Not such a good day with the netball today - are you sure you all wished us luck??  Let us start by telling you about our day.

The sun was out at last and it was surprising how hot it is here!  The B Team did some training in the morning to work on some weak areas from last night's game.  We then joined up as a whole squad and had a game of water polo in the pool.  It was a good day and we were all jovial and enjoying the break in the rain.

We travelled to a different venue this evening and luckily it was not waterlogged so it promised to be a couple of good matches.  We knew the teams and knew how we had to play in order to beat them.  The local TV crew arrived and interviewed Arty, Sasha and Lizzie!!

The B Team kicked off the games against Eagles, and the day in the heat was definitely showing.  Despite lots of water throughout the day, it was obvious we were not used to the temperatures.  We lost the first quarter 3-9.  It didnt get much better in the second quarter despite a couple of position changes and we lost this 7-16.  However in the third quarter we sorted ourselves out to bring the goal deficit down from 9 to 6 and got some really good interceptions.  We started to gel as a team and put a lot of pressure on the opposition - we were beginning to feel much better about the game.  The final score of the match was 19-29 so we lost a few in the last quarter, and our difficulty to play in the heat was very apparent throughout the game.  On a positive note, we played much better than last night and worked hard as a team.  We still have some work to do but are positive we can keep improving.

The A Team were playing Shamrocks and they soon realised they had a fight on their hands.  The teams in the Carribean are much more feisty and competetive than the teams in the UK and it took a while to adapt to that.  The fight was on however, and the A Team worked extremely hard in the heat to establish a 3 goal lead in the first quarter: 8-5.  Things went a little wrong in the second quarter and the heat was showing.  Shamrocks closely marked and put all of the navy players under a great deal of pressure; they took the second quarter, and the A Team trailed 12-14.  Things didnt go too well in the third quarter as the pressure began to build.  The different style of play and the condition of the posts meant the A Team were even further behind losing the quarter 21-14.  However, the A Team came back in the 4th quarter with great fighting spirit.  As a team they reduced the goal deficit to just 2 goals with Shamrocks slowly clawing out each time to increase thier lead.  It was a hard fought match and despite the A Team winning 11 goals to 8 in that quarter they lost the match with a final score of 25-29.

Depsite the losses on both sides, improvements were seen and the teams were working together to produce some good netball.  The Tournament is going to be hard - we know that.  The Carribean style of netball is much more aggressive and 'contacting' than we are used to but we will do our best and aim for the wins.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!  We are off out for a couple of beers and something to eat so good night for now and we will update you on our tour tomorrow.

Love to all at home x