Francis critical of umpiring
Sunshine Girls lose first Test series against England since 2013
Published:Sunday | December 5, 2021 | 12:12 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
NATIONAL SENIOR netball head coach, Connie Francis, wanted a strong response from her team after their first Test loss to England last week Sunday. Instead, the Sunshine Girls could not recover after a poor start as they fell 66-47 in yesterday’s second Test at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Compared to the first Test where Jamaica surrendered a slim 26-25 lead at half-time before England mounted a comeback to win 55-45, England dominated the second Test from start to finish and at one point, the England ‘Roses’ were leading the Jamaicans by at least 20 points. England finished the game with a 19-goal margin, nine goals more than what they managed in the first Test. The defeat doomed the Sunshine Girls to their first Test series loss against England since 2013.
While displeased with her team’s performance, Francis was critical of the umpires after the game, saying that various infringements called against her team, particularly the defenders, did not give her team time to settle.
CONTINUOUS CALLS
“We didn’t play up to expectations. But I thought that the inconsistency of the umpires is really not looking good,” Francis said. “They need to give us an opportunity to play. This is a friendly rivalry and we never seem to get an opportunity to have our feet down, to go out there and to play to our ability. I thought that heaps of contacts in the circle, continuous calls against our defenders, heaps of free shots. We just need an opportunity to work hard.”
England jumped on the Jamaicans early with goal shooter Eleanor Caldwell picking up where she left off in the first Test where she was named Player of the Match. England had a 21-13 lead in the first quarter, but piled on the pressure in the second quarter, with Jamaica only managing to score six goals in that period and trailing 35-19 at half-time.
England head coach, Jess Thirlby, said that she was pleased with how aggressive they began the game and relished another massive achievement for her team, having won their first Test series in New Zealand recently.
“I couldn’t be happier with how we asserted ourselves in that opening quarter. And to be in a position where you are eight up (in the first quarter),” Thirlby said. “We weren’t expected to be able to do that every quarter and it afforded us to bring in some changes, which I think is really important.
“It’s massive, it’s very rarely done (series win against Jamaica). It’s another little piece of history for this team and they are enjoying the journey,” Thirlby added.
Francis said that the Sunshine Girls were still too timid in their passing game, but was adamant about an improvement in the officiating for today’s third and final Test, also in Nottingham.
“I thought that we gave away a lot of easy passes. When we need to go get that ball we were a bit stagnant, we were a bit hesitant,” Francis said. “It is important for us to play better and it is important for us to be given a chance to play better.”
Today’s final test begins at 11 a.m., with Jamaica hoping to avoid a series sweep.