The netball Proteas start a busy two months with a three-match Margaret Beckford Sunshine Test series against highly ranked Jamaica in Kingston on Saturday.
After the series with the Jamaican Sunshine Girls, the Proteas will travel to the UK to play in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup against England, Uganda and Malawi next month.
As they prepared for the first Test on Sunday morning, coach Jenny van Dyk said players are looking forward to South Africa’s first netball tour to Jamaica since 2012.
“It is always a challenge to play against Jamaica, who have a distinctive style,” said Van Dyk.
“It is more challenging now because most of their frontline players play in the Australian league, so their style is now a blend of Caribbean and Australian netball.
“They are an experienced team and have three fantastic shooters. Jamaica is ranked third in the world, behind Australia and New Zealand. We are thrilled to be playing them because if we want to be the best we must play the best,” she added.
The Proteas travelled more than 30 hours from Johannesburg to Kingston as they flew via Doha and New York, but Van Dyk said they have recovered from that arduous journey.
“We took the advice of other South African teams that have travelled long distances and we stayed awake when we needed to be awake even though we could hardly keep our eyes open.
“But we have adapted well and are enjoying the island vibe. We plan to hit the ground running and we have done a lot of research and preparation for this series. We don’t often get a chance to play against Jamaica and we are determined to be competitive.
“We beat Jamaica the last time we played here and our assistant coach Zanele Mdodana was part of that team, so she is able to tell us what to expect.”
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