Related items

• Jamaican Shimona Jok at home with Melbourne Mavericks after a tumultuous period in netball journey

  A year ago, Shimona Jok faced one of the darkest periods of her netball career.

  At the close of the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) season, the Jamaican shooter believed she would have secured a spot on another team after the dissolution of her then club, Collingwood. But as days turned to weeks, then months, Jok found herself without a contract and very little hope as her training session from there on was more out of habit than purpose.

  “It hurt to know I wasn’t recognised enough to be given a contract,” Jok admitted.

  “I had sleepless nights and was depressed to the point where I was wondering if I was even valued in this competition. Did anyone see me as someone to be a part of their team? I was going to the gym, but there wasn’t any motivation—I just wanted to stay in bed,” she added.

  While, like most athletes, Jok wished she didn’t have to walk that path, she has now grown to appreciate that her temporary setback was a setup for a major comeback.

  This, as Jok is currently in preseason preparation as a key player for the Melbourne Mavericks, following an integral performance last season, which saw her cop the club’s inaugural MVP title and, with it, a new contract

  

  Shimona Jok interacts with a fan.

  “It shows you take what you learn from a bad experience and blossom it into something new. I went to the Mavericks and thought to myself, I still get to be in a professional environment; I still get to build relationships, add to them, and they add to me. Every single day I got in the Mavericks environment, I flourished,” Jok declared.

  Jok vividly recalls the day she and her Collingwood teammates were informed their team would no longer exist.

  “It was crazy when it happened. I remember vividly—we were in a team meeting doing some analysis, and the CEO came in and sat us down. They weren’t very direct, but when someone asked what was happening, they told us they wouldn’t be continuing the netball program,” she shared.

  Despite the devastating news, the Magpies finished their season with pride, securing two wins from their final three games, including victories over eventual premiers the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the finals-bound West Coast Fever.

  “We tried to be there for each other. It was a big pill to swallow, knowing we had to finish the season off, but we did it for each other. We stuck together, showed up at training, stayed positive, and looked out for each other,” Jok explained.

  After Collingwood’s collapse, Jok faced another blow of missing out on Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls 2023 World Cup squad, only being named as a reserve. What was difficult for her is the fact that she learned about it on social media.

  

  Shimona Jok in action with the Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2018.

  “I found out I was a reserve for the World Cup over social media and got told I didn’t seem committed enough,” Jok said.

  “Personally, it was very difficult. I took it with a grain of salt and spoke to Latanya [Wilson], who convinced me to come to South Africa. She pointed out that this was an opportunity to go,” she noted.

  Jok’s journey into netball began with a decision to forego basketball scholarships in the United States to pursue immediate earning opportunities in netball. Landing in Australia, she joined the Adelaide Thunderbirds as a replacement player in 2018.

  She hit the ground running, shooting 37 goals on her SSN debut, and finished the season with 418 goals under the tutelage of current West Coast Fever coach Dan Ryan.

  “I have to give Dan [Ryan] a lot of credit. He saw a lot of potential in me and really pushed me. It was amazing to know somebody believed I could be good at this. After every single week, Dan and I would sit and talk about my goals for the next game. I still have the notebook as a reminder of where I came from and where I am now,” the 6ft 5in shooter stated.

  It was from there that she ended up at Collingwood, where she became one of the league’s most consistent shooters, and even then, she often felt overlooked.

  

  Shimon Jok in action with Collingwood.

  “I don’t know, to be honest—it all just comes down to who people like. I’ve been here for seven years, and the recognition new players get compared to me hurts. But you know what? There’s going to come a time where they’re not going to be able to brush over my name,” Jok said with an air of confidence.

  “I feel like I’ve worked to get into a space where I’m just focused on what I can control. Every single year I’m building, every single year it’s a different Shimona, every single year it’s a different style of play,” she reasoned.

  The now 25-year-old’s determination inevitably paid off, as she was drafted by the Mavericks earlier this year and felt right at home. Having learnt from her experiences over the years, Jok is now focused on continued growth for the 2025 campaign.

  “I’ve had the experience of what it feels like to have genuine connections, and I feel at the Mavericks, we’ve found our feet together. Once everyone got on court, worked together, and started to realise how much we could push each other, we started to build genuine connections.

  “I’m going to keep putting in the work and building those relationships. I love a good relationship because they can get you over the line no matter what,” Jok ended.

• Cox replacement Bethell will bat at three for England Test debut

  Jacob Bethell is set to bat at number three on his Test debut after replacing Jordan Cox as England open their series against New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday.

  The Warwickshire left-hander was called up after wicketkeeper Cox broke his right thumb in the nets during England’s warm-up game.

