The long wait for the return of netball is finally over. The Spar Proteas will play their first match of the year against Namibia at the Cape Town International Convention Centre tomorrow at 10am.

The Proteas will step onto the court again to play their second game against Uganda at 6pm at the same venue.

The Proteas will entertain Namibia, Uganda, Baby Proteas Under-21, and the President Invitational team in the Tri-nations Challenge in the Mother City starting tomorrow until next Wednesday. 

Proteas coach Dorette Badenhorst's team consists of locally-based players due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Badenhorst and her assistant Dumisani Chauke are confident that the local players will do the job against Namibia and Uganda.

“The preparations are going well and we are looking forward to a great series. Each player has enough time to combine with a player in front and behind her. Knowing each other is important and I am looking forward to the competition. We did not have a lot of training sessions, but we went through the different set," said Badenhorst.

She said that they would go out to win every match they play and that she would not underestimate the opposition.

“We have done a lot of defensive setups and hope that the combination will work. Winning the tournament is important for us and we will give every player a chance to play. A lot of our players lack international experience and will be nervous. That is a huge problem, but it is part of the learning curve."

The coach is relying on experienced players Bongiwe Msomi, Tshina Mudau and Khanyisa Chawane to help the new players to settle into the team.