England’s Vitality Roses hunger for redemption against depleted Jamaica in two-match international series | Netball News

England face Jamaica in London this weekend in the second of three international series at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

After a disappointing 2-1 defeat to New Zealand, despite some bright moments throughout, the Roses will be looking to boost their confidence as the summer draws closer.

Jamaica, however, may not offer the same challenge that England expect from the world number 3 ranked team, as the Sunshine Girls are missing a few stars.

“We have no pressure against England; we talk about performances, we talk about goals,” said head coach Sasher Gaye Henry-Wright. Jamaica Observer.

“We know what we have, we know what we are going to England with. We just have to work.

“This is the best team we can put together at the moment, and we are very happy that we have been able to put together a team despite the absence of our senior and experienced players.

“And it shows that our program just needs to be more prestigious – have more coaches, have a pathway program readily available so that when those times come, we can take advantage of it.

“We don’t have that at the moment because of funding. We only have a senior program and the U21s and so there’s nothing happening, so because of the [lack of] money, we can’t do it.

“We still need to recruit players; we need to look around and see what we have in Jamaica, but we are still optimistic that things will improve soon.”

Key players missing from the squad include captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who – alongside Romelda Aiken-George, Shimona Nelson and Latanya Wilson – has withdrawn from the squad.

Kadie-Ann Dehaney is also not on the team roster, but plays alongside Fowler-Nembhard at West Coast Fever, who have returned to pre-season training in the Suncorp Super Netball league.

Jodie-Ann Ward will also be out after rupturing her ACL in May while playing for the Giants at SSN.

Adelaide Thunderbirds favorite Shamera Sterling is also not in the squad. She gave birth to her son in October.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the Sunshine Girls, as seasoned internationals Shanice Beckford and Khadija Williams will be key players on the show.

Both men were part of Jamaica’s bronze medal-winning teams at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games and reached a historic silver medal in 2022.

After retiring from international netball five years ago, former captain Vangele Williams will make her return to the court at age 33 after making her senior team debut in 2011.

Former Vitality Rose Rhea Dixon is also part of the team, which has moved to represent Jamaica in 2023, a move she described as a “life-changing experience” for “my netball and my identity”.

The Sunshine Girls team:

Shanice Beckford

Rhea Dixon

Simone Gordon

Sell ​​Allon

Mischa Creary

Khadija Williams

Adéan Thomas

Abigale Sutherland

Crystal pencil case

Zaudi Green

Kimone Shaw

Vangele Williams

Therese Beckford

Roxonna McLean

Paula Ann Burton

The Vitalité Roses team:

Éléonore Cardwell

Sasha Glasgow

Helene Housby

Lois Pearson

Liv Tchine

Natalie Metcalf

Amy Carter

Beth Cobden

Emma Rayner

Jess Shaw

Halimat Adio

Jaz Brown

Razia Quashie

Give me some Fadoju

Francesca Williams

Vitality Netball Horizon Series Schedule

The first two matches of the series which were originally scheduled to be played in Jamaica were canceled due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa, so the series will now see only two matches, both played in London.

Saturday December 13: Copper Box Arena, London
England vs Jamaica, 2 p.m.

Sunday December 14: Copper Box Arena, London
England vs Jamaica, 2:15 p.m.

Schedules subject to slight change due to broadcast requirements