Photo from Fast Five (Getty Images)
With the issues of Chic V, financial struggles, new and inexperienced players, some seasoned players being out of this year’s squad the sunshine girls left the Island still very optimistic that they could have taken the top crown at the recently concluded Fast Five netball championship in Auckland New Zealand November 9-11.
When the curtains came down on the championship the Minneth Reynolds coached ladies could only manage a fourth place finish behind the world top three ranked nations.
The senior team captained by Nicole Aiken-Pinnock, which included Malysha Kelly debutant Shanice Beckford, Nicole Dixon, Khadjia Williams, Thristina Harwood, Vangelee Williams, Paula Thompson and shooter Romelda Aiken, relinquished the bronze medal they won in the 2013 staging after going down 31-30 to England in the third place playoff. Jamaica had earlier beaten England 27-26 in the preliminary round.
The pace seemed much too upbeat for the girls from the land of top world rated sprinters after they were outclassed in their first match by the Australian team 34-13. The team from there on looked a shadow of previous squads such as the one that copped silver at the inaugural staging of the championship and last year’s team that produced the MVP in Shooter Thristina Harwood.
Jamaica had close wins over the Malawians 29-28 victory before executing a much more comfortable 45-20 victory over South Africa but they were once again handed another hammering by the three time champions New Zealand 35-10 in their final round robin fixture.
Marva Bernard, President of Netball Jamaica said she accepted full responsibility for the failure of the girls to get on the medal podium, but like the coach thinks that our shooting was not up to par as was expected.
What was seemingly missing from the Jamaican’s game were the shift passing and the long three points shots which are crucial to this version of the game.
The girls now turn their focus to the upcoming England series in Jamaica in January.
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