Dear Editor,

It’s done, history at last, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls are netball champions — well, almost.

They were within touching distance of being Commonwealth Netball Champions only to fall to the might of the Aussies. Now their focus must be on the Netball World Cup scheduled to be held July-August 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, where anything short of the champions medal will be devastating.

The top-12 ranked teams in the world were locked in battle for the medals on offer at the Commonwealth Games. The English, known as the Vitality Roses, were seeking to follow in the footsteps of Australia and New Zealand by winning consecutive gold medals, but the perennial title contenders and Jamaica would be the spoilers.

New Zealand’s Silver Ferns are the current World Champions but were dismissed in the group stages by the Roses, which led to a semi-final matchup against our very own Sunshine Girls in what was expected to be a very tight encounter.

But a close matchup it never was. the Sunshine Girls shone brightly, burning the life out of the Ferns with a 67-51 victory, a victory in which the Silver Ferns withered under the heat applied by the Sunshine Girls. As much as the Ferns tried, they weren’t able to spring to life, leaving the Sunshine Girls victorious — their largest victory over their much-fancied opponents.

In the other semi-final matchup, the Roses took on the Australian Diamonds, but despite home support, the Diamonds were just too sharp for the Roses as they failed to cut into the lead established, and the Diamonds emerged comfortable winners (55-48) to face a rematch and finals with the Sunshine Girls.

The finals was competitive. The Australians had lost the last Commonwealth finals as well as their World title — a rare situation in which the Diamonds are without either title.

The Jamaican girls battled, but ultimately the Diamonds proved too strong, dimming the light of the Sunshine Girls. Losing 55-51 to the world-ranked number one team is no disgrace, and while the gold medal was desired, the Sunshine Girls can leave Birmingham holding their heads high on what was almost a golden performance.

Kemar Bogle

knb800@yahoo.com