They are, or even were, the hope of the nation. But now, their progress is fast receding and descending into an abyss of underperformance.

The Malawi national netball team which has been offering hope to many Malawians and awarding pride in the same has just suffered a major setback in Australia where they were playing a test match against the country’s national netball team.

Results from there indicate that the hosts have just whipped the pride of Malawi by a whopping 83 baskets to 33. Last year, at the Fast5 competition Malawi did beat the same Australia that has taught them some netballing lessons today.

From the test series, the Queens will participate in this year’s Fast5 competition. One can only pray that they catch up with themselves before they become another Flames.