England team huddle (Photo: Press Association)

It was a classic encounter with both sides locked together until the final 10 minutes, when a late New Zealand surge saw them take out a 62-55 victory and, with it, the Series.

Tracey Neville stuck with the same starting seven from Sunday’s stunning win.

The Roses got the decider underway with the first centre pass and moved the ball quickly through court but Jo Harten saw her effort bounce out.

The Silver Ferns capitalised with Maria Tutaia converting the turnover and then adding a second before Helen Housby got the Roses up and running.

Chelsea Pitman continued her fine form from the previous matches and linked up well with Harten. The mid-courter delivered a lovely disguised feed into Harten, who netted to bring the Roses back on level terms at 6-6, before the GS scored England’s third unanswered goal to put them ahead for the first time in the match.

The attacks were on top in the game and the Pitman-Harten combination was firing on all cylinders with some wonderful movement and passing.

Harten continued to impress with a beautiful long range effort before Stacey Francis flew in with a fine steal and England converted to add to their tally.

With five minutes of Q1 remaining, there was nothing to separate the two sides with the score at 11-all.

A couple of errors started to creep into play. Bailey Mes converted a New Zealand turnover before the Roses were loose in the final third, conceded possession and a Tutaia double put the hosts 16-13 up.

The Silver Ferns continued to punish some scrappy play from the Roses and took a four-goal lead at the end of the first 15.

Neville’s side came out fighting at the start of Q2 and made a strong start with Ama Agbeze pressuring the feed to force New Zealand long and Harten converting.

Bailey Mes displayed her athleticism with an almighty save to collect a rebound and fire the ball back into Tutaia while falling off court. The GS made no mistakes as the hosts pulled clear by five.

The Roses responded though with three unanswered goals from the imperious Harten and the experienced defensive unit of Francis, Ama Agbeze and Geva Mentor clicked into gear, creating turnover after turnover.

England were pumped up and enjoyed a run of five straight goals before the Silver Ferns replied with three of their own to retake the lead at 25-24.

Mentor was everywhere towards the end of the first half – another trademark tip to Pitman set the Roses transitioning through court and Housby applied the finish to hand England a slender 27-25 lead.

More defensive prowess, a quick-fire double from Harten and a goal from Housby capped off a sensational turnaround as the Roses moved ahead by four at the end of the first half.

The Silver Ferns flew out the traps at the start of the second half with three unanswered goals to cut the Roses’ lead to just one.

But Agbeze pounced on a loose ball in the New Zealand shooting circle with Harten completing the move after some fancy footwork.

The Roses continued to make their presence felt with excellent pressure but the Silver Ferns kept their composure to recycle the ball around the circle before Mes netted.

England led 37-35 midway through Q3 but New Zealand continued to peg the visitors back.

After a Housby effort bounced out and Harten was penalised for being out of court, the Silver Ferns went level from an incredible Mes take before going 40-39 up thanks to a cool finish from Tutaia.

There was free-flowing scoring with the match staying on centre pass as the quarter drew to a close but the hosts took advantage of an overcooked pass from Francis and went into Q4 with a 44-43 lead.

Neville opted for a couple of defensive changes at the start of the final 15 with Beth Cobden coming on at WD and Francis dropping back into GD.

It was goal-for-goal at the start of Q4 with Harten holding her nerve with a huge goal from distance before Tutaia kept the hosts on centre-pass.

A clever drive from Housby opened up space for Harten in the circle and she finished with aplomb to make it all square at 47-47.

The hosts moved ahead again though thanks to the classy Tutaia and Agbeze was reintroduced to thwart the threat posed by the GA.

Strong pressure from the Silver Ferns around the circle forced England to wait for the right opening but Harten pulled the deficit back to four at 56-52.

With five minutes left to play, the Roses kept battling to silence the home crowd.

As the tension mounted in Hamilton, the gap was down to just two when Housby held her nerve to net.

But the Silver Ferns accelerated away in the closing stages, sealing the Taini Jamison Trophy with a 62-55 win.

Although there was disappointment at the final whistle, there are undoubtedly plenty of positives for Neville’s side to take from the Series as their preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games intensify.

The England Roses are next in action on home soil against the Malawi Queens this November. Grab your tickets to the three-match Vitality Netball International Series here.

