Sunshine Coast Lightning’s South African pairing of Karla Pretorius and Phumza Maweni will continue to impress on the international stage, gaining selection in the 2021-22 SPAR Proteas side.
The circle defenders have been a highlight of the South African international team for an extended period, honing their combination both in the Suncorp Super Netball competition and when playing for their country.
Lightning Head Coach Kylee Byrne said she was pleased to see both Pretorius and Maweni named in the side for another international campaign, culminating in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2021.
“Both Karla and Phumza are incredibly deserving of this recognition and I know they will go on to do great things when representing their country in another international campaign,” Byrne said.
“As Captain of our Club, Karla’s off court presence has developed immensely this year – if that is even possible – and she remains such an integral part of our team.
“I’ve been especially proud of Phumza’s development in the past 3 seasons and she has earned a reputation as an unrelenting Goal Keeper who can minimise the influence of some of the world’s best shooters.
“What’s more pleasing is that together, their intuition and workrate makes them one of the toughest circle combinations to compete against, also working in tandem to be creative and win ball.”
The SPAR Proteas team will compete in an international tournament, the Sunshine Series, in October, against Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Sunshine Coast Lightning is also poised to play in the SSN Semi-Final on Saturday 14 August at Nissan Arena, with both South African players expected to feature.
