Wednesday 3 July 2019 11:30, UK
Jamaica have made history by moving up to second in the International Netball Rankings, just days before the Vitality Netball World Cup is due to start in Liverpool,
The latest set of rankings, which reflect the results of matches played up to June 30, has seen several moves and shifts take place ahead of the World Cup, which gets underway on Sky Sports on Friday, July 12.
The Sunshine Girls are strong contenders to cause an upset in netball's pinnacle competition and their new ranking undoubtedly inspires them to do just that.
Australia have maintained their position at the top of the rankings with the Vitality Roses dropping to third from their best ever ranking of second.
Uganda rise to a highest ever position of sixth with Scotland and Northern Ireland also moving up one place to sit seventh and eighth respectively.
Malawi drop down three places to ninth.
Changes also take place outside the top 10. Barbados have taken 11th place from Wales, Zimbabwe now occupy 13th and Fiji have fallen to 17th.
Now knocking on the door of the top 10, Barbados find themselves in Group B in the Preliminary stage of the World Cup - they will face New Zealand, Singapore and Malawi in the tournament's opening rounds.
Rounding off the top 20, Sri Lanka have moved up two places to take the 18th spot and, Samoa, Zambia, the Cook Islands and Grenada have all shuffled up one place.
Three teams have been relegated from the rankings due to inactivity. Malta have not played matches since July 2015 whilst Switzerland and Tonga have played fewer than eight matches since July 2015. This now leaves 42 teams with an INF World Ranking.
The next set of official INF World Rankings will be published on July 30th days after the World Cup ends.
Watch every match of the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup live on Sky Sports. Coverage starts on Friday, July 12 plus keep up to date with all of the latest competition news, results and enjoy in-depth features at SkySports.com/netball
