Sunshine Girls face England Roses test in Horizon Vitality series

An understrength Sunshine Girls team will face England Roses in the opening netball match of the two-match Horizon Vitality Series at the Copper Box Arena in London, England on Saturday. The second game in the series will be played on Sunday.

The Sunshine Girls, who are coached by Sasher-Gaye Henry, will be missing seven of their most experienced players, including captain Jhaniele Fowler, Shamera Sterling, Jodi-Ann Ward, Latanya Wilson, Shimona Nelson, Kadie-Ann Dehaney, and Romelda Aiken, all of whom ply their trade in Australia and were unavailable for selection.

The Jamaicans, who won last year's series 2-1, will be hard pressed to repeat that success as they are expected to face a very strong Roses team.

Karen Rosen-Baugh, president of Netball Jamaica (NJ), said she is expecting a strong showing from the Jamaicans in both matches.

"The mindset is that Jamaica needs to see a good performance from them and so they are determined to put on a good show," said Rosen-Baugh.

"However, they know that it is going to be a tough series because when number three and number four are playing each other, it is always tough, it is always an intense series so England is playing at home so the Copper Box Arena will be full of their fans," she admitted.

"But we are hoping that those in the diaspora will be coming out to support the Sunshine Girls and the mindset is that we are going to put what we are training for into practice and come away with a series win."

Rosen-Baugh underscored the Sunshine Girls have intent and desire to prove themselves on the international stage.

"They are pretty focused and want to prove a point that they are not just here because they have been afforded the opportunity to come, they are focused on winning and wanting as a team to make that happen."

The team will be captained by veteran goal attack Shanice Beckford.