Netball Super League | 10 Superleague players named in latest Vitality Roses squad

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby announces Vitality Roses programme for 2020/21 season.

Head Coach of the Vitality Roses Jess Thirlby has named her 14 strong squad that will compete in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in January 2020.

The squad of 14 included 10 Vitality Netball Superleague players from four different sides. Manchester Thunders Laura Malcolm has been named vice-captain for the tournament.

The England side will meet world champions New Zealand, Jamaica and South Africa during the series, which will take place in Nottingham, Birmingham and London across four days of exhilarating 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 Vitality Netball Superleague players included are:

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
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
Fran Williams	GD, WD	11	Wasps Netball
Razia Quashie	GK, GD	8	Saracens Mavericks

The four remaining players in the squad are:

Chelsea Pitman	WA	35	Adelaide Thunderbirds (in the Suncorp Super Netball league)
Kate Shimmin	GK, GD	1	Adelaide Thunderbirds (in the Suncorp Super Netball league)
Natalie Haythornthwaite (captain)	WA, GA	46	New South Wales Swifts (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. Every one of these players comes from the Vitality Netball Superleague.

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 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)

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