Netball: A power cut concluded England's 55-47 win over Jamaica to level the series

Darkness descended over the Sunshine Girls in more ways than one last night as England secured a 55-47 win to level the International Series at 1-1.

With one minute and 15 seconds left on the clock, the power failed inside the the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, and the umpires were forced to declare the match as a result.

An additional minute or so in the ice bath would have been a welcome relief for the ladies in red following a bruising, physical encounter against their hosts.

At one stage in the third quarter a contact on Jade Clarke sent her tumbling into co-captain Pamela Cookey who was forced off the court due to the clash of bodies. The Jamaican GD Vangelee Williams, who made the initial contact, was sent off for two goals following the incident.

The failing lights and fierce play did not deter from a wonderfully professional and composed England display which saw them bounce back from Saturday’s loss in fine style.

England flew out of the blocks and were applying the pressure across the court early on. The Jamaicans were struggling to penetrate the away defence and it resulted in a flurry of converted turnovers to put the visitors 5-0 ahead early on.

In attack the ball was being handled with more care and the positive link-up play in the final third made sure that England silenced a boisterous home crowd by leading 16-11 at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

Fade to black

The good form continued into the second quarter as an unchanged England line-up went on the attack – Jo Harten increased the lead.

Jamaica stepped up the energy levels and ferociously threw themselves into attempted tips and intercepts. England remained composed and took a 31-25 advantage into the half-time interval.

Eboni Beckford-Chambers replaced Geva Mentor for the third quarter with the latter having had a wonderful battle with the Sunshine Girls shooters in the opening half.

The home side started brightly and quickly closed the gap to three but Williams bundled into Clarke giving England a player advantage.

Kadeen Corbin slotted into GA and linked fabulously with Harten to make the score 43-34.

Tiring legs meant that the quality of play faltered in the final quarter with turnovers coming at regular intervals. England remained in control and looked dangerous in possession as at one stage they moved 12 goals clear.

A power outage rather than an umpire’s whistle decided full-time as the arena was plunged into darkness. With no resolution in sight and visibility down to an all-time low, the umpires declared the game a result.

The sides meet for a third and final time on Wednesday morning UK time with the Series still up for grabs.

England starting 7: GS – Harten, GA – Cookey, WA – S.Corbin, C – Clarke, WD – Francis, GD – Agbeze, GK – Mentor

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