England U21s arrive for tri-series

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

England's Under-21 netballers touched down at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday afternoon, determined to get the better of their Caribbean counterparts Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago in the tri-nation series, which is set to begin tomorrow at the University of West (UWI) Bowl.

The English coach, Colette Thomson, said the triangular series forms a very important part of their buildup for the next month's World Youth Netball Championships.

"It is very important because we wanted to come here in our build-up for the World Youth Championships in the summer because we haven't been here since 2011," said Thomson.

"We want to use this in our build-up against the Caribbean style of play. We know how strong the Jamaicans are and it has always been a close thing between England and Jamaica and so we are really looking forward to a strong contest," she said.

"It is all about the summer ... it's all work in progress, which I am sure is the same with Jamaica in a sense that it is all about August and not now, but we are looking to play our best and come out with a win," Thomson said.

The coach will be banking on an experienced roster, which features a number of players who featured in their senior team's three-match series against Australia earlier this year.

"It's really a mixture of youth and experience because we have a couple of youngsters 16 (years), and then couple of others who have been out with the seniors in Australia and so it's a blend of everything that you can imagine for this series," Thomson pointed out.

Despite this, she noted that there are other challenges.

"They (Jamaica) are very good, they are very aerial, they have very long arms and they are a very strong side and so we know that we have our work cut out for us in the next fortnight," Thomson said.

"We are getting better all the time and they are getting the combinations, and so now it's about honing those combinations and actually putting the skills on court.

England will open their account against Trinidad and Tobago on Friday at the University of Technology.

The Trinidadians, who will play Jamaica in the opening game tomorrow, are due today.