MALAWI’S arrival is fast approaching and England are preparing to do battle with the world fifth ranked squad in a triple whammy of matches.
EMILY GARNHAM looks in depth at the netball ranking system, recently introduced by the The International Federation of Netball Associations, to find out how both teams should fare.
Currently ranked third in the world, England should have the upper hand over the Malawi Queens (5th), but it's not that simple.
The new system is the brainchild of David Kendix, who also developed the official team rankings for Test and One Day International Cricket.
One of the important characteristics of the system, similar to cricket’s, is that there is a greater weighting given to more recent matches.
This means the Malawi test series in April will be no 'friendly' clash. The Queens will be playing to win with a view to scale the ranks and earn back the pride England stripped them of in the World Championships.
And IFNA President Molly Rhone says the Federation are working hard to make competition stronger for the top teams.
“Like many sports we must work hard to close the gap between the top few countries and those below them, to generate interest and excitement with new audiences in our events, she said
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