Roses starting 7: GS – Harten, GA – Housby, WA – Pitman, C – Guthrie, WD – Francis, GD – Agbeze, GK – Mentor

Silver Ferns starting 7: GS – Tutaia, GA – Mes, WA – Crampton, C – Francois, WD – Cullen, GD – Grant, GK – Jury

Shooting statistics

Roses: Harten 36/40 (90%), Housby 19/25 (76%)

Silver Ferns: Tutaia 41/52 (79%), Mes 21/21 (100%)

For more stats see: http://mc.championdata.com/england_netball/index.html?competitionid=10297&matchid=102970103

#WeAreRoses

Report courtesy of England Netball

The England Roses squad selected is as follows;

England’s Ama Agbeze (left) and Australia’s Caitlin Thwaites (Photo: Netball England)

Ama Agbeze (c), Jade Clarke (vice-captain), Joanne Harten (vice-captain), Sara Bayman, Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Eleanor Cardwell, Beth Cobden, Kadeen Corbin, Stacey Francis, Jodie Gibson, Serena Guthrie, Helen Housby, Geva Mentor, Chelsea Pitman 

Reserves: Summer Artman, Sasha Corbin, George Fisher, Natalie Haythornthwaite 

Tracey Neville will once again lead the team with newly appointed Tania Obst joining as Assistant Coach and Colette Thomson supporting as Performance Coach.

First of all the Roses head to Brisbane on Saturday 26^th August when they take on the Australian Diamonds in a rematch of their classic encounter from London in January.

On that occasion the reigning Quad Series champions took the victory by one goal with England pushing them all the way. It should be a fascinating start to this edition of the tournament.

The team then heads across the Tasman Sea to take on the New Zealand Silver Ferns on Wednesday 30^th August in Auckland as the Quad Series continues.

The competition comes to a close for the Roses in Invercargill when they face off against the South Africa Spar Proteas on Sunday 3^rd September.

Following the Netball Quad Series, the Roses will continue their tour of New Zealand as they take on the Silver Ferns in a three-match International Series for the Taini Jamison Trophy.

The Roses will be in action on the following dates – all times are BST.

Netball Quad Series

Saturday 26^th August: Australian Diamonds v England Roses, Brisbane, 6am

Wednesday 30^th August: New Zealand Silver Ferns v England Roses, Auckland, 8:30am

Sunday 3^rd September: England Roses v South Africa Spar Proteas, Invercargill, 3am

Taini Jamison Trophy

Thursday 7^th September: New Zealand Silver Ferns v England Roses, Porirua, 8:45am

Sunday 10^th September: New Zealand Silver Ferns v England Roses, Napier, 3am

Wednesday 13^th September: New Zealand Silver Ferns v England Roses, Hamilton, 8:30am

Report courtesy of Netball England

Six of the selected players appeared for the 2017 Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Finalists last season while 12 of the contingent appeared in the top domestic leagues of Australia or New Zealand.

The 2017/18 season will include two editions of the Quad Series, a three-match Series in New Zealand, the 2017 Fast5 tournament, a home International Series later this year and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia.

Additionally, eleven players have been selected into the England Futures programme.

The Futures programme is designed for the next generation of Roses players to continue to develop their skills alongside the Roses programme.

They will attend approximately 40 training and competition days during the season. This may include opportunities to participate in Fast5, Netball Europe and Match Play alongside an upcoming home International Series and the 2018 Quad Series.

We are delighted to announce that the following athletes have been selected to represent the England Roses and Futures in 2017/18:

England Roses

Ama Agbeze, Summer Artman, Sara Bayman, Eleanor Cardwell, Ella Clark, Jade Clarke, Beth Cobden, Kadeen Corbin, Sasha Corbin, George Fisher, Stacey Francis, Jodie Gibson, Serena Guthrie, Natalie Haythornthwaite, Joanne Harten, Helen Housby, Hannah Joseph, Leah Kennedy, Gabby Marshall, Laura Malcolm, Geva Mentor, Chelsea Pitman, Natalie Panagarry, Razia Quashie

England Futures

Rebekah Airey, Halimat Adio, Amy Carter, Brittany Coleman, Amy Clinton, Iona Darroch, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Zara Everitt, Josie Huckle, Vicki Oyesola, Francesca Williams

Report courtesy of England Netball

Cook has made a strong recovery from injury this season to help the Blue and Gold qualify for the Vitality Netball Superleague semi-finals.

She has 12 senior caps and last wore the Rose when she helped England win Netball Europe last year.

Cook is joined in the squad by Ama Agbeze (captain), Laura Malcolm (vice-captain), Helen Housby, Ella Clarke, Kadeen Corbin, Ellie Cardwell, Sophia Candappa, Hannah Joseph, Natalie Haythornthwaite, Jodie Gibson and Leah Kennedy.

