Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls confirmed their spot in the semi-finals of the Vitality Netball World following another impressive performance in bettering Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago 89-26 in their second Pool G game in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday.

Romelda Aiken-George led the way on this occasion with 37 goals from 42 attempts, getting support from Shanice Beckford, who chipped in with 20 goals from 24 attempts early on.

Captain Jhaniele Fowler, who was only introduced for the third quarter of the match, added 17 goals from 19 attempts, while Rebekah Robinson had 15 goals from 17 attempts in the blowout win.

Afeisha Noel expectedly led Trinidad and Tobago with 20 goals from 22 attempts.

After celebrating the Reggae Girlz historic feat of progressing to the knockout stages of the Fifa Women’s World Cup at the expense of Brazil in Australia, the Sunshine Girls entered their contest brimming with confidence and that was on display from the opening whistle.

With another strong start, both in attack and defence, the number four-ranked Jamaicans, forced a number of early turnovers and at one point, opened an 8-1 lead in the early exchanges.

Their fast and fluent transitions, coupled with that defensive pressure proved too much for the number 11-ranked Calypso Girls, who struggled to maintain composure, resulting in the Sunshine Girls taking a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same, as Trinidad and Tobago again struggled for rhythm. In fact, so high was the Jamaican tempo and flair that they scored 12 unanswered goals with the Calypso Girls only scoring one, in the first 10 minutes of the quarter.

They eventually found three more late on, but by then, the Jamaicans had raced to a 34-point gap, to enter the half-time break 44-10 up.  

Fowler entered the contest at the start of the third quarter and kept the scoring momentum going, so even though Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed their best scoring period with nine goals at that point, they found themselves 69-19 down and with too much to do heading into the final stanza.

As such, Sunshine Girls Head coach Connie Francis, used the opportunity to feel out a few other combinations, throwing rising sensation Crystal Plummer at centre and Adean Thomas back at wing attack to feed Aiken-George and Robinson, who scored at free will to complete the rout.

The Jamaicans, who last won one of their three bronze medals at the tournament in 2007, are aiming to not only break that drought, but to do so by winning the coveted gold medal and, by all indications, they are on course to do so.

Sunshine Girls assistant coach Shawn Murdock, believes the performance was a glimpse of how lethal the team can be when fresh and focused, as the brace for reigning champions and number two-ranked New Zealand in their Pool G top of the table clash on Thursday.

“We were so happy for the rest day to have the ladies rest and go again and the performance was proof of that recovery. We were actually using this game to prepare for the game against New Zealand tomorrow, so we wanted to get the ladies tuned in, limit turnovers and penalties to get ourselves ready for the game tomorrow,” Murdock said.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel rued the lack of concentration from her team in another loss.

They are scheduled to take on Wales on Thursday.

“I don’t think we executed our game plan, I thought we had moments of brilliance, but indiscipline worked against us. It was a pleasure to come up against a Caribbean team, but we need to be better. We won some balls in defence which is good, so it is just to create more opportunities and put some shots up,” Greene-Noel said.

After a day of much-needed rest and recovery, Sunshine Girls Head coach Connie Francis is anticipating another solid performance from her team at the Vitality Netball World Cup, when they take on Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.

The number four-ranked Jamaicans, who have won all four games contested so far at the tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, will be seeking to make it five-in-five, but the number 10-ranked Calypso Girls is not expected to make it easy.

Francis is very much aware of that given their history, so though her Sunshine Girls are enjoying a rich vein of form at present, she is taking steps to guard against complacency.

Jamaica’s most recent victory was a 61-49 scoreline against Uganda, while Trinidad and Tobago will be trying to bounce back from a 28-69 defeat to host South Africa.

The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00am Jamaica time.

“We are still on the right path of going for gold, the coaching staff has been rotating some players to ensure that when the big game comes around, we are able to get the job done. We are more than capable of putting on a good show when it comes to rest and recovery and as I always say, different combination gives you different games, so it was really good to get a day for them to unwind and come again,” Francis told Sportsmax.tv.

