Australia’s netball coach Norma Plummer is wary of the shooting threat the Jamaican world star Romelda Aiken poses to them in clashes later this year.
World champions Australia Diamonds will be at home to Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls for a three-Test series in August before facing off at October’s Commonwealth Games in India where they are both pooled in the same group.
At 6-feet-5-inches, the 21-year-old Aiken is one of the world’s best shooters and Plummer concedes that because containing her is so difficult, it makes World No.4 Jamaica a very potent force.
“Romelda demands so much attention,” Plummer said.
“You are inclined to let their talented shooter Simone Forbes run a little bit to shut down the big pass going in. It really does put you at a disadvantage unless you’ve got the height to combat Romelda,” Plummer added.
The Test series between Australia and Jamaica starts on August 8 in Melbourne, followed by matches in Sydney (August 11) and the Gold Coast (August 15).
Jamaica advertised their current strength in Kingston last October when they registered wins over Australia and World No.2 New Zealand to secure 1-1 series results against the two powerhouses in world netball.
In the series against Australia, Jamaica lost the opening game 51-53 but rallied to win the second game 56-55 for their first win over Australia in 11 years.
Led by Aiken, the Sunshine Girls rebounded from a 56-61 defeat in their opening match against the New Zealand Silver Ferns to win the second match 53-50.