Team Bath Netball captain Eboni Beckford-Chambers is named as a reserve, along with Rebekah Airey, George Fisher, Gabrielle Marshall, Jess Shaw and Sara Bayman.

England will contest the Championship Section of the tournament against Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It is taking place from May 12-15 at Northumbria University and tickets are available here.

Report courtesy of the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd.

Helen Housby nets (Photo: England Netball)

England fell to a narrow 52-58 defeat to the Australian Diamonds in the opening match of the Vitality Netball International Series in an electric Echo Arena, Liverpool this evening.

Both sides were much changed from last year’s World Cup campaign and a crowd of over 5,000 which packed into the venue that will host the 2019 edition were able to witness new combinations blossom on court.

The contest was fast paced, thrilling and passionate. The Roses were behind after the opening quarter but came back to take the lead midway through the second.

The Diamonds responded and at half-time they had established a four goal lead. England continued to take the fight to their illustrious opponents and despite showing incredible determination throughout the second half, they were unable to claw back the deficit.

A strong starting seven was named by Tracey Neville as England went in search of a fourth successive victory on home soil against the Diamonds. Five of the side were present for the Roses at the World Cup last year.

It was one of the more experienced faces who started the scoring as Rachel Dunn finished a flowing move. The mid-court was a battleground for possession in early in proceedings with Australia grabbing a 9-7 advantage midway through the quarter.

The England attack were moving well and passing the ball at speed which allowed sharp shooting Helen Housby to keep the away side in touching distance. At the first interval, England trailed 15-17.

A defensive combination of Ama Agbeze and Eboni Beckford-Chambers were providing the thrills for the excitable crowd as they pulled off an array of gasp-inducing tips and intercepts.

In the blink of an eye the Roses had wrestled their way into a 23-22 lead. The World Champions refused to roll over and applied some exceptional defensive pressure to turnover possession.

As the half drew to a close, the momentum was with the girls in gold. Loose England passing opened the door and a clinical shooting combination of Caitlin Thwaites and Gretel Tippett punished the hosts to put Australia 30-26 ahead at half-time.

A high intensity first half saw Lucy Alexander ring the changes at the interval while Neville kept the faith with her original starting line-up.

It was an even start to the third quarter as the sides cancelled each other out in the early action. A breaking call and a missed effort on goal from England allowed the Diamonds to stretch the lead to seven.

This time it was the Roses who roared back and Housby continued her fine display of shooting with a wonderful finish from range to convert a home turnover.

Sara Bayman then led by example as the England captain produced a pin-point feed into Dunn to get the crowd on their feet once again. A short pass call on the edge of the attacking circle quelled the comeback and the Diamonds retained a seven goal gap, 38-45 at the end of the third quarter.

Despite the exhausting pace that the match was being played at, the starting seven were to complete the full quota of quarters with no England changes for the final fifteen minutes.

Agbeze responded to a cacophony of north-west with another sensational tip to delight the home fans. The deficit was reduced to five with another smooth finish from the hotshot Housby.

Another intercept and turnover put England four behind. Suddenly a sea of red raced forward and Dunn was able to retrieve a ball from flying off court at full pace with an incredible feed into Housby, the gap was now three.

The crowd who had been behind the Roses started to believe a miraculous comeback was on the cards.

With time running down England were keen to move the ball at pace as an intense match continued at a phenomenal tempo. The rush to goal was to backfire. A loose ball forward allowed the World Champions to capitalise and gain some breathing space.

It was down to player of the match Sharni Layton to seal the victory for Australia as an exceptional read allowed her to ghost in for a steal and push the Diamonds forward once again.

The fight was not to leave the Roses though and Bayman put her body on the line to take a contact call and give England the chance to end the match on a high.

A Housby goal allowed the crowd one final chance to scream their delight and they did so with as much gusto as they had for the opener sixty minutes previously.

The second fixture takes place at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Friday and if the two teams produce a clash as ferocious as tonight’s, the capital will be rocking.

Roses starting 7: GS – Dunn, GA – Housby, WA – Corbin, C – Bayman, WD – Clarke, GD – Beckford-Chambers, GK – Agbeze

Diamonds starting 7: GS – Thwaites, GA – Tippett, WA – Medhurst, C – Brazill, WD – Simpson, GD – McMeniman, GK – Layton

Umpires: Jonathan Bredin and Sylvester Chris Campbell with Liz Boon as reserve

Report courtesy of England Netball