Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls celebrated a historic rise in the global netball rankings, moving from fourth to third place, with a commanding sweep of their South African counterparts in the Margaret Beckford Sunshine netball series. 

Sponsored by Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum, the thrilling three-match series unfolded between January 18 and January 25 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

The series, a true celebration of athleticism and camaraderie, captivated fans with breathtaking performances.

As a proud supporter of Jamaican sports for decades, Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum stands steadfast in its commitment to the development and success of the Sunshine Girls, who continue to inspire the nation with their passion, talent, and determination.

Shimona Jok was brought in as a replacement as both Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Romelda-Aiken George were both unavailable. Jok proved to be a quite capable replacement over the three games, displaying a shooting accuracy of 95 per cent or better, the dominant goal shooter steered her team to victory every night.

Jamaica ran out 55-47 winners in match one with Jok scoring 38 goals from 39 attempts for a 97 per cent accuracy as she set the tone for the series.

It was more of the same in match two as Jamaica scored an even bigger margin of victory, scoring 59 goals while limiting South Africa to the same 47 goals as the first match. For Jok, it was 35 goals from 37 attempts for 95 per cent accuracy.

With the series already won the Sunshine Girls did not take their foot off the pedal and playing in front of a capacity crowd on Saturday, the largest ever for a netball match inside the National Indoor Sports Centre, the slammed South Africa 58-47 to restrict the visitors to the same total in all three matches. 

Jok was named player of the match for match one, the outstanding defender Latanya Wilson was player of the match for match two, while the captain Shamera Sterling-Humfrey was player of the match for the final game.

Not surprisingly, ‘player of the series’ went to Shimona Jok who had 37 from 39 for 95 per cent shooting accuracy in the series finale.