Bernard: Sunshine Girls will do well on tour

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

President of the Jamaica Netball Association, Marva Bernard, is confident the Sunshine Girls will do very well on their upcoming Test tours to top-ranked Australia and New Zealand.

The Jamaicans will oppose Australia on August 8 and 15 before travelling to New Zealand where they will battle the hosts on August 18 and 21.

The Connie Francis-coached team recorded historic series-levelling wins over both sides last October on home soil, and according to Bernard, they are very optimistic ahead of both series.

"I know that the girls are going to go down there and give a good account of themselves because they have worked really hard in their preparations for these series and they are also very confident," said Bernard in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday.

"We have some youngsters who are anxious to make their mark and to give a good account of themselves, and this is the opportunity that they are going to have to do that," she said.

The Jamaicans are ranked fourth in the world behind Australia, New Zealand and England, and according to Bernard, series victories over both teams would help to move the Sunshine Girls further up in the rankings.

"We can only move up in the rankings by playing more matches with teams that are above us, because the more matches we play and win, is the better chance we have of increasing our world ranking," Bernard said.

The team's next big assignment will be the Commonwealth Games, which will be held in India in October, and Bernard added that the coaching staff will also be using the series to assess the team before the Games.

"This series is very important for us because it will be good practice ahead of the Commonwealth Games and it also means that we would have seen two of the teams that we are likely to face in the Games," Bernard said. "The coaches will also have the chance to make any adjustments that they need to make."

The Jamaicans won the bronze medal at the World Championships which was held in New Zealand in 2007, and Bernard believes a good showing in these series and at the Commonwealth Games would set the tone for a serious push for the gold medal at the World Championships next year.

"It would also give us the chance to look at the team ahead of the World Championships next year, because if we do well at the Commonwealth Games, I am pretty sure that we are going to do well at the World Championships," she noted.