South Africa’s senior team, the SPAR Proteas and their Under 21 team, the SPAR Baby Proteas arrived in the island on Saturday night for their three-match Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series. They will face the Sunshine Girls who are still on a high from defeating England recently.

The SPAR Proteas’ head coach Jenny Van Dyk was brimming with expectations for a clean sweep of the series. “We also go for the win. I would not be the national coach if we would step onto the court and not want to win. It’s important to us a country. We love to win so for us we going for three wins at the end of the day.”

“I am really looking forward to the Jamaican matches. It’s such an important opportunity for us to start off our planning and to really get everything into motion. We’ve been playing teams that rank lower than us. [It] puts a lot of pressure on you because you are in a position where you can’t really lose but playing the top four is definitely where we want to be and it’s who we want to play every year, and I think this new agreement between Jamaica and South Africa is just fantastic.

“Us coming here and them coming to us next year and also including the younger players, I think it’s a step in the right direction. So for us it’s about exploring the Caribben style and really respecting them and just enjoying the flair and athleticism that the Jamaica team brings to the game but also to counter that with what we got to give as South Africans, so it’s an important one for us,” said coach Van Dyk.

The SPAR Proteas squad includes defenders: Boitumelo Mahloko, Sanmarie Visser, Ane Retief, Nicola Smith, Jamie van Wyk; Mid-Court players: Kamogelo Maseko, Tarle Mathe, Khanyisa Chawane, Refiloe Nketsa, Jeante Strydom; and Shooters: Nichole Breedt, Rolene Streutker, Elmerè van der Berg, Ine-Mari Venter, Owethu Ngubane.

The last time South Africa toured Jamaica was in 2012 when they defeated the home team after winning two of the three matches in that series. The match-ups between Jamaica and South Africa shows 15 wins for Jamaica and three for South Africa.

The SPAR Baby Proteas’ coach Precious Mthembu was not willing to predict a specific result for the series but said that the matches would be tough and very competitive.

“We are just excited to be part of the series. We want to learn more and go back home with a lot of lessons learnt. We want to see how the young girls play and hopefully we go back home and work on some things that we need to work on,” said Mthembu.

The SPAR Baby Proteas squad reads Mbali Diphoko, Michelle van der Merwe, Giada Prinsloo, Lisa Ingwersen, Thato Legodi, Jade Atkins, Karla Victor, Kyla Dames, Noncubeko Mjaliswa, Phophi Nematangari, Kiara van Eeden, Zahrah Noah, Ametisse Bandu, Luca Keun and Zionne Grobler.

The team was met at the airport by their Acting High Commissioner Phumeza Mukendi, who had high expectations for the team while promising to support all the matches.

“We expect them to win. I know that they are going to be playing with very capable team of Jamaica. Jamaicans are known worldwide for their prowess in athletics but we also believe that our girls are up to it and that they will win,” Mukendi said.

The matches will be played at National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on January 18, 22 and 25. They will be double-header matches, with the Under-21 teams playing first followed by the clash between the respective senior teams.