Campbell back in action

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's top netball umpire, Sylvester Campbell, is set to make a return to the sport, this after he was selected to officiate in a three-Test series between world champions Australia and top-ranked New Zealand in October.

Campbell, who has been an umpire for the last 20 years, retired from international umpiring last year to focus his efforts on other areas of development of the sport.

The first Australia-New Zealand netball Test match will be played on October 23 in Perth and the second three days later in Adelaide. The final match will be played on October 30 in Melbourne.

The 42-year-old Campbell, who last officiated in the final of the Commonwealth Games, which was held in Delhi, India last October, told The Gleaner yesterday that he is looking forward to a very exciting series.

"I have been doing some really serious work and mental preparation as well because these games are very big games," said Campbell.

"I have been doing a lot of strength work and video analysis of both teams, but I am accustomed to these big moments, and so it is a matter of going out there and getting the job done," Campbell said.

He added: "It always a great thing to umpire in Australia because there is always something to learn in terms of helping you to develop your umpiring skills, and so I am looking forward to the challenge of officiating in a top class series such as this."

No. 1 ranked team

The Australians defeated New Zealand in extra-time to retain the world title last month in Singapore. How-ever, despite this, New Zealand still remain the number one-ranked team in the world by a mere three points over their Oceanic rivals.

"This series is very important in terms of the rankings because New Zealand are only leading Australia by three points for the number one ranking and so whoever wins will be the number one team in the world," said Campbell, who is also the coach of Tivoli Gardens netball club.

"Both teams will also be looking to close out the year as the number one team, and so I think it is going to be a ding-dong battle because they are the two best teams in the world," Campbell added.