With the Jamaicans determined to break a lengthy medal-less drought at the tournament dating back to 2007 when the won the last of their three bronze medals, Francis pointed out that they will also be using tomorrow’s contest to fine tune aspects of their game, ahead of the top of the pool clash with reigning champions New Zealand.

“Our defence continues to hunt balls which is good, so going forward against Trinidad we will have a different combination and then possibly rotate some of our starters in that game just to keep them as fresh as we possibly can so the mind and the body will be aware that we still need to play, especially as we look forward to that game against New Zealand,” Francis said.

“We know they play a very structured type of game, their defensive line up and their attacking line up are both good, but we are confident that all of our players are more than capable of counteracting what they have. So, our focus is really on these games based on how we attack and our all-round defensive effort. We are already playing at a high percentage rate, so we just need to keep that up and really give ourselves a chance for that gold,” she added.

Victory against Trinidad and Tobago will assure the Sunshine Girls of a semi-final spot and by all indications, they will have number one-ranked Australia or number-three ranked England to contend with at that stage.

This is another reason why Francis stressed the need to stay locked in from the start of each game going forward, if they are to reach their ultimate goal.

“When you put fresh legs and fresh combinations in, it kind of keeps the consistency going, so it's important to get other players on court competing, not just seven or eight players.  So going up against Trinidad we are confident but not overconfident, as we are focused on our possession game and taking care of the ball.

“So, we are going to send in a combination with some new players, not everybody will play, but it is an opponent to give more players longer playing time on court because we want it to be a case that any combination, we put out there, will be successful,” Francis ended.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls moved one step closer to booking a spot in the last four of the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa after a 61-49 win over Uganda in their first game of the second preliminary stage at the Cape Town International Convention Center on Monday.

Jamaica didn’t have things all their way in the first quarter thanks to a very solid start from the Ugandans.

Uganda scored the first two points of the game but the Sunshine Girls still led 15-12 after the first quarter.

Jamaica picked up the pace to start the second, jumping out to a quick 19-13 lead within the first three minutes of the period.

The Jamaicans stretched the lead to 10 for the first time with 8:00 left in the first half and never looked back.

Eventually, Jamaica won the second quarter 23-9 to enjoy a 38-21 lead at the half.

Despite having less possession than Uganda in the first half, Jamaica forced their opponents into 15 turnovers, eight more than them.

Offensively, Jamaica completed the first half without a missed shot.

Goal Shooter, Jhaniele Fowler, was her usual dominant self throughout the first half with 28 goals while goal attack, Shanice Beckford, had 10 goals. Beckford also had 12 assists while wing attack, Khadijah Williams, had 18 assists in the first half.

Jamaica coach, Connie Francis, made a number of changes for the second half.

Uganda fought back in the third quarter, winning it 16-11 to face a 37-49 deficit going into quarter number four.

Jamaica’s lead built up in the first half proved to be too much for the Ugandans in the end with the final score being 61-49 in favor of the Commonwealth Games silver medalists.

Romelda Aiken-George had 16 goals from 16 attempts in the second half after replacing Jhaniele Fowler.

The Jamaicans entered stage two of the preliminaries with four points and this win puts them level on points with New Zealand on six at the top of Pool G. The top two teams from Pool F and Pool G will advance to the semi-finals.

Jamaica will next play Caribbean rivals, Trinidad & Tobago, on Wednesday.

Jamaica's Sunshine Girls produced another strong showing to make it two-from-two at the Vitality Netball World Cup when they defeated Wales 75-40 in another lopsided affair in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday.

While it was not the most convincing performance to follow up their record 105-25 opening win over Sri Lanka, the number four-ranked Jamaicans did enough to secure their sixth win over the ninth-ranked Wales in what was their seventh meeting.

Captain and ace shooter Jhaniele Fowler again led from the front scoring 39 goals from 41, with Romelda Aiken-George, who took over second half duties, sinking 19 goals from her 21 attempts. Goal attacks Shanice Beckford and Rebekah Robinson contributed five and 12 goals from six and 14 attempts respectively.

With the win, the Jamaicans, who are aiming to break a lengthy medal drought dating back to 2007 when the country last won one of its three World Cup bronze medals, moved up to four points and are assured of one of three spots to the next round.

