a bright future in the game. She is young and can fly the national flag very high for years,” Sibanda said.
Kwangwa believes Malaudi is a phenomenal player who is never intimidated by high-pressure games.
She paid tribute to Malaudi for a fine show in 2018 in Zambia when the Gems qualified for last year’s World Cup.
“I have known Malaudi for years. We played together for the young Gems and later graduated into the seniors’ fold.
“Of all her performances, the qualifiers in Zambia stood out. I had never seen her steal the show like that. In fact, she was there when it mattered most. I will not talk of the World Cup because that was an ecstatic moment for all of us. We played and conquered the world,” Kwangwa said.
