England announce squad for the Netball World Cup

England Netball has announced its 12-strong squad that will be competing in the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool from the 12th July.

The Roses will be captained by Serena Guthrie, who made her debut against Malawi in 2008 and currently has 90 caps to her name.

Guthrie will represent her country alongside vice-captain Jade Clarke, Eboni Usoro-Brown, Joanne Harten, Helen Housby, Geva Mentor, Natalie Haythornthwaite and Chelsea Pitman who were all a part of Englands gold medal winning moment at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Being selected and asked to be captain is a proud moment for me, says Guthrie.

Its going to be a real honour for us all to step out in front of the nation. After our triumph at the Commonwealth Games last year the pressure is on to try and secure gold on a global stage again.

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The competition is tighter than ever but it is a huge comfort to be playing on home soil and to have the nation behind us. I cant wait.

Layla Guscoth has also been named in the line up, alongside Rachel Dunn, who has 86 caps under her belt and helped the Roses secure victory against Australia in the January Netball Quad Series.

The England Roses World Cup squad

Helen Housby (GA, GS)

Joanne Harten (GS, GA)

Natalie Haythornthwaite (WA, GA)

Rachel Dunn (GA, GS)

Serena Guthrie (C, WD)

Jade Clarke (C, WD)

Chelsea Pitman (WA)

Natalie Panagarry (C, WD)

Layla Guscoth (GD, WD)

Eboni Usoro-Brown (GK, GD)

Geva Mentor (GK)

Francesca Williams (GD, WD)

In addition, rising stars Francesca Williams and Natalie Panagarry will be competing in their first ever Netball World Cups.

Im delighted to have been selected to compete in my first World Cup, its something Ive always dreamt about and it still doesnt feel quite real. I am really proud to be representing my country amongst the amazing athletes that make up the squad, says Williams.

Head Coach Tracey Neville added: There were some really tough decisions to make in selection.

The World Cup is a challenging competition due to its format and the potential opposition we could come up against.

All of the players selected are at their physical peak and have shown through the international and Vitality Netball Superleague season that they are able to consistently perform well under extreme pressure, which is crucial leading into July.

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It is fantastic to see the versatility we have among the final 12, plus the emergence of two outstanding leaders in Serena Guthrie as captain and Jade Clarke as vice-captain. Not only are they world class players but together they have set the standard within our Roses programme both on and off the court.

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