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'Wi a go tek it from dem' - Jamaica aim to demote England in upcoming series

Published:Thursday | April 14, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Marva Bernard (second right), president of the Jamaica Netball Association, laughs after receiving a sponsorship cheque for $1.7 million from Sonia Davidson (third left), vice-president, group corporate communications, Supreme Ventures Limited, at yesterday's press launch of Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series, at the Acropolis in Barbican. Sunshine Girls Simone Forbes (right), along with Jodiann Ffrench Kentish (third right), Jhaniele Fowler (centre), Tracey-Ann Robinson (second left) and Sasher-Gaye Henry also share in the presentation. - Ian Allen/Photographer

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

"Wi a go tek it from dem," said Jamaica Netball Association president, Marva Bernard, uttering the slogan for the upcoming three-Test Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series, in which Jamaica Sunshine Girls aim to surpass England in the world rankings.

The English team is due to arrive in the island on April 22, Good Friday.

The Sunshine Girls are ranked fourth in the world, 10 points behind the English, and a 3-0 series win for the hosts will see them regaining the third spot - a position they once held three years ago.

New Zealand, with 174 points, are the number one-ranked team, marginally ahead of Australia (173), while England (150) are third ahead of Jamaica (140).

"We are going to compete and we are going to compete very hard, and if we have been training harder than them and competing with them, then on the given day I think we will do it," said Bernard, during yesterday's launch of the series at the Acropolis in Barbican, St Andrew.

"This series is very important because 15 players are vying for 12 places on the World Championship team and they all want to go Singapore," Bernard said.

The first match of the series will be played on April 26, the second on the 28th, and the final match is set for the 30th.

crucial series

Simone Forbes, a former captain and veteran of two World Netball Championships (WNC), said the series is a very crucial one because it forms an important part of their preparations for the championships.

"It is extremely important because this is the last big match that we have before the World Championships and so we want to be going into the championships on a high by winning these matches," said Forbes.

"Right now, we are 10 points behind England in the rankings and if we win these three matches we will overtake England for third place; that is a very good position to be in going to the World Championships and it would boost everybody's confidence," she said.

Forbes expects the series to be closely contested.

"I think that it is going to be a very keenly contested series because the team is working extremely hard. We have been doing up to seven sessions a week and so we are all looking forward to this series," she noted.

The WNC will be held in Singapore from July 3-10.

Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) is sponsoring this series - dubbed 'Wi a go tek it from dem' - to the tune of $1.7 million, while Best Dressed Chicken have contributed $500,000.

Sonia Davidson, SVL's vice-president, group corporate communi-cations, said her company is committed to helping with the development of the sport.

"The SVL is once again proud to support the JNA in its effort to bring the trophy back from Singapore later this year, through sponsorship of the second Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series for 2011," said Davidson.

"The first series in January against the Australian Diamonds was very exciting and we expect a repeat later this month when our Sunshine Girls face off against England," she said.

Davidson added: "It's a delight on our part to be able to provide both teams with the much-needed match practice, as they prepare for the World Netball Championships in July."