Sunshine Girls shorthanded ahead of England test

THE SUNSHINE Girls are set to be without a number of their senior players for their upcoming Horizon Vitality Series against rivals England in December.

The Sunday Gleaner has been reliably informed that the likes of Captain Jhaniele Fowler, Shamera Sterling, Jodian-Ann Ward, Romelda Aiken, Shimona Nelson, and Latanya Wilson have made themselves unavailable for various reasons.

Fowler, Aiken, Nelson, and Wilson have made themselves unavailable for the series. Sterling recently gave birth, while Ward recently underwent surgery.

When contacted for a comment on Saturday, president of Netball Jamaica Karen Rosen Baugh said she would not comment on the absence of any player until the squad is released this week.

The five players ply their trade in the Suncorp Super Netball League in Australia, with Aiken retiring from the league just recently.

The 2025 Horizon series will feature two home matches for Jamaica at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on December 6 and 7, followed by two away matches at the Copper Box Arena in London, England, on December 13 and 14.

The Sunshine Girls won the inaugural four-match series between the teams in 2024, 2-1. Game one of that series at the O2 Arena in London ended in a draw before England won game two.

However, the Jamaicans bounced back to win games three and four at home to win the series.

The highly anticipated series is expected to be fiercely contested as the Sunshine Girls are ranked third in the world, one place above England. Both teams will be using the series as part of their preparations for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2, 2026. The Jamaicans, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will be looking to go one better this time around.