Sunshine Girls set for busy months ahead
JAMAICA’s Sunshine Girls face a busy latter half of 2010 as they will face the world’s top three nations in seven Test matches as well as the rest of the best at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, and the Fastnet Netball World Series in Manchester, England.
The senior netballers will first head to Australia on August 2 where they will take on world champions Australia in a three-Test series with matches in Melbourne, Sydney, and Queensland on the 8th, 11th, and 15th, respectively.
From there they will head to New Zealand to play the world number two-ranked Silver Ferns in two games on August 18 in Napier and the 21st in Christchurch.
These series will be the first games the Sunshine Girls will play against Australia and New Zealand since their historic wins at the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC) last October.
The national team then returns to Jamaica on August 23, a week before they take on Commonwealth bronze medallists England in the 2010 NCB Sunshine Series, also at the NISC. Those games will be played on September 1 and 3.
The team will then travel to India for the Commonwealth Games in October and then to Manchester for the Fastnet Series which will involves the top six teams in the world.
“We really need to get some more international exposure and it’s a practice match, although we would like the results to be in our favour. We will be on foreign soil, but we’re up for the task,” senior team coach Connie Francis told the Observer.
Francis admitted it will be a challenge without captain Simone Forbes who will be doing final exams at the time.
“(But) it is reachable for us because during our preparations all the girls are stepping up and they know we possess the possibility of being the number one team in the world, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Regular vice-captain Nadine Bryan will be stand-in during the away series. The wing attack/centre is the most-capped player on the current squad.
“She’s doing a fabulous job, keeping their focus together so her work load is very heavy,” said Francis.
Former Australia coach Jill McIntosh, in the meantime, has been recruited to help the Sunshine Girls in their preparation for the hectic schedule.
McIntosh will spend six weeks in Jamaica not only conducting seminars, but also aiding the players in their recovery over the four-month period.
