'Wingspan on Nicola is like Shaq!': Plummer praises young stars in Proteas' Netball World Cup squad

Proteas head coach Norma Plummer raised a few eyebrows with her youthful-looking 15-player squad for the Netball World Cup that was announced in Johannesburg on Friday night.

For one, veteran defender Zanele Vimbela missed the cut, perhaps the biggest name not read out by Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane at the SuperSport Studios in Randburg.

Vimbela, who overcame an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2021, is one of a handful South African netball stars who regularly features in overseas professional leagues.

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Most recently, she was called up to the UK’s Vitality Super League to play for Loughborough Lightning. And she recovered from her injury in time to make the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

As such, the 34-year-old goalkeeper’s omission came as a surprise, but Monique Reyneke, Boitumelo Mahloko, part of SA’s historic first contract players last year, might have also felt hard done by.

But Plummer gushed over her younger additions, which included the Maties duo of Nicola Smith (22) and Nicholé Taljaard (26). Plummer, who wants the hosts to play with high energy at the World Cup, was impressed by goal defender Jeante Strydom’s athleticism.

"They’ve been put through their paces, got fitness testing, strength and conditioning, and then they got into training … their agility, speedwork. Then we move into the match play, their shot percentages and defensive structures – interceptions or deflections – it’s all on the stats, which bring up the right player," said Plummer.

"You get someone like Jeante, who ran a 19.1 (seconds) on the bleep test and that was the highest of any netballer in South