Netball Jamaica’s Vice-President Simone Forbes says, given the talent available, a fully focused Sunshine Girls team will be a force to be reckoned with at the 16th staging of the World Cup, scheduled for Cape Town, South Africa, July 28 to August 6.

The Jamaicans, who entered the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, England ranked at number two, finished a disappointing fifth place. But, noting the historic silver medal finish at the Commonwealth Games last summer, Forbes expects this year’s World Cup to be a success story.

“I think we have a nice spread of experience and youth. I think we have a very good group; it is going to be 30 players making up the World Cup squad, and from that the team is going to be selected. We have a number of ladies playing professionally overseas, and so I think, like the Commonwealth Games, we will be able to field a very experienced and well-oiled team for this year’s World Cup,” the former Sunshine Girl told the Jamaica Observer.

“I think we can win the World Cup, no doubt about it. The ladies showed at the Commonwealth Games that we have the goods. It is just that the team that prepares the best on game day will win because, when you look at skills, none of the top teams are more skilled than the Sunshine Girls, and so it is going to be something else.

“And so I think that this is going to be a very interesting World Cup, and I genuinely believe that they [the Sunshine Girls] can win, and so we will have to wait for the World Cup and see what that looks like.”

“But I do believe that they have the chance of winning like any other of the top teams,” Forbes added.

The number four-ranked Sunshine Girls are drawn in Pool C, which will feature South Africa, Wales, and Sri Lanka. Pool A consists of Australia, Tonga, Zimbabwe, and Fiji; Pool B will be contested by England, Malawi, Scotland, and Barbados; and New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, and Singapore will battle in Pool D.

“So for the preliminary round, I mean, we don’t take anybody lightly, but I think we should come out of the group comfortably. “We will have South Africa, who is fifth in the world, in our zone, and that game is not going to be easy, but I believe that they [the Sunshine Girls] have the goods to get the better of South Africa. “I don’t foresee anything other than that happening,” the 41-year-old Forbes explained.

However, Forbes said that the further the Sunshine Girls go in the tournament, the harder it will be for them, but in terms of their preparation, she believes it should set the Sunshine Girls up for a good tournament.

“This is the World Cup. I don’t think any of the teams are walkovers, but I believe the Sunshine Girls on the day will be a better team than the teams they currently have in their grouping. I am sure the coaches will use those matches to work on whatever they are looking forward to for the harder games as the tournament goes on.

“I believe that after you leave the preliminary round, the top three teams from each group will join another top three team in a different pool. And so now you are going to have six teams and then a round-robin format.

“And so, like I said, the further you go in the tournament, the harder it gets, but I don’t expect the girls to not come out on top of their preliminary round,” Forbes ended.