Team England has announced the 12 Netball players who have been selected as Part of the Pride to compete in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer. Team England head into the Netball tournament as defending Commonwealth Games champions.

In addition to naming the squad, Head Coach Jess Thirlby has also confirmed the appointment of Natalie Metcalf as Captain, with Jo Harten as Vice-Captain.

The squad features seven players who were victorious at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, while Eleanor Cardwell, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Layla Guscoth and Laura Malcolm all make their Commonwealth Games debuts.

Newly appointed Captain Natalie Metcalf said: “It’s a huge honour to be selected for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. To get the chance to represent Team England at home in front of our amazing fans is so exciting. Having the opportunity to wear the red dress for England is always an honour and I can’t wait to see what we can do as a team together in Birmingham.

“Growing up I always wanted to play for England and being asked to captain the team is more than I ever could have imagined. I feel truly honoured to have been asked and I hope to do everyone proud.”

Jade Clarke, England’s most capped player having secured 185 caps across a 20-year career who has featured in four previous Commonwealth Games, said: “It’s a huge honour to be selected for the Commonwealth Games. Being part of Team England with all the other sports as one, as well as it being a home Games makes it so special. I can’t wait to put on the red dress in front of a home crowd with this team and to represent England with pride.”

The Netball players selected to represent Team England are:

Name 

Club

Hometown

Eleanor Cardwell

Manchester Thunder

Blackpool

Jade Clarke

Leeds Rhinos

Manchester

Beth Cobden

Loughborough Lightning

Stafford

Sophie Drakeford-Lewis

Team Bath Netball

Reading

Stacey Francis-Bayman

West Coast Fever (Australia)

Birmingham

Layla Guscoth

Team Bath Netball

Birmingham

Joanne Harten (VC)

Giants Netball (Australia)

Essex

Helen Housby

New South Wales Swifts (Australia)

Cumbria

Laura Malcolm

Manchester Thunder

Wolverhampton

Geva Mentor

Collingwood Magpies (Australia)

Bournemouth

Natalie Metcalf (C)

Manchester Thunder

Pendle

Eboni Usoro-Brown

Queensland Firebirds (Australia)

Solihull

Find out more about the athletes here.

The Netball schedule commences on Friday 29th July, with the final being staged on Sunday 7th August.

Team England’s Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, welcomed the players to the team: “After Team England’s success at the 2018 Games, I know the Birmingham crowd will be excited to see the 2022 team in action this summer. I am delighted to welcome the athletes to Team England and wish them every success as they aim to ‘Bring It Home’.”

Head coach, Jess Thirlby, commented: “No longer is it as easy to predict a Roses 12 such is the competition for places and depth in quality within our programme. We have worked hard over the last few years to ensure that the internal competition is high in order to drive the intensity needed in our environment to best prepare the team for big stages such as Birmingham 2022. The player group have been outstanding in embracing this challenge and the final 12 represents that hard work. I want to both congratulate and thank all the athletes that have been a part of this journey so far.

“With 925 caps between them and 21 Commonwealth Games appearances we can take real confidence from the experience in the team. What’s even more exciting is to see Commonwealth Games debutants such as Layla, Laura, Eleanor and Sophie who I know will add great energy to the team and have benefitted from increased international exposure in recent seasons readying them for the task at hand.

“The squad allows us the positional coverage and diversity to be able to counteract any of our toughest opposition and as important a consideration is ensuring we have the robustness both physically and mentally to sustain and elevate our performance levels over a 10-day tournament and the unique conditions that presents. Every single player knows what finals Netball looks like and what’s required with many coming off the back of those within their domestic seasons both home and overseas which is invaluable. With those experiences we can continue to build momentum in our final prep and the collective leadership across this 12 is outstanding and one of our greatest strengths.

“We look forward to playing in another big tournament and representing our fans on home soil so soon after Liverpool in 2019, something unlikely to happen again in our lifetimes and one which we are not taking for granted.”