Nadine Bryan (centre), seen in action against England last year, has joined the Sunshine Girls in training.

Robert Bailey, Freelance Writer

Newly appointed manager of Jamaica's team to this year's World Netball Championships (WNC), Hyacinth Smith is confident the Sunshine Girls can win the November tournament.

Smith, however, said Australia and New Zealand will prove 'worrisome'.

"I am thinking that Australia and New Zealand will be the teams we need to really come up strong against," said Smith.

"In the first instance, New Zealand. The way the rounds are set we would really need to beat the hosts if we want to be playing on the final night," she added.

Despite Smith's confidence she has identified some serious challenges the team will need to get over, even before the championships begin.

"The preparations have been going very well. However, we have some things that are a bit of a problem. Some of our players are not residents here in Jamaica. They come here, train then go back home," she explained.

A little unevenness

"We have a player like Sharon Wiles who attends college abroad and she will be here with us for just a couple of weekends until we leave for the championships. So there is a little unevenness based on where we would want to be before the championships," said Smith.

As part of their preparation for the WNC, the Sunshine Girls will play a three-Test series against England at the National Indoor Sports Centre next month.

"I think that this series against England should be a very exciting, challenging and entertaining one because from what I have seen the English team has really progressed a lot," said Smith.

The first match is set for September 17, the second on the 19th, and the third on the 20th. This will be the final series for the Jamaicans before the start of the championships.

The Sunshine Girls who suffered 2-0 defeats to host teams Australia and New Zealand in their last competitive series will welcome the return of Wiles and Nadine Bryan, who have rejoined the team in training.

Meanwhile on Friday the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) announced six officials for this year's (WNC).

The officials are headed by Smith and include head coach Connie Francis, assistant coach Annett Daley, physiotherapist Maureen Spence-Campbell, team doctor Praimanand Singh and video analyst Paula Daley Morris.