Sunshine Girls go winless on first day of Fast5 Series in New Zealand

Jamaica's Sunshine Girls lost all three matches on the opening day of the Fast5 Netball World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday.

The young and inexperienced Sunshine Girls opened with a 39-19 defeat to hosts New Zealand at Wolfbrook Arena, winning only the third quarter with a 7-3 scoreline. New Zealand took the first quarter 11-3, the second 10-5, and the fourth 14-4 to seal a 20-goal victory.

Amanda Pinkey scored 13 goals for Jamaica, with Simone Gordon adding six.

Martina Salmon led New Zealand with 17 goals, supported by Maia Wilson and Saviour Tui, who scored 11 each.

Jamaica then fell 35-15 to England, who replicated New Zealand’s 20-goal margin of victory.

South Africa kept Jamaica winless with a thrilling come-from-behind 33-25 victory in the final match for both teams.

After a slow first quarter tied at 3-3, Jamaica led 12-8 at halftime but could not hold off South Africa, who surged ahead with a 12-5 third quarter and closed with a 10-5 final quarter.

Jamaica’s Shadine Bartley led her team with 12 goals, with Kestina Sturridge adding seven and Pinkney six. South Africa’s Zandre Smit scored 18, with Kamogelo Maseko and Rolene Streukter netting seven each.

Defending champions Australia remain the only unbeaten team after the first day with New Zealand and South Africa, yet to play each other, on two wins and a loss apiece. England and Uganda have posted a win and two losses each while Jamaica remain the only team with three straight losses.

In Fast5, teams are made up of five players, rather than the traditional seven. The match length is shorter, with games split into four six-minute quarters.

Unlimited substitutions are also permitted throughout a match from the 'substitution box'.

There are three zones for scoring, each worth one, two and three points, respectively. 

After a goal is scored, the team that did not score takes the centre pass, unlike the standard alternating centre pass rules.

Day 1 Results South Africa 33-25 EnglandNew Zealand 39 – 19 JamaicaAustralia 44 – 37 UgandaEngland 35 – 15 JamaicaAustralia 49 – 26 South AfricaNew Zealand 40 – 27 UgandaEngland 31 – 22 UgandaJamaica 25 – 33 South AfricaNew Zealand 26 – 41 Australia

Round 2 Fixtures on Sunday (Saturday night Jamaica time)Jamaica vs Australia at 6:00 pm Saturday Jamaica timeNew Zealand vs England at 6:45 pm Jamaica timeSouth Africa vs Uganda at 7:30 pm Jamaica timeAustralia vs England at 9:00 pm Jamaica timeNew Zealand vs South Africa at 9:45 pm Jamaica timeJamaica vs Uganda at 10:30 pm Saturday Jamaica time5th/6th Final 3rd/4th Final 2024 FAST5 Final 

Fast5 action can be seen live on SportsMax and the SportsMax app.