Sunshine Girls coach anxious to see young Turks in action

SUNSHINE GIRLS coach Sasha-Gaye Henry has stressed how anxious she is to see her squad, a mix of youth and experience, comes together for Jamaica’s forthcoming four-match international series against England’s Vitality Roses, which begins in Manchester tomorrow.

The Horizon Series has the unique claim of featuring two matches on either side of the Atlantic, with the first two in Britain and the last two taking place at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on November 25 and 26.

The majority of the team flew into London last weekend and moved north to near the AO Arena in the centre of England’s third biggest city on Monday, and Henry, herself a former Sunshine Girl who helped the nation to a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, stressed:

“We have already had a practice match against Scotland, which was very useful and helped us see where we are at.

“We have not played an international series since the World Cup, so it will be interesting to see how we get on against a team (England) who are now ranked second in the World and have had recent series in Australia and New Zealand.”

“We have several new players on board and it will be good to see how they blend with the senior players in the group.”

‘Not insurmountable’

Crystal Plummer, still only 22 but a member of the Sunshine Girls who were beaten 2-1 the last time they toured the UK in January 2023, potential debutants Nischa Creary and English-based Nottingham Forest player Rhea Dixon, who played in last year’s international Fast5 competition, plus Theresa Beckford (no relation to Shanice) are all vying for places.

But the absence of long-time star goal shooter and captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, through medical issues, has been a blow. Still, Henry insists that it is not insurmountable.

“It was gutting to find that we would be without Jhaniele but we are quite excited to have Romelda Aikin-George as a replacement and I know that she will give a good account of herself.”

England are also without some of their big names, such as goal attack/goal shooter Eleanor Cardwell, who has not played since the first of the Vitality Roses three-match test series in Australia last month, which they lost 2-1.

“We will not be naming our starting line-up until the day of the match,” confirmed Henry who, looking ahead, continued:

“We are so much looking forward to having two matches in Kingston … . It’s going to be a tough challenge and we can only see how these ladies step up to the challenge.

“Playing on your home court is always a privilege - being familiar with the area and having the crowd on your side helps.

“But we haven’t played in Jamaica since COVID, so it’s a few years since we’ve experienced that and we are really excited about it.”

First, they must face what is expected to be a very vocal and enthusiastic crowd at the AO (formerly Manchester Evening News) Arena – the UK’s biggest permanent indoor venue, which has a capacity of over 20,000.