2018 Diamond Challenge

The 2018 Diamond Challenge was the fifth Diamond Challenge netball series. It featured South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and a Netball South Africa President's XII. The series was played in late November and early December 2018 at Seshego's Ngoako Ramathlodi Sports Complex.^[1] With a team coached by Norma Plummer and captained by Bongiwe Msomi, South Africa won the series. South Africa finished the series undefeated, winning all five matches, and Msomi was named the Player of the Tournament.^[2][3] The series was broadcast live on SuperSport in South Africa.^[1]

2018 Diamond Challenge

Tournament details
Host country	South Africa
City	Seshego, Polokwane
Venue(s)	Ngoako Ramathlodi Sports Complex
Dates	27 November–1 December 2018
Teams	6
TV partner(s)	SuperSport (South Africa)
Final positions
Champions	South Africa
Runner-up	Zambia
Third place	Zimbabwe
← 2016 2021 →

Head coaches and captains

Team	Head coach	Captain
South Africa[1][2][3]	Norma Plummer	Bongiwe Msomi
Botswana		Tumisang Bagidi[4]
Namibia
Zambia		Elizabeth Bwalya[5]
Zimbabwe	Lloyd Makunde[6]
President's XII[1][5]	Jenny van Dyk	Jessica Khomo

South Africa squad

South Africa roster
Players	Coaches
Name Pos DOB Height Club Nat Caps Erin Burger C, WA, WD (1987-02-10)10 February 1987 (aged 31) 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) Gauteng Jaguars 108 Sigrid Burger GA, GS (1996-02-23)23 February 1996 (aged 22) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Surrey Storm Khanyisa Chawane WD,C,WA (1996-01-14)14 January 1996 (aged 22) 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) Rome Dreyer C (1994-04-28)28 April 1994 (aged 24) 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) Maryka Holtzhausen (c) GA, WA (1987-06-02)2 June 1987 (aged 31) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Severn Stars 99 Phumza Maweni GK, GD (1984-09-04)4 September 1984 (aged 34) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Severn Stars Bongiwe Msomi WA, C (1988-01-19)19 January 1988 (aged 30) 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) Surrey Storm Karla Pretorius (vc) GD,WD (1990-03-12)12 March 1990 (aged 28) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Sunshine Coast Lightning Lenize Potgieter GS, GA (1994-05-02)2 May 1994 (aged 24) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 49 Renske Stoltz GA, GS (1994-04-19)19 April 1994 (aged 24) 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) Wasps Netball Shadine van der Merwe GD, WD, GK (1992-11-25)25 November 1992 (aged 26) 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) Surrey Storm Zanele Vimbela GD, GK (1989-04-28)28 April 1989 (aged 29) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Team Bath	Head coach Norma Plummer Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player
Player profiles: Team website	Last updated: 22 October 2024

Milestones

• On 27 November 2018, Maryka Holtzhausen made her 100th senior appearance for South Africa against Namibia.^[6][7]
• On 27 November 2018, Lenize Potgieter made her 50th senior appearance for South Africa against Namibia.^[7][8]

Matches

Round 1

27 November 2018	South Africa	78–28	Namibia

27 November 2018	Zimbabwe	43–30	Botswana

27 November 2018	President's XII	48–46	Zambia

Sources:^[6][7][8]

Round 2

28 November 2018	Zambia	57–51	Zimbabwe

28 November 2018	President's XII	61–31	Namibia

28 November 2018	South Africa	83–16	Botswana

Sources:^[5][7][9]

Round 3

29 November 2018	South Africa	62–35	President's XII
15:00

29 November 2018	Zambia	58–42	Botswana
17.00

29 November 2018	Zimbabwe	62–43	Namibia
19.00

Sources:^[7][10][11]

Round 4

30 November 2018	Botswana	55–48	Namibia

30 November 2018	President's XII	58–34	Zimbabwe

30 November 2018	South Africa	57–36	Zambia

Sources:^[4][7]

Round 5

The Round 5 matches were all be re-scheduled to avoid a clash with the 2018 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final between South Africa and Nigeria.^[4]

1 December 2018	President's XII	58–35	Botswana
12:00

1 December 2018	Zambia	68–36	Namibia
14:00

1 December 2018	South Africa	73–44	Zimbabwe
16:00

Sources:^{[2][3][11][12]}

Final table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Africa	5	5	0	0	353	119	234	10
2	President's XII (Note 1)	5	4	1	0	260	208	52	8
3	Zambia	5	3	2	0	265	234	31	6
4	Zimbabwe	5	2	3	0	234	261	–27	4
5	Botswana	5	1	4	0	178	290	–112	2
6	Namibia	5	0	5	0	186	324	–138	0

Notes

• ^1 Some sources credit Zambia with second place.^[3]

Award winners

Award	Winner	Team
Player of the Tournament	Bongiwe Msomi[3]	South Africa
Best Shooter	Diana Banda	Zambia
Best Mid Court	Rome Dreyer	South Africa
Best Defender	Phumza Maweni	South Africa

Source:^[2][11][12]