Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

England's Jonny Wilkinson practises his kicking at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, southern France, yesterday. England are due to meet Australia in the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup tomorrow. - Reuters

SUNDERLAND CENTRAL defender Nyron Nosworthy is set to make his debut for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz when the team takes on Ghana's Black Stars on October 14 at Leyton Orient's football stadium in London.

According to the club's official website, the player has accepted an invitation to join the team, which will be playing its first friendly international in more than three months.

Nosworthy, who has looked solid for the Black Cats at the centre half position this season, expressed an interest in playing for the national team back in May. The last man, who was instrumental in the team's promotion bid, was voted Sunderland's player of the year last season.

Jamaican father

Born in Brixton, the player better known as 'Nuggsy' to the Sunderland fans, is qualified to represent the island as his father is Jamaican. According to Nosworthy, that played a key role in his decision to represent the nation.

"This is a great honour for me. It's exciting news," Nosworthy told the club's website.

"I've always said that I've wanted to play for Jamaica and I'll look forward to linking up with the squad," he said.

The 25-year-old, who plays with Trinidad and Tobago's Dwight Yorke, is capable of playing both the right back and centre-back positions, but has shined in the latter role in recent times.

Good news for Ja

Nosworthy's inclusion to the squad should be good news for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz who are looking to bolster their squad ahead of next year's World Cup qualifiers.

Unlike recent friendlies which saw the national team field mainly local squads, the Jamaicans are expected to pick full strength squads for their upcoming matches.

This could see Nosworthy partner with Derby County's Claude Davis, with Queens Park Rangers' Damion Stewart also expected to be part of the set-up for the national team.

While the Ghana friendly has been confirmed, sources close to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) indicate the association has not yet finalised a second friendly around that time.