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• No place like home: Simmons anticipates return to T&T as part of Papua New Guinea's staff for T20 World Cup

  Former West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says he is looking forward to being back in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago while assisting Papua New Guinea through their ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign in which they will rub shoulders with West Indies.

  Simmons, 61, joins Oceania side as a specialist coach, and he will provide Papua New Guinea's head coach Tatenda Taibu with some added experience and knowledge of playing in Caribbean conditions during the June 1-29 showpiece, which will also see games being played in United States.

  “My role here is as a consultant coach and how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups, but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at,” Simmons shared.

  Having built a strong reputation working with international sides such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, Simmons, who has played the sport for 14 years and coached for a further 18 years, was pressed for time to spend in the Caribbean and, as such, welcomed the opportunity to spend some time in the twin island republic.

  “It’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies you know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad. Having people come here, me getting back here, it’s always a great thing, it’s always something to look forward to," he declared.

  Simmons, who recently joined the Papua New Guinea squad in their pre-World Cup training camp in St Kitts, expressed pleasure with what he has seen so far.

  “Their energy is unbelievable. Their warm-ups alone, got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well. In training, we started to get out in the middle of their game, so they started on some of the things they have to do here in the Caribbean, and it’s nice to see the energy that’s among this squad," Simmons said.

  “I’ve known the head coach [Taibu] for a long time, and he’s always been energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is concerned, and so I like that atmosphere in the team, I like the liveliness in the team," he added.

  Papua New Guinea will contest Group C alongside West Indies, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganada. They will open against the Caribbean side on June 2, at the National Cricket Stadium in Guyana.

• A ray of sunshine: Caribbean players light up Round six of Suncorp Super Netball League

  The Suncorp Super Netball league has no shortage of international superstars, but the clash between the West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds well and truly showcased the Jamaican excellence the competition hosts.

  With six Jamaican Sunshine Girls split evenly between the two teams, the battle was fierce and full of flair, as it eventually ended 57-56 in favour of the Fever.

  Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard is no easybeat, and with the likes of Shanice Beckford serving her the ball on a silver platter, the Fever had no issue with scoring.

  However, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson would not let it all go the Fever’s way, picking off deflections left, right and centre.

  At the other end, Romelda Aiken-George and Kadie-Ann Dehaney went head-to-head in another enormous battle, which well and truly highlighted the impressive agility and elevation of the Jamaican superstars.

  All close friends off the court, the six players united after the match for a brilliant Jamaican team moment, sharing a dance for the remaining crowd.

  

  Shimona Jok (left) was one of many high-performing Jamaicans this week.

  Elsewhere, Jamaican Shimona Jok won the player of the match award for her impressive 50-goal game in the Maverick’s 69-62 win against the Firebirds, while another Jamaican Jodi-Ann Ward worked in overdrive in the Sydney derby. However, her GIANTS team went down 52-76 to New South Wales Swift, led by Trinidad and Tobago’s Samantha Wallace-Joseph.

  After another week of intense battles, it comes as no surprise that Fowler-Nembhard remains atop the Nissan Net Points leaderboard with 690.5 points to her name, with Sterling-Humphrey (539.5 points) fourth on that list.

  With 355 goals to her name from 363 attempts, Fowler-Nembhard has scored over 100 goals more than Donnell Wallam (253 goals from 297 attempts), who sits second on both the goals and attempts leaderboard, while Aiken-George (214 goals from 245 attempts) occupies fourth on the attempts chart and fifth on the goals side.

  

  Trinidad and Tobago's Samantha Wallace-Joseph (right) did some damage for NSW Swifts.

  On the flip side, Aiken-George (30) leads the offensive rebound stats, with Fowler-Nembhard (16) in fifth. Fever’s Fran Williams (13) head the defensive rebound standing.

  Sterling-Humphrey leads the pack for deflections with 43, while Wilson (32 deflections) is in fourth position, but both Jamaicans are locked on 20 apiece in first and second on the intercept leaderboard.

  Beckford (124) sit fourth for centre pass receives, as Liz Watson (155) heads that chart, along with the goal assists chart where she has 154.

  Meanwhile, Helen Housby continues to reign supreme on the Suncorp Super Shot with 39 to her name for the season from 55 attempts, ahead of Sophie Dwyer (31 from 48).

• Sargent earns recall as Pulisc, Balogun and Adams headline USA's preliminary Copa America squad

  United States coach Gregg Berhalter has named a 27-man preliminary squad ahead of the Copa America.

  Josh Sargent, the Norwich City forward, has earned a recall to the USA squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Colombia, and is set to feature for his country for the first time since 2022.

  With first-choice right-back Sergino Dest injured, meanwhile, Berhalter has turned to Nashville SC's Shaq Moore in defence.

  Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Matt Turner, Weston McKennie and Brendan Aaronson are among the established names to feature.

  Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun, who opted to represent the USA rather than England, has also made the cut, as has Coventry City's Haji Wright, who has had a strong season in England's second tier.

  Berhalter explained Sargent had been called up to give him another option in attack, with Wright seen primarily as a wide option.

  "Between their club form and what they've done for the national team in the past, we think it's a talented group of strikers," he said.

  Giovanni Reyna, the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker who has been on loan at Nottingham Forest since January, has also been included, despite a feud between Berhalter and the playmaker's family in the wake of the World Cup.

  Antonee Robinson has had another impressive season with Fulham, and has been called up alongside club-mate Tim Ream.

  Former Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen was a notable omission, as were MLS stars Jesus Ferreira and Jordan Morris.

  "This summer presents an opportunity for us to progress and grow as a team as we continue to build towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Berhalter said.

  "We have a talented group of players and are excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the world."

  Berhalter will cut down his squad after the friendlies, with Copa hosts USA taking on Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia in Group C.