The ladies in the England Netball team have good reason to be pleased with themselves. Not only have they convincingly beaten South Africa over a three-game series, but they also demonstrated that England are one of the favourites going into the Commonwealth games next year.

The second game of the series, played on 26 November 2005 in Cape Town, resulted in an easy win, 65-40, against the Boks. The start of the game was delayed by more than three hours as officials looked for sections of the floor that had apparently been “misplaced”. This is a sure entry into the “Unbelievable reasons for delaying a Netball Match” book which we plan to release soon (contact us for details).

While the indispensable Rachel Dunn had an excellent game once again, Karen Atkinson was named player of the match.

The third and final match (30th November 2005), and the last between the sides before the Commonwealths, saw England storm to a comfortable 58-38 win. The score line even more emphatic than in previous matches, and Marg Caldow (Coach) was handsomely rewarded for some successful decisions regarding the starting line-up.

The players really shone, with many sections of the game seeing complete dominance by England in all areas of the court. Deserving special mention, though, is the previously injured Amanda Newton, who clearly enjoyed being back on the international scene, her play showing that her 22 month recovery has done nothing but sharpen her netball skills.