A confident Jamaica Sunshine Girls will battle rivals England Roses in their opening match of the Vitality three-Test Netball International Series at the AO Arena in Manchester today, starting at 2:00 pm (Jamaica time).

The Jamaicans, who are reigning Commonwealth Games silver medallists, will be seeking revenge against the English who defeated them 2-1 in their last three-Test series in England in late 2021.

However, the Sunshine Girls will enter the series without top defenders Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson, plus centre Adean Thomas, who all played vital roles in helping the country to secure the historic silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, last August.

The team will be led in the series by ace goal shooter and Captain Jhaniele Fowler, along with Vice-Captain Shanice Beckford, Shimona Nelson, Rebekah Robinson, Khadijah Williams, Nicole Dixon-Rocherster, Jodi-Ann Ward, and Kadie-Ann Dehaney, who all participated at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The squad, which sees the return of veteran defender Malysha Kelly, is completed by Tafiya Hunter, Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, Theresa Beckford, and Roxonna McLean.

Fowler told the Jamaica Observer that despite missing a few big-name players, she is confident that they will do well in the series.

“We are really looking forward to this series because we have been practising and working on things that we need to get sorted out for this series so we are looking to start off the game strong,” said Fowler.

“We have seen them play at the Commonwealth Games and we have rewatched videos of them and so it is going to be a challenge for us. They have a lot of experience in their team and we have a mixture of experience, but I am pretty sure that once we stick to our game plan and work together then we will be fine,” she added.

The Jamaicans are ranked fourth in the world, one place below England in the world rankings by the slimmest of margin with 180 and 181 rating points, respectively.

To start the series on a winning note, Fowler noted, would be a big morale booster.

“It is very important that we win this opening game because it will boost our confidence going into the other two games, and to know that we have overcome them especially on their home court,” she said.

“The girls are feeling good and they are confident …and optimistic about us going out there and performing well, executing our skills and what we have learnt in training,” Fowler stated.

“It is very cold and I don’t think that we have fully yet acclimatised to the conditions over here in England, but we just have to do the job that we come here to do regardless of how cold it is. We just have to gear up and do the best that we can to stay warm and to stay healthy during the three matches,” she added.

The second match in the series is set for Saturday at the Copperbox Arena in London and the final game is scheduled for the same venue a day later.

This will be the last international series for the Sunshine Girls before their participation in this year’s Netball World Cup (NWC), which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from July 28 to August 6.

— Robert Bailey