Head coach Connie Francis opted for a completely different starting seven on this occasion with Shamera Sterling, Latanya Wilson and Jodi-Ann Ward in defence. Nicole Dixon-Rochester started centre court, as Khadijah Williams and Shanice Beckford occupied the wing attack and goal attack positions behind big shooter Fowler.

Jamaica forced three turnovers off Wales' centre pass and, as such, rushed into a five-goal lead before the opponents responded. Despite Wales finding an early rhythm of their own to gradually close the gap at 9-6, the Sunshine Girls accelerated late on to end the quarter with a 12-goal lead at 23-11.

The Sunshine Girls' tempo in the early exchanges of the second quarter was a stark contrast to what it was in the first, but when they eventually got going –particularly at the defensive end where Sterling and company had a number of deflections and interceptions –it brought Fowler's accuracy into play, as they went on to outscore Wales 21-12 for a 44-23 half-time lead.

However, Francis and her team were left with much to figure out, as they struggled to maintain that tempo with their usual speed and flair dropping significantly after combination changes in the second half of the encounter.

In fact, they only mustered 31 goals across the last two quarters which is fairly low by their standards, especially coming off a record high performance against Sri Lanka.

Though they scored high at 90 percent, the Sunshine Girls conceded 16 turnovers and that remains a cause for concern for Fowler, heading into a much tougher contest against the number five-ranked host South Africa at 11:00am Jamaica time, on Sunday.

“I think the entire team played well, the fact that we had changes going throughout the quarters and when everyone went in the just slot in and did their part which is really good. But yeah, we have to make sure that we limit our turnovers and also tighten up on some of our contacts,” Fowler said in a post-game interview.

Meanwhile, Sterling, who was named player of the game, said they always expected a tougher contest against Wales.

“Coming off the win against Sri Lanka and then coming to play Wales, which is a more structured and organised team, we know it was going to be more competitive and we were prepared for that. So, it was just a matter of trying to tweak and fix some of the little things that we need to do,” Sterling noted.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls expectedly opened their Vitality Netball World Cup campaign with a bang, as they hammered Sri Lanka 105-25 in Cape Town, South Africa on Friday.

The number four-ranked Jamaicans were dominant from the start and didn’t relent against their number 15-ranked opponents for a minute with the towering combination of Romelda Aiken-George and captain Jhaniele Fowler sharing goal shooting duties across two quarters apiece.

Though the Sunshine Girls usual bad habit of making unforced errors kicked in at one point, Aiken-George with 33 goals from 34 attempts and Fowler with 42 goals from 43 attempts, spared their blushes, as goal attacks Rebekah Robinson and Shanice Beckford, contributed 17 and 13 goals respectively.

With the win, the Jamaicans assume pole position in Pool C, ahead of host South Africa, who were 61-50 winners over Wales.

Jamaica’s Head coach Connie Francis started with two debutants in Latanya Wilson at goal defence and wing defence Crystal Plummer, as Robinson and Aiken-George got the starting goal attack and shooter roles ahead of Beckford and Fowler.

The potent attack of the Sunshine Girls saw them open a brisk five-goal lead inside the first 30 seconds, as they displayed their usual speed and flair that delighted crowd, especially when Aiken-George scored a lay-up shot.

In fact, the Jamaicans were so dominant that Sri Lanka’s first goal came almost seven minutes into the opening quarter, which eventually ended 26-5.

Jodi-Ann Ward joined Kadie-Ann Dehaney and the dynamic Plummer in defence for the second quarter and the trio proved too formidable for Sri Lanka’s attackers, as their consistent deflections resulted in the Jamaicans firing in 14 unanswered goals, before the opponents belated got their first almost nine minutes in.

From there, they went on to register a 52-11 half time lead, which all but signalled the writing on the wall for Sri Lanka.

The Jamaicans signalled their intent to hit the century mark with the introduction of Fowler at the start of the third quarter and she flawlessly scored her first 14 attempts, with Beckford providing the necessary support to again outscore Sri Lanka 23-7 for a 75-18 lead heading into the final quarter.

