Jamaica beat Trinidad & Tobago 64-32 yesterday to set up a mouth-watering battle with perennial powerhouses New Zealand in today’s semi-final of the World Youth Netball Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

The clash is set to begin 2:00 pm Jamaica time at the Emirates Arena.

The opening semi-final match, featuring Australia and England, will start two hours earlier.

The Under-21 Sunshine Girls led Trinidad & Tobago 21-8, 38-17, 51-26 at the end of the first three quarters before eventually finishing with double the score of their Caribbean rivals in yesterday’s lopsided second round match.

In other crucial second phase games, New Zealand defeated Wales, England beat South Africa and Australia trounced Barbados.

The local netball association boss Marva Bernard said there were glimpses of promise throughout the comfortable win for the Oberon Pitterson-Nattie-coached Sunshine Girls.

“I thought they played well in spurts. The coach rotated her line-up well,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

The Jamaican team has been perfect so far, defeating hosts Scotland, Cayman Islands, Samoa and Wales in Group D.

However, they will get their toughest test yet against the New Zealand team. The netball president said optimum output is required to beat the young Silver Ferns.

“Tomorrow (today) is the big game and we have to come out firing. Some adjustments and game strategy will be crucial for a win,” Bernard said.

The gold medal match is scheduled for Saturday.

Jamaica placed third to win the bronze medal at the previous Youth Netball Championship staged in the Cook Islands.