Girls ready to shine in Fast Five

With the encouragement from senior women's head coach Connie Francis and captain Jhaniele Fowler, Jamaica's youthful national senior netballers will continue their growth and evolution on the international stage as they begin their Fast Five series this evening in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Sunshine Girls will open against reigning Commonwealth Games champions Australia at 6:30 p.m. Jamaica time, completing their doubleheader against Uganda at 9:30 p.m. Players that participated in the recently concluded Netball World Cup regional qualifiers make up more than half the squad. Jamaica finished unbeaten at the qualifiers and the new-look team got strong reviews from Francis as they continue to make their case to make the final roster for next year's Netball World Cup in South Africa.

Fowler is among the regular staples of the team who are not on the team, however, she believes that the experience gained from the recent qualifiers as well as their own off-court growth will put them in good stead to make a strong impression at the international level.

"I think they have gained a lot of knowledge as to how to carry themselves, especially on the court, and I reckon that they will be able to support each other," Fowler told the RJRGleaner Communications Group on Wednesday.

"So I am happy about the amount of experience that they are going with, knowing that they can still compete with the teams going there," she added.

The young Sunshine Girls will have the shooting power of Gezelle Alison, who impressed during the regional qualifiers and also was part of the recent series in New Zealand as well as Amanda Pickney. Wing Defence Crystal Plummer, who also impressed Francis during the regional qualifiers, is also in the team as well as veteran Romelda Aiken-George, who will be in her second consecutive international series in New Zealand. Annett Daley and Dalton Hinds will be on the sidelines as coaches for the team.

With the fast-paced nature of the Fast Five format, Fowler said that it will allow opportunities for Allison and Pickney to demonstrate their shooting power.

"I think we have a very vibrant young team going out, and Fast Five is a very fast=paced game. I think they are going to do well. We have great shooters making the trip. Fast Five is about the shooting aspect of the game on who can get the longest shots in," Fowler assessed. "We have long range shooters, and I think that they are going to do very well."

Jamaica finished runners-up in the last two Fast Five Series, losing to England in 2017 and New Zealand in 2018.

Fast Five Squad

Romelda Aiken-George

Gezelle Allison

Amanda Pickney

Tafiya Hunter

Crystal Plummer

Abigail Sutherland

Theresa Beckford

Mischa Creary

Roxonna McLean

Kimone Shaw