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Girls look to turn back SA

Published:Sunday | January 19, 2020 | 1:13 AMRobert Bailey - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Francis
Francis

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls will be aiming for a fresh start today when they battle South Africa in their opening match of the four-nation Vitality Netball Nations Cup in England. The match is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Jamaica time.

The January 19-26 series will be the Sunshine Girls’ first outing since their disappointing fifth-place finish at last year’s Netball World Cup. Hosts England and world champions New Zealand are the other teams competing in the series.

Today’s clash between Jamaica and South Africa will be their first since the Sunshine Girls lost 55-52 to the Africans at last July’s Netball World Cup.

Sunshine Girls’ head coach, Connie Francis, who took over the job from Marvette Anderson in October, told The Sunday Gleaner that they are aiming for a positive start today against the Africans.

“We want to win and, hopefully, our attacking team can put it together,” said Francis.

“I am feeling confident going up against South Africa, although they beat us the last time. We made too many errors (in last year’s match), and I think that if we can correct those errors, then it should be much easier for us to win the game,” Francis said.

The Sunshine Girls arrived in England on Thursday while the South Africans have been training and playing practice games in the United Kingdom for more than two weeks.

The full squad: Jhaniele Fowler (captain), Shanice Beckford, Jodi-Ann Ward, Nicole Dixon, Khadijah Williams, Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Shamera Sterling, Shannika Johnson, Shadian Hemmings, Shimona Nelson, Gezelle Allison, and Latanya Wilson.