Barbados begin their competition at the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar today at 1 p.m. Barbados time with a tough engagement against South Africa.
The junior Bajan Gems are slated to play in the night cap game in the Europa Sports Complex.
Trinidad and Tobago, who are also in Group D with Barbados, are appearing in another feature game at the Tercentenary Sports Hall where they are clashing with Fiji.
Since arriving in Gibraltar on Sunday, the Julie Phillips-coached Gems have sought to quickly acclimatise to the conditions and have engaged in warm-up matches against Tonga, Gibraltar and Samoa.
Barbados have not played at such a high level since 2017 when the last Youth World Cup was staged in Botswana.
“The style of the opponents’ play is different from what our girls face at home, so making the adjustments was a bit challenging in the match. There was
also a bit of nervousness as only Damia [Walrond] . . . had some kind of international exposure representing the senior team at the last World Cup,” Phillips said.
“Even so, the girls were very keen to get going and it is just a matter of working out those minor challenges in certain playing areas and making key adjustments. The height and girth of the Oceania opponents were challenging but the girls quickly corrected.
“This World Cup and our group is not an easy road but the girls just need to execute and stick to the systems we practised.” ( KB)
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