South Africa vs Sri Lanka LIVE scores: Sri Lanka will be the next hurdle for Norma Plummer’s Proteas team on Saturday from 16:00.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka: Netball World Cup LIVE scores
Netball World Cup recap
The SPAR Proteas defeated Wales in their Pool C match on Friday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), kicking off their Netball World Cup campaign with a victory.
The CTICC was packed to capacity with enthusiastic supporters of the home team as the ladies of the Spar Proteas triumphed 61-50.
ALSO READ: Brave SPAR Proteas squad reminded to carry Mzansi hopes
Proteas beat Wales in comfortable opening win
The Proteas’ dominated the first quarter of the match, which saw them ahead by nine points at the conclusion the opening period, helping the host team set up the game and control the flow of the match throughout.
ALSO READ: Proteas star gives insight into team dynamics eve of Netball World Cup
Elmeré van der Berg was successful with six out of her twelve efforts for the Proteas, while Ine-Mari Venter converted 26 of 28 goal attempts in the first half to be the star of the show.
With a 32-24 advantage at the half, South Africa made two substitutions: Jeante Strydom took the place of Shadine van der Merwe, and Nichole Taljaard took the place of Elmere van der Berg.
ALSO READ: SPAR Proteas must win the opening match
Taljaard’s presence became apparent right away as she and Venter formed a lethal assault team for South Africa and ensured the hosts kept their foot firmly on the gas.’
The game’s top scorer for the hosts was Venter, who finished with 47 goals in just 51 attempts as her first half shooting form carried over into the third and fourth quarters of the piece.
ALSO READ: Everything you need to know about the Netball World Cup
Taljaard, in contrast, was successful on eight of her nine attempts at goal.
“I was literally crying when we were singing the national anthem earlier because this meant so much to me, knowing that I missed the previous World Cup due to injury. It was a special moment for me to come out tonight for my maiden World Cup, at home and winning player of the match” said an emotional Venter at the post-match press conference.
“I am thrilled with how we played tonight; I will take the win even though I thought we could have done better. Our ladies really came out to play and I think Ine (Venter) deserved the accolade tonight, she stepped up very nicely. Elmere (van der Berg) played okay even though I feel like a big crowd got to her. Nichole Taljaard is a great athlete, and we will need to manage her and the small errors she makes – I believe that Jeante Strydom is an exceptional player who is super focused, we put her in and did wonders for us, just need to manage her well,” said an elated Norma Plummer
Other results
The reigning champion Silver Ferns of New Zealand easily defeated Trinidad and Tobago 76–27 to kick off the day, while Tonga just about defeated a stubborn Fiji 56–51.
In the second match of the morning session, Australia put on a dominant display to destroy Zimbabwe 86-30, while Uganda also made a strong start to their campaign by defeating Singapore 79-37.