That final quarter represented the best display from Sri Lanka in the shooting circle as the matched the Jamaicans goal for goal in the early exchanges.

However, once the defence lead by Shamera Sterling and player of the game Wilson, found back their rhythm, they forced a number of turnovers and orchestrated some quick transitions for Fowler and Robinson to finish off and propel Jamaica to the 14th 100-plus goal scoreline in the tournament's history.

It was also the first 100-plus score by a team at the World Cup since 2015, when Malawi achieved the feat ironically, also against Sri Lanka.

While the Sunshine Girls scored at 89 percent, they also had 17 turnovers, an issue that Francis is hoping to correct going forward.

“From the first day when we assembled here, I saw the hunger and the will to execute well, and I am very impressed with my team. We made a number of changes just to work on combinations and also to manage the workload because the thing that we are trying to work on mostly is our turnovers.

“We know we have players that can hunt and win balls which makes them dangerous, so it is just to minimize the turnovers some more and we will be good,” Francis said.

For Fowler, the execution was on par for the most parts.

“We wanted to come out and practice some of our strategies and make sure we are cementing some of our plays. Romelda and I are both amazing shooters so either one starting a game is fine, we are just more focused on gelling as best as we can and just going one game at a time,” the captain shared.

The Sunshine Girls will next face Wales on Saturday at 4:00 am Jamaica time.

They may be three Caribbean Islands with different cultures and different styles of play. But what Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados all have in common, is their unflinching desire to leave an indelible mark at the Vitality Netball World Cup.

All three teams will bow into action in Cape Town, South Africa on Friday with Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls up against Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago’s Calypso Girls squaring off against reigning champions New Zealand, while Barbados Gems, are up against England’s Roses.

The number 10-ranked Calypso Girls will be the first in action at 3:00am Jamaica time, with number two-ranked Silver Ferns expected to prove a handful for the Joel “Twiggy” Young-Strong-coached team.

And while Trinidad and Tobago boast the legacy of being the only other team to win the World Cup title, along with New Zealand and Australia in the tournament’s long history, captain Shaquanda Green-Noel is realistic about their expectations.

“I think we are very honest and realistic with what may be the end result of the game, so even though we are extremely competitive, we are just going in thinking about the small wins in terms of reducing the margin.

“The mood in the camp is a bit of excitement and nervousness, the senior players are more the ones excited to get on the court because the Netball World Cup is one of the biggest platforms to showcase our talent. The young players are a tad bit nervous, but also excited to make their Netball World Cup debut,” Green-Noel told Sportsmax.tv.

“The girls are also very prepared for what is to come, New Zealand are defending champions and we would have done research on what they have to offer and how they play, and I think it (this game) is a great way for us to test out the skills we worked on coming into the World Cup. The last time we played New Zealand, I don’t think we had a very good game, so this is a chance to improve,” she added.

Uganda and Singapore are the other two teams the Calypso Girls will face in Pool D.

Jamaica, the highest ranked Caribbean team at number four, are out to end their 16-year medal drought at the Netball World Cup, dating back to 2007, when the last won one of their three bronze medals. 

They will enter their opening Pool C contest against 15^th-ranked Sri Lanka as overwhelming favourites, especially on the back of their historic silver medal-winning performance at the Commonwealth Games last year.

Still, Sunshine Girls Head coach Connie Francis is not taking their opponents lightly, as she is well aware that it will require proper execution from her team to get the job done.

Match time is 11:00 am Jamaica time.

“The ladies are mentally and physically prepared and they want to do something special at this tournament which is to win a medal. But we don’t know much about the Sri Lankans and so we don’t intend to take them lightly,” said Francis.

Though the off-court security issue in which captain Jhaniele Fowler was robbed, is cause for concern, Francis pointed out that the team remains focused on the task at hand.

“Yes, it is bad and very disappointing that has happened on a stage like this, but the ladies remain focused on what they came here to do, which is to execute well and win a medal and that starts with tomorrow’s game,” she noted.

The Sunshine Girls will also have Wales and the host nation to contend with in Pool C.

Meanwhile, number 13-ranked Barbados Gems, have drawn a tough Pool B in which they have England, Malawi and Scotland to deal with.

