England line up announced for Vitality Netball Horizon Series, FAST5 Netball World Series and England A fixtures

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby has selected a squad of 15 to represent England in the Vitality Netball Horizon Series in November 2024. Meanwhile a further ten athletes will travel to New Zealand to play in the FAST5 Netball World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand from 9-10 November whilst 12 athletes will form an England A squad to face Zimbabwe and Scotland behind closed doors. Staged on 16 and 17 November at the AO Arena in Manchester and then a reverse leg on 25 and 26 November at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, England will take on the Jamaican Sunshine Girls in a home and away format in what is set to be an incredible showcase of international netball between the world ranked two and four nations. Don't miss the chance to see your Taini Jamison Trophy Champions playing back on home soil against Jamaica. The Vitality Netball Horizon Series comes to Manchester’s AO Arena on 16 and 17 November, you can get tickets here.14 of the squad from the Vitality Roses’ recent tour to Australia and New Zealand, which saw England defeat world number one Australia on home soil for only the third time ever and win the Taini Jamison Trophy against then world number two New Zealand in the first two test matches for the first time in history, have been named in the squad to face Jamaica. Meanwhile, Halimat Adio has also been named in the squad via the P3 route, by which athletes not able to be in the full time Vitality Roses programme due to work or academia can be considered for selection.

Eleanor Cardwell (due to injury), Jasmine Brown (due to injury) and Nat Metcalf (managing a medical matter) were not available for selection. Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “To have established a new groundbreaking series against Jamaica will not only prove valuable to our own preparations for the Netball World Cup in 2027 and beyond but also adds what will be a hotly anticipated series to the international calendar between two nations with aspirations to challenge the world order in the years to come.“The history between our two nations speaks for itself. In recent years we have enjoyed series wins at home, but we are under no illusion that this new format, involving playing away in Jamaica, poses very different challenges and that the Sunshine Girls have arguably the best shooter and defensive unit in world netball right now. This is exactly why we want to play them and to do this so soon after playing both Australia and New Zealand allows us to continue that momentum against another world-leading team.“A third of our selected team have never played against Jamaica before and the remainder of the squad have only done so between one to five times, so this will be a brilliant opportunity for us to strengthen both our understanding and experience of the dynamic Jamaican style of play, full of flair, speed and athleticism. I’m really looking forward to what will be an incredible match up.” Meanwhile, a 10-strong squad has been selected to represent the Vitality Roses at the FAST5 Netball World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand from 9-10 November.FAST5 is a shorter, faster-paced version of the game with five players on each side. England, who finished in third place last year, will come up against the other sides ranked in the world’s top six nations: Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Uganda. The six teams will go head-to-head in preliminary matches before competing for final placings on the last day.  The squad includes a mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses, marking the first call up to a senior England squad for Future Roses Sophie Egbaran, Harriet Jones, Sophie Kelly, Isabella Phillips and Emma Rayner.Vitality Rose Paige Reed returns to the competition for the third time after picking up the Player of the Series award in 2023. Jayda Pechova also returns following the 2023 tournament, as do Zara Everitt, Tash Pavelin and Alicia Scholes who all represented England at the FAST5 World Series in 2022. 

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “Our FAST5 selection sees an exciting mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses take to the global stage, some for the first time, and they will get to compete against very credible line-ups in the opposing teams. This has proven so valuable over the last few years, helping to accelerate some of our brightest talent into Vitality Roses teams today and allowing for much needed positional exposure and development. The FAST5 environment is always well supported and hosted in big arenas and so exposes players to conditions akin to those they aspire to be a part of in the future.” Roses Pathway Head Coach Sonia Mkoloma added: “What an exciting opportunity we have for the athletes selected for the FAST5 tournament to showcase their talent on the international stage in front of a fun and passionate New Zealand crowd. “The squad is made up of a nice mixture of experienced players from the Vitality Roses environment and players from within the Future Roses squad, who for some it will be their first time on the senior international stage. I know it will be a great experience for the players as they will be challenged and will learn more about themselves under the pressures of the modified game. I’m looking forward to seeing them all step up and perform in the red dress.”  Finally, a 12-player squad has been revealed confirming who will play two behind closed doors fixtures as England A on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 November in Manchester. Featuring a mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses this squad will face Zimbabwe and Scotland, providing vital experience.

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “To have secured England A fixtures against both Scotland and Zimbabwe allows for nearly all of our athletes across both our Vitality Roses and Future Roses programmes to get some valuable match minutes in the red dress, from experienced Vitality Roses to those athletes on the road to the Netball World Youth Cup next year in Gibraltar. We believe that there is so much for each individual to gain from these fixtures, including positional development, exposure against two very different styles of play and more time on task for our less experienced players or those returning from injury. England A fixtures have proven so important in us uncovering new talent over the years and so we are really looking forward to these matches.” Tickets for the Vitality Netball Horizon Series are available to purchase here.  For more information about the FAST5 Netball World Series including broadcast plans, visit their website. Details on the broadcast plans for the Vitality Netball Horizon Series will be announced nearer to the time. The full list of fixtures and timings are as follows:  Vitality Netball Horizon Series Saturday 16 November, 16:00 – AO Arena, Manchester Sunday 17 November, 14:00 – AO Arena, Manchester Monday 25 November, time to be confirmed - National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica Tuesday 26 November, time to be confirmed - National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica FAST5 Netball World Series Friday 8 November, 23:30 (GMT) Saturday 9 November, 12:30 (NZDT) England vs. South Africa Saturday 9 November, 2:30 (GMT) 15:30 (NZDT) England vs. Jamaica Saturday 9 November, 5:45 (GMT) 18:45 (NZDT) England vs. Uganda Saturday 9 November, 23:45 (GMT) Sunday 10 November, 12:45 (NZDT) New Zealand vs. England Sunday 10 November, 2:00 (GMT) 15:00 (NZDT) Australia vs. EnglandSunday 10 November, 4:40 (GMT) 17:40 (NZDT) 5th/6th play off Sunday 10 November, 5:30 (GMT) 18:30 (NZDT) 3rd/4th play off Sunday 10 November, 7:10 (GMT) 20:10 (NZDT) FinalEngland A Tuesday 12 November, England A vs. Zimbabwe, behind closed doorsThursday 14 November, England A vs. Scotland, behind closed doors