The Silver Ferns look set to play an additional netball test series against world champions Australia this season, probably in June.
Netball New Zealand chief executive Shelley McMeeken and fellow officials will talk to their Australian counterparts over dates and scheduling issues for a second series against the world champions,
preceding the October event in New Zealand.
Netball Australia's website yesterday listed a tri-series in June on its 2001 fixtures list, although the organisation's executive director, Pam Smith, conceded that tight finances were making that prospect increasingly distant.
Smith also admitted that the aim of establishing an annual tri-series, also involving South Africa, was proving difficult.
Last year, the three netball bodies announced a scheme to play tri-series on an annual basis, with each country hosting a round of matches. However, Smith said that was a long way off.
"It's a vision we were all holding, but visions sometimes don't happen for monetary reasons," Smith said. "Our wish-list of having a series of games in each country is extremely expensive and we've been testing the marketplace. It's become quite apparent that financially we can't raise the money to do it.
"We were probably being overly optimistic. Being netballers we think we can do everything."
The biggest stumbling blocks have been the drop in the currency in all three countries and last year's Olympic Games, which saw much of the netball sponsorship dollar disappear.
It was touch and go whether the June tri-series went ahead, Smith said.
"We're optimistic. We're working closely with Netball New Zealand and, to a lesser degree, Netball South Africa. With all respect to Netball South Africa, the structure of Netball New Zealand is much better and we're much closer geographically.
"We're not going to run an event that we can't afford. But we know time is getting tight so we'll make an announcement as soon as possible and hopefully it will be positive."
"We'll be disappointed if we can't pull it off, but in today's environment, it will be a major coup."
Netball New Zealand spokeswoman Kerry Manders said a tri-series along the lines of that played in South Africa last November, was unlikely this year. She confirmed that if a second series was agreed, it would be played in Australia.
The Silver Ferns have a busy schedule this year. As well as the three-match Australian series, they host England in July.
- AGENCIES
