Aching for Aiken - Nevers disappointed with star shooter's Sunshine Girls snub

Winston Nevers, assistant coach of Jamaica's senior netball team, said he is disappointed that goal shooter Romelda Aiken has not made herself available for their series against Trinidad and Tobago and England, respectively.

The Sunshine Girls will face Trinidad and Tobago in a two-match series on October 7 and 9, before engaging rivals England in three Tests on October 11, 13 and 15.

Nevers told The Gleaner that he did not know the reason behind Aiken's decision, but noted that the towering player will be missed.

"I am somewhat disappointed because we would want everybody to gel, because me and Marvette (Anderson, head coach) are new coaches, and so we would love to see everybody," said Nevers, who noted the importance of having the full complement of players towards technical development.

"She is a top player, and as a coach, you would want the top players to be here, because she and Jhaniele Fowler-Reid are the world's best, and you would want to work out combinations with them, along with Shanice Beckford," he said. "But she is not there, and therefore, we just have to move on and work with who we have."

Nevers added that the series is very important for the Sunshine Girls because it forms part of their preparations for next year's World Championships, which will be held in Liverpool, England.

"This is going to be a very good test, because we can see how far we've reached, and what we want to build on for next year's World Championships," said Nevers. "We are putting in some things that we are working on now, and if it is working, then we are going to just continue building on it."

"However, if it is not working, then we just have to try something different, and so it is very important to watch this series and see where we are and so this series is very important to us," he said.

Aiken, who last presented the Sunshine Girls at this year's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, currently plies her trade for the Queensland Firebirds in the Suncorp Super League in Australia.