KEY POINTS:
Malawi clung on to beat Wales 55-52 and secure a place in the netball world championship quarterfinals here today.
In a nail-biting encounter to find second place behind New Zealand in pool A, Malawi made a crucial break early to lead 16-10 after the first quarter, a lead they weren't to relinquish.
The lead was 29-23 at halftime as captain Peace Chawinga and goal attack Mary Waya proved adept at feeding the ball to tall, accurate shooter Linda Magombo.
Welsh changes saw them apply more pressure in the third quarter and, with shooters Rebecca James and Amanda Evans steadily converting, the score was narrowed to 42-39.
Malawi showed discipline to control possession in the final minutes, the African champions delighted to secure a top-eight position.
"Now we have made it into the top eight and we can now plan to make it into the finals," Maya said.
"Now we play England and we will see after 60 minutes.
"We came here without a ranking and now we have a number."
- NZPA