Head Coach of the Vitality Roses Jess Thirlby has named her 14 strong squad that will compete in the highly anticipated Vitality Netball Nations Cup in January 2020.
The England side, which will be captained by Natalie Haythornthwaite, will meet world champions New Zealand, Jamaica and South Africa during the series, which will take place in Nottingham, Birmingham and London across four thrilling days of action.
The Vitality Roses, who recently defeated South Africa in a three-match test series in Cape Town, will be playing on home soil for the first time since the Vitality Netball World Cup which took place in Liverpool earlier this year.
The full squad selected for the series is as follows:
| Name | Positions | Caps | Club |
| Eleanor Cardwell | GS, GA | 23 | Manchester Thunder |
| George Fisher | GA, GS | 8 | Saracens Mavericks |
| Sophie Drakeford-Lewis | GA, WA | 2 | Team Bath |
| Kadeen Corbin | GS, GA | 67 | Saracens Mavericks |
| Natalie Haythornthwaite (captain) | WA, GA | 46 | New South Wales Swifts (in the Suncorp Super Netball league) |
| Laura Malcolm (vice-captain) | C, WD, WA | 24 | Manchester Thunder |
| Amy Carter | C, WD | 0 | Manchester Thunder |
| Natalie Panagarry | C, WD | 17 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Jade Clarke | WD, C | 172 | Wasps Netball |
| Chelsea Pitman | WA | 35 | Adelaide Thunderbirds (in the Suncorp Super Netball league) |
| Fran Williams | GD, WD | 11 | Wasps Netball |
| Razia Quashie | GK, GD | 8 | Saracens Mavericks |
| Kate Shimmin | GK, GD | 1 | Adelaide Thunderbirds (in the Suncorp Super Netball league) |
| Stacey Francis | GD, WD | 69 | West Coast Fever (in the Suncorp Super Netball league) |
Due to netball competition regulations, Jess Thirlby will be required to name just 12 players 24 hours before each match out of the 14 selected for the series.
Jess Thirlby said: “I am delighted to reveal the names of the 14 athletes that will be gearing up to take part in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in the New Year. There’s a real blend of talent and experience amongst this squad, from the likes of Chelsea Pitman who will be wearing the red dress again following a successful Vitality Netball World Cup campaign earlier this year, to debutant Amy Carter or Sophie Drakeford-Lewis who gained her second cap in the recent test series with South Africa.
“It will be a fantastic opportunity to expose many of the newer faces to three of the top five world ranked teams, whilst doing so at an almost sold out home series which will be pretty unforgettable. We are lucky that we have a lot of players in the Roses programme that are hungry for success and ready to take on this challenge. Many of whom have already benefited in the lead up to this series from a tour to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa during a jam-packed international window.
“We can’t wait to get out on court and to see the Roses fans out in force once again for what is going to be a thrilling series.”
Fifteen athletes have also been selected for the England A squad; the side that will face New Zealand, South Africa and the Vitality Roses in various behind closed doors training matches in the lead up to the Vitality Netball Nations Cup.
Thirlby added: “Being able to expose many of our other rising stars to this level of competition is vital in the progression and ongoing growth of any team. We are delighted that many of our athletes will get this opportunity to face some of the world’s best teams in a behind closed doors set up.”
The England A team is as follows:
| Olivia Tchine (London Pulse) | Iona Christian (Wasps Netball) | Summer Artman (Team Bath) |
| Sienna Rushton (Wasps Netball) | Yasmin Parsons (Surrey Storm) | Rebekah Airey (Manchester Thunder) |
| Kira Rothwell (London Pulse) | Gabriella Marshall – co-captain (Saracens Mavericks) | Hali Adio (London Pulse) |
| Chloe Essam (Saracens Mavericks) | Imogen Allison – co-captain (Team Bath) | Vicki Oyesola (Loughborough Lightning) |
| Jessica Shaw (Loughborough Lightning) | Jasmin Odeogberin (Loughborough Lightning) | Georgia Lees (Saracens Mavericks) |
The Vitality Netball Nations Cup, which takes place from 19-26 January, will be shown live on Sky Sports. General tickets for three out of the four days have completely sold out, with tickets now only available via the England Netball website for day two of the series at Arena Birmingham on 22 January.
Courtesy of England Netball
