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The Spar Proteas kept their slim hopes alive of reaching the Netball World Cup 2023 semi-finals, following their spirited performance against world champions New Zealand on Wednesday night.
At a packed Cape Town ICC, and fuelled on by a raucous crowd, South Africa came close to beating the Silver Ferns for only the second time in World Cup history but tied the match 48-48.
However, for the Proteas to make the semi-finals, they will have to beat Uganda on Thursday, while Jamaica will have to beat New Zealand, with goal percentage being the potential decider.
New Zealand had edged 26-21 ahead by halftime.
Goal attack Nichole Taljaard earned her second Most Valuable Player award of the tournament, with her shot three seconds before the end of the match that helped earn the draw.
Captain Bongi Msomi said; “We believed that we could put up a great performance. It would have been great if it was a win, but we will take the draw.
Proteas coach Norma Plummer said Thursday’s match against Uganda would be a different story.
