LONDON, England (CMC):

England's national team, tuning up for the 2007 World Netball Championship (WNC) in New Zealand, will tour Jamaica for a three-match Test series next month.

Thematches, scheduled for the National Indoor Sports Centre in St. Andrew, are set for September 17, 19 and 20, and England's Netball Performance Director Nigel Holl expects the trip to offer valuable preparation for the November 10-17 WNC in Auckland.

"(These matches) will provide an intensive conclusion to our squad's preparations and I am confident that they will be in the best possible condition to challenge for a medal when they arrive in Auckland," said Holl. England and Jamaica are the world's closest - in rating - to powerhouses New Zealand and Australia.