A NEW year and a whole set of new international netball series to look forward to. The first of these is the English Roses and Jamaican Sunshine Girls which is set to get underway next week, and in the first of our previews for this series we take a look at the host side England.

England come into the 2023 calendar year no doubt keen for a turn around in form after a less than ideal 2022. Although they did defeat Uganda and Jamaica in their respective series last year, they lost the series to Australia and could not replicate their 2018 Commonwealth Games success at their home Commonwealth Games last year, coming away without a medal.

Jamaica is a bit of a bogey team for the English, with last year’s series win the first for the Roses over the Sunshine Girls since 2013.

This series against Jamaica is the start of a big year for the Roses.

The series will lead into a Quad Series with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, before they all head to the World Cup in the middle of the year, also in South Africa.

The England squad for this series against Jamaica is largely the same as the one that travelled Down Under in the back end of 2022, but with a few new faces added into the mix.

One of those is new Leeds Rhino Elle McDonald, who although has spent much of her recent netball career in Australia was actually born in England, and may make her proper English debut this series after debuting in last year’s Fast 5 World Series. However, she, Alice Harvey and Olivia Tchine all may also be considered for the England A Series, so it will be fascinating to see which series the trio get more game time in.

Among the more familiar faces of this English squad, Jade Clarke recently celebrated earning an MBE, and after not seeing much court time in the Australian series, Jo Harten will be keen to change that in the upcoming series but will have to fight in-form shooters Eleanor Cardwell and Helen Housby for a starting spot.

England Squad for series against Jamaica

• Imogen Allison 
• Eleanor Cardwell            
• Jade Clarke       
• Sophie Drakeford-Lewis
• Funmi Fadoju   
• Layla Guscoth   
• Jo Harten           
• Alice Harvey*   
• Helen Housby   
• Laura Malcolm 
• Elle McDonald*
• Geva Mentor    
• Natalie Metcalf
• Chelsea Pitman
• Olivia Tchine*  
• Fran Williams        

*May also be considered for England A fixtures