  As such, England’s usual number three, Ollie Pope, will take the role of wicketkeeper and drop down the batting order to number six.

  While Bethell has eight ODI caps and seven T20 caps for England, he was a shock choice for the Test squad, but one Joe Root is excited to see.

  "The way his game sets up suits Test cricket. I'm really looking forward to watching him go out there and play. It's a really exciting time for him,” Root told BBC Sport.

  "I've known him and his family for a long time. I saw him play when he was 11 or 12 years old and I could tell then he was already a very accomplished player.

  “It's been really pleasing seeing him grow up, make his way at Warwickshire, then more recently in the white-ball stuff show everyone what a brilliant player he is.

  "This is a great opportunity for him, a blank canvas in a position where he can really put influence on the game. He can just go play, enjoy it, and I expect him to do just that."

  Root himself will become the fourth Englishman to reach 150 tests at fourth in the order, while Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open the batting.

  England will hope to overturn poor test form, having lost their last series 2-1 in Pakistan. They have been defeated in three of their previous four Tests.

  England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.

• All to play for: Sunshine Girls set up decisive fourth England Test after nail-biting one-point win in Kingston to level series at 1-1

  Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls set up a decisive fourth and final Test match against England’s Vitality Roses after producing a nail-biting one-goal win over the current World number two to tie the series at 1-1 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Monday.

  Entering this game on the back of a 49-49 draw and a 47-55 loss in the first two games of the series at the AO Arena in Manchester, England on November 16 and 17, the Girls were looking for redemption in front of an energetic home crowd.

  They used the energy of the vibrant crowd packed into the Sports Centre to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Roses used their physicality to claw their way back into the contest early. The score at the end of the first quarter was 12-10 in favour of the hosts.

  

  England came out firing at the start of quarter number two, however, with three quick goals handing them an early one-point advantage and making it seem like the tide was turning in their favour.

  With the home crowd rearing them on, the hosts regained their composure and, through some quick and accurate passing and shooting, re-took the lead at 15-13 with 11 and a half minutes left in the period.

  Over the next few minutes, Jamaica continued to build momentum sending the home crowd into a frenzy with a seven to three run to lead 22-16 with six minutes left in the first half.

  The two rivals continued to trade buckets for the rest of the second quarter, with England eventually closing the gap to three points at half-time, the Jamaicans leading 26-23.

  The second half started like the first, with the hosts extending the lead to 32-25 within the first five minutes of the period.

  England stayed strong, however, and, despite some spectacular defensive plays from Jamaica captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey throughout the rest of the quarter, the gap between the teams heading into the fourth and final stanza was still only three points with Jamaica up 38-35.

  

  The first five minutes of the fourth quarter saw both teams showing why they are so highly ranked globally, producing timely goals and steals throughout. With 10 minutes to go, Jamaica’s lead was just two at 43-41 and the crowd was getting more pensive by the second.

  Action continued back and forth and the nerves began to build even more when England made it a one-point game at 47-46 with three minutes to play.

  Jamaica hit back, however, with two quick goals to restore the three-goal lead before England, displaying remarkable resilience, hit back once again with two goals of their own to make it a tied game at 49-49 with 50 seconds to play.

  That would prove to be the last time England had the ball in their attacking third, however, as the Sunshine Girls strategically passed the ball around for the remaining time before, with one second left, Shanice Beckford hit what proved to be the game-winner, securing a 50-49 win for the hosts and sending the crowd into wild celebrations.

  Beckford finished with 19 goals from 23 attempts while goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George had 30 goals from 34 attempts.

  For England, Liv Tchine had 26 goals from 27 attempts while Lois Pearson had 18 goals from 21 attempts.

  “I’m super happy for this win. Our fans brought us over the line today and we’re very grateful,” said Sunshine Girls captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey after the game.

  “I think we won the game defensively today. We revisited our game plan after the games in England and came back out strong,” she added.

  Jamaica head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry praised the performance and poise from her troops.

  “I think they were exceptional. I’m quite excited for them. Thy have grown from the second game,” she said.

  “Still we have a lot of rough edges that we need to fix but I must commend them. To beat England is a big thing for us right now,” she added.

  England coach Jess Thirlby believes early errors cost her team the game in the end.

  “I think we made too many errors at the start of the game. Everything we expected from the Sunshine Girls came at us tonight,” she said.

  Despite the loss, Thirlby expressed positivity at the way her team played, especially in the final two quarters.

  “We drew that third quarter and won the fourth quarter by two. An outstanding performance and huge credit to the Sunshine Girls. In the moments where they needed to be, they were super smart,” she said.

  The decisive fourth game of the series will take place at the same venue on Tuesday starting at 7:00pm Jamaica Time.