Best Sunshine Girls line-up ever could take Netball World Cup

JAMAICA HAVE played in every Netball World Cup since the tournament’s inception, and its fine record is highlighted by bronze medals in 1991, 2003, and 2007.

That record could get a boost at the 16th staging of the tournament, in Cape Town, South Africa, starting Friday, as the island’s 2023 team is considered by many to be the best Jamaica has ever fielded.

The group is led by Jhaniele Fowler, the best shooter in the world. Her efficiency helped Jamaica secure a historic silver medal last year at the Commonwealth Games. Player of the year five times straight in the Australian Super League, Fowler is a sharpshooter. Even though the Australians know her well, she blitzed them with 93 goals in 97 attempts across two encounters at the Games. In addition, she pelted New Zealand with 54 goals from 54 attempts in the semi.

Jamaica beat eventual winner Australia in a preliminary round-robin match and bumped New Zealand in the semi-final before falling to the Aussies in the gold-medal game.

But Fowler isn’t Jamaica’s only top player. Slim and athletic, Shamera Sterling is a fabulous defender, and like Fowler, this Montego Bay native is a standout in the Australian Super League.

At 27, this fast and tenacious defender slows down most opponents. One description of her skill set seen on the Super League’s website said admiring: “Sterling’s ability to read the play and hunt down a loose ball is impossible to turn away from, with the defender a regular feature among the top interceptors and deflectors in the league.”

A FINE PLAYER

Coach Connie Francis, a fine player in her day, has brought the bulk of the 2022 Games squad to Cape Town. In addition, shooter Romelda Aiken-George is back in black, green, and gold. Now 34 and returning from the birth of her first child last year, Romelda has played for Jamaica since 2007 and is a veteran of the Australian Super League.

The only others who weren’t at the 2022 Games who are in the Cape Town squad are centre court players Crystal Plummer and Abigail Sutherland as well as defender Kimone Shaw.

For all of that squad depth, Jamaica starts the Netball World Cup ranked fourth behind Australia, New Zealand, and England.

The Sunshine Girls start their campaign on July 28 in a preliminary group that also includes South Africa. In the last World Cup, four years ago, an early loss to the South Africans and a defeat by England sent Jamaica to the playoff for fifth place.

Not only will they not want that to happen again, but they will also want to go all the way. Optimism is guarded but high and rides on the back of the victories over Australia and New Zealand last year. To win in Cape Town, Jamaica will have to beat those two giants of netball again.