Sunshine Girls coach Sasher-Gaye Henry.
Marlon Reid
Sunshine Girls coach and former player Sasher-Gaye Henry says her team is looking forward to the challenge of taking on England in their upcoming four-match Test series.
Henry’s Sunshine Girls will be looking to rebound from a 1-2 series defeat at the hands of their opponents when they last squared off in England last January.
“It’s a big one for us and we’re looking forward to the ranking,” Henry told Sportsmax.tv last week.
We always want to beat England and they always want to beat us so we embrace this type of competition and look forward to it,” Henry added.
Both teams are currently separated in the Netball World Rankings by just two points. England are ranked number two in the world with 189 rating points while Jamaica are fourth with 187.
Henry, who won 75 caps for the Sunshine Girls between 1996 and 2015, was also asked about her best memories as a player against England.
Rather than giving just one memory, Henry noted how excited she was whenever she got to test her skills against the rivals.
“As a player, it was always about wanting to win, especially when it comes to playing England,” she said.
“We’re big rivals and it was always a competition between coming third and fourth so we were always in high spirits when we were playing England and the cycle continues,” Henry added.
Jamaica will first travel to England to take on the Vitality Roses on November 16 and 17 at the AO Arena in Manchester before hosting the Roses at the National Indoor Sports Centre on November 25 and 26.
Henry is pleased with her team’s preparation for the series thus far.
“I think the preparation has gone fairly well. One of our main focuses was on our fitness, mental preparation and tactical plays. What we’re looking is to see hos well the girls will put all of those into play and be ready for the competition,” she said.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Atkinson and Bethell star as England dominate day two against New Zealand
Gus Atkinson's hat-trick set England on their way to a dominant second day of the second Test with New Zealand in Wellington.
Atkinson took the final three wickets of Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee as the hosts were bowled out for 125, before the tourists' knock of 378-5 put them 533 runs to the good.
The 26-year-old scored the first away hat-trick by an England bowler in 16 years, while it was also the first ever to be recorded at the Basin Reserve.
"The hat-trick ball I was running up thinking: 'I'm getting a wicket this ball, I'm getting a wicket this ball' - I did feel it," he told BBC Sport.
"I haven't really thought about a hat-trick too much before. You want to play to get five-fors as a bowler, you don't think about hat-tricks as much, but getting a hat-trick is special, it's definitely more rare than a five-for.
"It's been a very special year. I'm just looking forward to playing as much Test cricket as I can in the next few years and, hopefully, continuing with the form."
Atkinson's surge left New Zealand 155 runs adrift of England, whose second innings was spearheaded by Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett (92).
Between them, they added 187 for the second wicket, with Bethell (96) narrowly missing out on becoming the tourists' youngest Test centurion since 1939.
Harry Brook chipped in with 55, while Joe Root and Ben Stokes notched unbeaten contributions of 73 and 35 respectively.
That took England to 378-5 at stumps, as they closed in on their first Test series victory in New Zealand for 16 years.
Data Debrief: Hat-trick hero Atkinson joins exclusive group
Atkinson continued his incredible 2024, in which he took 12 wickets on his Test debut against West Indies in July, while notching up a century and five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka the following month.
The first hat-trick in Test cricket since South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj's against West Indies in 2021, it is the 14th recorded by an Englishman.
Atkinson also joined Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Johnny Briggs as the only England players to score a Test century and hat-trick.
England became the first nation to score 500,000 Test runs during day two, while Root passed 50 for the 100th time at this level.
Holmwood Technical completes ISSA rural area Netball double; St. Catherine, Wolmer’s Girls win urban area titles
Defending all-island champions Holmwood Technical retained their ISSA rural area Under-19 netball title with a 38-30 victory over Denbigh High in Thursday's decider at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
The May Pen-based won the first quarter 9-8 before the defending champions rallied to lead 15-14 at the half and 37-24 at the end of the third quarter.
The victory for Holmwood completed the double on the day as their Under-16 team had earlier secured the crown with a 21-16 win in an all-Manchester affair over defending champions Manchester High in a repeat of last year's final.
In the urban area final, St Catherine High captured their third straight Under-19 title with a 32-24 win over The Queen's School. The St John's Road-based school led all quarters 11-3, 20-12 and 23-16.
Meanwhile, Wolmer's Girls took the Under-16 crown after beating St Hugh's 27-21 in their decider.
Manchester High defeated Glenmuir 46-44 to claim third place in the rural area Under-19 category while Mile Gully High claimed third in the Under-16 category with a 32-17 win over Titchfield.
In the urban area, Gaynstead High claimed third in both the Under-19 and Under-16 categories with wins over St. Catherine High and Camperdown High, respectively.
They beat St. Catherine 34-19 and Camperdown 37-23.
Sunshine Girls captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard expecting second child
Jamaican netball superstar and Sunshine Girls captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard is expecting her second child, her club West Coast Fever announced on Thursday. The news, while joyous, has already affected her availability for recent competitions, as she stepped away from the sport to prioritize her health and well-being.
In a statement, the Australian-based Fever extended their congratulations to Fowler-Nembhard and her family:
"Everyone at Fever is absolutely thrilled for Jhaniele and her family. We’ve always known that Jhaniele has dreamed of having another child, and seeing that dream come true is simply wonderful!"
Fowler-Nembhard’s pregnancy meant she was unavailable for the recently concluded Jamaica-England Horizon Series, which was played on November 16-17 in Manchester and November 25-26 in Kingston. She had been training with the Sunshine Girls and was expected to play a critical role in the series, contributing as a top scorer and mentoring new senior squad members.
In her absence, Romelda Aiken-George joined the squad and helped fill the void in the goal circle. Netball Jamaica President Tricia Robinson acknowledged the significance of Fowler-Nembhard’s absence but emphasized that her health and well-being were the priority:
"Netball Jamaica is focused on her health and well-being and will provide updates as necessary regarding her condition."
Fowler-Nembhard married Ashani Nembhard in a private ceremony in Kingston on December 20, 2023. She also has a daughter, Drehannah, from a previous relationship. This pregnancy marks a new chapter for the couple as they expand their family.
As the West Coast Fever’s leading goal shooter and a five-time top scorer in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League, Fowler-Nembhard has cemented her place as one of the world’s greatest netballers. Her absence from recent international competition is a reminder of her immense value to the Sunshine Girls, both on and off the court.
While her team and fans will miss her presence in the immediate term, Fowler-Nembhard’s contributions to Jamaican netball are already legendary. The netball community joins in congratulating her on this exciting milestone and looks forward to her eventual return to the sport.
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