New ball game for Oldham

INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE... Oldham v Malawi line up before their friendly match in Liverpool.

NETBALL: OLDHAM had a taste of international opposition in Liverpool.

The local outfit took on Malawi in a warm-up to the World Netball Series — and they did the borough proud in a narrow 26-22 defeat.

The fixture was played under ‘fastnet’ rules — netball’s equivalent of Twenty20 in cricket — and was introduced in the annual tournament in an effort to improve the profile of the game.

It consists of four quarters of six minutes, has rolling substitutes and double points are available for shots from outside the circle.

Each team can choose a quarter to use their power play in which they can also score double points.

Malawi, whose star player is 42-year-old Mary Waya, are an exciting team to watch, and try to score big points.

Oldham, who began cautiously, discovered this early on. Malawi took their chances and scored with a couple of long-range shots to double Oldham’s tally.

Oldham fought back In the second quarter and got back on terms as Malawi wasted opportunities.

Both teams also squandered possession in the third quarter, but the performance of Waya proved crucial.

She turned on her magic, scoring two shots from outside the circle in the power play.

Oldham came back at Malawi in the final couple of minutes, but were unable to force victory.

Coach Mike Greenwood said: ‘It was a great opportunity for our girls and I think a couple of them were a little star struck.

“It was our first attempt at ‘fastnet’, so I didn’t think we didn’t do too badly in the end.”