They open against the number three-ranked Roses at 1:00pm Jamaica time.

While getting by the Roses will take some doing, the Gems are by no means expected to play dead, especially with the addition of sisters Kadeen and Sasha Corbin, who both switched allegiance from England to represent Barbados.

Number one ranked Australia, Zimbabwe, Fiji and Tonga will contest Pool A.

As the highly anticipated Netball World Cup in South Africa gears up to begin, player security fears have shaken the competition. Jamaica's netball captain and West Coast Fever star, Jhaniele Fowler, fell victim to a robbery just 24 hours before the tournament's tip off.

The 34-year-old shooter took to Instagram to share the distressing incident, revealing that she had been robbed and faced attempts of intrusion into her room in South Africa. Fowler expressed her frustration, stating, "This is so unfortunate, this place isn't safe. First, they stole money from my purse, now people are trying to come in on us in our rooms. Really!"

Fowler's experience has heightened concerns about the safety and security of players during the prestigious event. With the World Cup set to begin on Friday, players and officials are anxious about ensuring the safety of all participants.

Despite the unsettling incident, Fowler remains focused on leading Jamaica to a first-ever world title. Speaking about Jamaica's World Cup campaign, she expressed their strong desire to "bring gold back to Jamaica." With Fowler's experience and leadership, the team is optimistic about their chances of winning the coveted title.

"Our aim is to be here until the end and be on that podium, but we have to take it one game at a time," said Fowler, emphasizing the team's focus on taking each match step by step.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls are the country’s highest ranked sport team so when the Netball World Cup comes around, expectations are always high.

This year is no different as the team prepares to take on the world’s best in the 15th edition of the globe’s premier Netball showcase scheduled for July 28-August 6 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jamaica’s best results in the Netball World Cup are a trio of third-place finishes in 1991, 2003 and 2007.

The 2019 edition, held in England, saw the Sunshine Girls finish fifth.

Head Coach of the Sunshine Girls, Connie Francis, believes the team’s togetherness will allow them handle the pressure.

“They are a happy bunch. They love each other and support each other. Whether the person is wrong or right, the back each other,” Francis told SportsMax.tv at a sendoff for the team on Wednesday before noting a key difference between this group and the previous one at the World Cup.

“One difference about the team this time around that I love is that they hold each other accountable for play,” Francis said.

“They’re all serious about ensuring that, going into this World Cup, we take it seriously because we have a group of players that play in Australia and shake the world. We have a group of players that play in Jamaica that also shake the world. It’s about that learning and hoping that, when we play those finals, mistakes don’t come back and haunt us. It’s about us respecting each opponent and playing to the best of our ability,” she added.

The definition of a successful tournament varies from team to team. For Francis, it means a tournament where her team leaves no stones unturned in their efforts to try to get the job done.

“A successful tournament is having everybody putting out 110%. That would define a successful World Cup for me,” she said.

Jamaica will compete in Pool C alongside the hosts, Wales and Sri Lanka. They will first meet Sri Lanka on June 28^th before taking on Wales a day later before completing stage one of the preliminaries against South Africa on June 30.

While Jamaica's Netball culture and current ranking pits the Sunshine Girls as overwhelming favourites to win gold at the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, Nicole Aiken-Pinnock is mindful that it still requires efficient execution to get the job done.

As such, Aiken-Pinnock, who will guide the 12-member number-four ranked Jamaican team to the 24th staging of the June 23 to July 8 Games in El Salvador, is taking steps to guard against complacency and ensuring that players take nothing for granted.

"On paper, we are expected to win, but at the same time, we know the games aren't played on paper so we will not only have to turn up, but more importantly, execute accordingly. So, we just have to take it one game at a time," Aiken-Pinnock said.

"We have to turn up and be ready for every game. We have to respect our opponents and make sure we give of our best regardless of who we play against because they will not be handing any win to us. I am sure we will have to work hard for our wins, so we have to just work hard and believe in our structure and execute," she added.

Aiken-Pinnock revealed that their preparations have so far been on course to achieve their intended goal, with only some fine-tuning required over the next week.

