Good luck, girls!

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

A confident 12-member Sunshine Girls team will leave the island today for a tough two-Test-away series against top-ranked Australia and New Zealand.

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

Connie Francis, head coach of the Sunshine Girls, said she is very optimistic that they can win both series.

"I want to see good, consistent performances from these girls, because if we can go out there and compete, especially without our captain Simone (Forbes), I have no doubt that we can go out there and win these series," said Francis.

Consistency

Francis added that their preparations going into the games had gone well and that the players were now ready and raring to go.

"I am very pleased with how our preparations have gone, but I am a bit disappointed, not having a few of our senior players for this tour," Francis said.

"However, I am really proud of what we have managed to put in during the preparations, and the girls are now looking forward to both series."

Francis said: "This is going to be a very difficult series, knowing that we are going in there with a rookie goal attack (Anna-Kay Griffiths), because we won't have Simone Forbes, but I know that victory is attainable for us against these teams."

Fourth ranking

The Sunshine Girls, who are ranked fourth in the world, are still oozing with confidence, following their historic series-levelling wins over both sides last October on home soil. Victories over both teams could see them moving up in the ranking table.

"If we win these matches, it will certainly help us to move up in the rankings, but our ultimate goal is to win at the Commonwealth Games in October," Francis said.