ALTHOUGH the Fast5 Sunshine Girls are a young team averaging 22 years of age, they are not short of experience or stars. Standouts include defender Malysha Kelly, who has a record 35 caps having not missed a Fast5 series since inception in 2009, and last year’s World Series MVP, Thristina Harwood, 20, who in her rookie year dazzled the capacity crowds with her long-range shooting.

This left Romelda Aiken, one of the best shooters in the ANZ Championships, to put her renowned rebounding skills into action as a defender, a feat she later repeated at the Commonwealth Games with remarkable effect.

The team will be without sharp-shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. The team’s preparations have been impacted by the outbreak of the chikungunga virus, which impacted the training schedule of several players in the lead-up to the competition.

It’s the sixth year for the World Series that is held annually between the top-six ranked netball nations.

Last year Jamaica placed third behind the defending champions New Zealand, and second-placed Australia, but ahead of South Africa, Malawi, and last-placed England. For 2014, there is no change to the competing line-up, however, the series has a new format, packing the play action into two days, Saturday and Sunday.

Due to the 18-hour time difference, Digicel SportsMax will air the series beginning with the first scheduled game, Jamaica vs Australia, at 7:00 pm (local time) on Friday, November 7. Coverage will include Jamaica, the Caribbean and sections of USA and Canada through its CEEN-TV cable network.

The team arrived in Auckland yesterday and will be met by Romelda Aiken, who returned to Australia in October.

The management and support team are Minneth Reynolds, head coach; Annett Daley, assistant coach; Lydia Wilks, manager; Maureen Spence-Campbell, physiotherapist, and Marva Bernard, head of delegation.