Team England name Netball squad

Commonwealth Games England this morning revealed the final netball squad of 12 to compete in Glasgow this summer.

It was also confirmed that Jade Clarke would take on the role as captain for the Games with the experienced mid-courter stepping in to replace the injured Pamela Cookey.

The squad has a mix of experience and youth with five of the team having won 50 caps or more. Following an impressive end to the domestic campaign there has been a call-up for young shooter Helen Housby while Geva Mentor takes her place after returning to the fold fresh from winning the ANZ Championships with Melbourne Vixens.

The players selected to represent England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games are as follows;
 

Athlete	Hometown	Position	Team
Jade Clarke	Manchester	WA/C/WD	EasiYo Tactix (New Zealand)
Sara Bayman	Manchester	C/WD	Manchester Thunder
Ama Agbeze	Selly Oak	GD/GK	Haier Pulse (New Zealand)
Eboni Beckford- Chambers	Bristol	GK/GD	West Coast Fever (Australia)
Kadeen Corbin	London	GA/GS	Hertfordshire Mavericks
Sasha Corbin	London	WA/C	Hertfordshire Mavericks
Rachel Dunn	London	GS/GA	Surrey Storm
Stacey Francis	Birmingham	GD/WD/GK	Team Bath
Serena Guthrie	Jersey	WD/C	Team Bath
Joanne Harten	Harlow	GS/GA	KIA Magic (New Zealand)
Helen Housby	Carlisle	GA/GS	Manchester Thunder
Geva Mentor	Bournemouth	GK/GD	Melbourne Vixens (Australia)

The competition gets underway for England on Friday 25^th with a clash against Wales. The next day a mouth-watering tie with Australia awaits in what will be the first clash between teams currently ranked in the world’s top four.

South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados complete an extremely competitive Pool B. The semi-finals and finals are scheduled to be played over the weekend of August 4^th/5^th.

England captain Jade Clarke said: “The squad can’t wait to get to Glasgow and compete at this year’s Commonwealth Games. This is a huge tournament for us and we hope to do our supporters proud with our performances.

”With the Games taking place so close to home we are hoping for a lot of support in Scotland to inspire us onto achieving our goals. I am very honoured to have been chosen to lead this excellent squad during the competition.” 

Anna Mayes, England Netball Head Coach added: "We are delighted to have chosen a real mix of experienced heads and young faces for our Commonwealth Games Squad. Seven of the team have competed previously at the Games with some well-known names such as Serena Guthrie and Sasha Corbin ready to play in their first.

"This is an incredibly important competition for us as it is the only chance our squad gets to compete at a multi-sport event and it is one of the main tournaments on the netball calendar. We look forward to representing Team England with an exceptional amount of pride.”

Team England Chef de Mission Jan Paterson said: “Huge congratulations to every member of this netball squad on their selection to Team England. The Commonwealth Games is a very special tournament for netball and for us to be able to announce such a competitive squad is very exciting.”

For more information on England’s draw and playing schedule, please visit http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/england/Major_Competitions/Commonwealth_Games/Netball_Fixtures

Team England were third in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, securing the bronze medal with a 70-47 victory over Jamaica.