"Preparations have been going well, I can tell you that there is a lot of intensity and focus at the sessions. The drive and effort of the ladies is commendable, and we just have to keep working at the small things and try to be as consistent as possible," she said.

Aiken-Pinnock, a former defender, who represented Jamaica at numerous major tournaments, knows the importance of a fielding a solid team with some depth, which is why she welcomes the addition of the experienced Adean Thomas and Rebekah Robinson to accompany rising stars Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, and defender Kimone Shaw, who are all a part of the squad to the World Cup later this year.

With this being the first time in CAC Games history that netball will be a part of the multi-sports event, Aiken-Pinnock said it represents an opportunity for the young players, in particular, to show their class and, by extension, gauge their readiness for the showpiece in South Africa.

"We do have a few ladies who will be participating in their first major tournament for Jamaica away from home, so we just have to ensure that stay mentally prepared and ready for what is to come at the Games," Aiken-Pinnock noted.

These games will definitely assist our young players going into the World Cup, especially Crystal, to prepare her for what is to come at the big dance," she ended.

Full Squad:

Shooters – Shadine Bartley, Simone Gordon, Amanda Pinkney, and Rebekah Robinson

Centre court – Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, Adean Thomas, and Quannia Walker

Defenders – Theresa Beckford, Paula-Ann Burton, Abbeygail Linton, and Kimone Shaw

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have not won a Netball World Cup medal since 2007 when they took bronze in New Zealand.

When they descend upon Cape Town for the 2023 edition of the sport’s showpiece global event, the Commonwealth Games silver medallists will be very aware of their World Cup medal drought, according to Head Coach Connie Francis.

“They are very anxious and hungry to go out there and get one,” Francis told SportsMax.TV.

“We have not medalled in 16 years and I know that the girls are aware of that, especially this bunch. It will be fantastic,” Francis added.

As far as preparation goes, Francis says everything is going according to plan.

“It is going well. We took a break in our preparation for the girls to get some court time playing against each other and it’s really for the selectors and myself to assess and see the players that we need in our squad and I thought that the Elite League provided that,” she said.

“We see some young talent coming through and that’s a positive,” she added.

An initial squad of 28 players will be selected on May 13 before it is cut down to 21 a week later. On May 27, the final 15-member squad will be selected for the World Cup.

Francis described the selection of the squad as a “work in progress.”

“It’s not close, especially for the ones here in Jamaica. It’s a work in progress,” she said.

“It’s about that effort behind the work and seeing players improve every time they’re out there because we’ll be playing nine games in ten days. So, it’s about executing our sessions well and replicating the same things in competition,” she added.

The squad departs the island on June 14 with their first match of the World Cup coming against Sri Lanka on June 28.

Netball Jamaica has been fined almost one million Jamaican dollars (£5,000) by World Netball following last year’s fiasco involving the Sunshine Girls series with the Silver Ferns in September 2022. Resulting from the sanction, the Sunshine Girls will be barred from international tournaments until the fine is fully paid.

According to reports, passport and visa issues delated the arrival of the Sunshine Girls in New Zealand resulting in a condensed series with two tests being moved to Auckland. Subsequently, only seven players eventually arrived in New Zealand as the other five of the 12-player squad continued to experience challenges with their visas.

As a result, Jamaica in a bid to field the mandatory 10 players for a recognized test match, were forced to add coach Connie Francis to the team sheet. They were also forced to recruit Romelda Aiken-George and the retired Carla Borrego from Australia. Aiken-George had given birth to her first child a few weeks earlier.

Reports said lost ticket sales and a change of venue and costs for travel assistance cost New Zealand dearly and prompted the World Netball investigation. The two games that were not played were recorded as losses for Jamaica which saw them drop to fourth in the world rankings.

Netball Jamaica has received a major financial boost towards its preparations for the 2023 Netball World Cup scheduled for July 28-August 6 in Cape Town.

The association, on Tuesday, received a $10 million sponsorship from National Baking Company and are looking to raise $51 million to cover its expenses in the build-up to the marquee event.

“It is a big day for us at Netball Jamaica. We are grateful to National for coming on board,” said President Tricia Robinson.

