Skiddy Francis Crick returns to national netball representation

Eight years after being inexplicably substituted in the first quarter of a match versus Barbados, dominant goal shooter Skiddy Francis-Crick will make a return to national netball representation.{{more}}

A veteran of 27 years at the national senior level, Francis-Crick is among a group of netballers who are currently in training for the senior St Vincent and the Grenadines team which will participate in a ranking tournament set for St Maarten later this month.

Answering the call to be part of the team was not a big deal for Francis-Crick, who told SEARCHLIGHT, “I had never retired”.

Despite being in her mid-40’s, Francis-Crick remains a cut above the rest and the most potent goal shooter of those who participate in the National Club Tournament.

At the close of the 2016 FLOW sponsored tournament, Francis-Crick had registered the best scoring accuracy, that of 90.03 per cent, as she celebrated her 30th year as a player for the durable Maple netball club.

This year’s achievement followed similar unchecked feats in the local set-up; hence, national selectors had no other choice.

Francis-Crick has also made her mark on the regional and international scene, since she first represented St Vincent and the Grenadines as a senior player in 1989 and two years later in the inaugural ECCB/OECS Under-23 Tournament.

At the age tournament, Francis–Crick led the Vincentian outfit to four successive titles, while she collected the best shooter award on each occasion.

Her abilities as a goal shooter helped St Vincent and the Grenadines to Caribbean Netball Association titles in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2002.

Francis-Crick also rose to be vice-captain of the West Indies select netball team which toured Australia in 1998. She earned recognition from the CNA in 2003 for her contribution to the sport.

At the St Maarten outing, Francis-Crick is hoping to bring her years of experience to bear on the national team, which is being overseen by Nicole Sandy-Stevenson.

Another experienced player over the age of 40 answering the national call is Rose Clair Hall, who like Francis–Crick, has served as a coach of national age level teams.

St Vincent and the Grenadines goes in search of regaining ranking points to inch its way back to the International Netball Federation (INF) table, which is primarily the cause of the St Maarten trip.

St Vincent and the Grenadines neither has a ranking nor a rating on the INF set-up.

Except for the annual ECCB/OECS Under-23, of which St Vincent and the Grenadines is a regular participant and the spaced participation in the Jean Pierre CNA Under-16 tournament, this country has not put together a senior team for some time.

The last recorded competition sojourn was the America Federation Netball Association tournament, which was held in St Lucia in July of 2010.

After completing the St Maarten sojourn, local netball administrators will have to find other avenues to have the senior team active, as it requires at least eight matches, up to August 2017, to gain points.(RT)