Their final preparation before the World Cup will come in a three-match series against England which will take place from January 11^th- January 15^th.

“We are really looking forward to this tour. It will give the coaching staff an opportunity to see exactly where we are in terms of preparation for the World Cup,” Robinson said.

The first match, on the 11th January, will take place at Manchester’s AO Arena, before the teams travel down south to the Copper Box Arena in London for back-to-back games on the 14th and 15th January.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ended Friday’s day one of the Fast5 Netball Series at the Christchurch Arena in New Zealand winless after losses to Australia, Uganda and South Africa in their three games.

The first match saw them suffer a 24-goal loss to the mighty Australians, losing the quarters 14-5, 7-4, 9-3 and 9-3 for a total score of 39-15. Romelda Aiken-George scored four goals from six attempts and Gezelle Allison had the same number of goals in four more attempts.

They were then upset 33-22 by Uganda in their second outing.

The Ugandans got out to an early 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched it to 17-7 at halftime. The second half was a lot closer as there was just one goal between the two teams with Uganda winning quarter three 9-8 and the fourth ending 7-7. Amanda Pinkney and Aiken-George combined for nine goals including two three pointers.

The third game was the closest as Jamaica suffered a one-point loss to South Africa after having a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

The first quarter saw only five points in total being scored as Jamaica prevailed 3-2 while the second quarter was tied 8-8 meaning the Sunshine Girls led 11-10 at the half.

Jamaica’s lead was then stretched to six after a 12-7 third quarter made it 23-17 before a spirited fourth quarter comeback by the South Africans gave them a 28-27 win. Amanda Pinkney scored eight goals from 13 attempts while Mischa Creary was perfect from her six attempts.  

Jamaica will play England and New Zealand on day two at 12:00pm and 3:45pm local time (6:00pm and 9:45pm on Saturday in Jamaica) in their final two round robin games.

By virtue of their outstanding play during the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have moved up a place in World Netball’s global rankings.

The Sunshine Girls who defeated world number-one Australia and number-two New Zealand before losing to Australia in the final, have climbed a spot to number three in the world rankings released on Monday.

Meanwhile, Barbados’ Gems failed to win a single match at the Commonwealth Games and have dropped two places to 14^th in the rankings. Trinidad and Tobago, meanwhile, fell one place to 11^th.

According to World Netball, “Since the last WN World Rankings update published, on  March 1, 2022, many international test series and events have taken place including the PacificAUS Series, Europe Netball Open Challenge, COSANA Tri-Nations Series, Wales International Test Series, Netball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers – Oceania, and most recently, the 38 matches at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“Within the top six teams Jamaica has moved up to third in the world, whilst England has dropped to fourth, this comes after Jamaica made history at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games making their first final and winning a silver medal.”

World Netball said the new rankings mean that world number-one Australia, New Zealand (2), Jamaica (3) and England (4) will now be invited to compete at the NWC2023. Uganda (6) will also be invited; they have also qualified through their world ranking, due to South Africa (5) pre-qualifying as hosts.

The Netball World Cup 2023 Qualifier – Oceania has already taken place with Tonga and Fiji qualifying to be invited by World Netball to compete at the event.

Tonga finished unbeaten at both the PacificAUS Series in March 2022 and the Netball World Cup Qualifier Oceania in July 2022.

World Netball requires teams to have played six or more matches in the ranking period to be eligible for a World Ranking.  Tonga has reached this threshold again and they now regain a world ranking, entering 9^th place in the world.  This is a remarkable achievement as their highest previous ranking was 19^th.

Malta (35) Israel (39) and Switzerland (45) have also regained a ranking after playing the required number of matches by competing at the Europe Netball Open Challenge in May.

The success of Tonga has led to Scotland moving down one place to 10, and Trinidad & Tobago and Northern Ireland also moving down one place to 11 and 12.

There have also been many changes lower down the table with Barbados, Cook Islands and Samoa all moving down two places, whilst the Republic of Ireland have moved up four places to 24^th after winning the Europe Netball Open Challenge.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls, silver medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England have attracted a lucrative three-year contract from Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum, the company announced on Sunday.