ENGLAND is officially the first of the major contenders to reveal its squad for the 2023 World Cup after the Roses squad was announced yesterday.

The squad of 12 plus three travelling reserves does not have too many new faces, but the squad has still left many netball fans scratching their head.

Geva Mentor and Jade Clarke have been named in a World Cup squad for a sixth time, while on the other end of the scale Imogen Allison, Eleanor Cardwell and Laura Malcolm are all in line to play in their first World Cup.

There are only three full-time shooters in the squad of 12, with part-time shooter Natalie Metcalf expected to be the fourth shooter if needed.

The low shooter count is made up for plenty of cover in the midcourt and in particular wing defence.

Speaking about the squad she had just unveiled, Roses head coach Jess Thirlby was excited by what the squad could produce at the upcoming World Cup.

“The unveiling of our Roses squad is a hugely exciting moment and the culmination of years of hard work that the players and the wider team have put in to drive the depth and breadth of our talent pool, as well as our performances on the international and domestic stage,” Thirlby said.

“This squad strikes a great balance of experience whilst also introducing an exciting point of difference with some of our incredible young talent who are deserving of their place in the squad amongst some of the sport’s longest serving players. It provides the versatility needed to combat what we know to be the key areas of focus for us, as uncovered during recent international match ups. Importantly, this team along with our three travelling reserves, speaks to what we believe is one of our greatest strengths – our tactical diversity – and gives us the best chance to counteract those styles of our biggest rivals.

“The global game has moved on since the last World Cup and now more than ever, the margins between the top nations are at their narrowest. Tournament netball and its conditions are like no other league in the world and it will be important to call upon those varying styles of play within the team in order to help move us closer to breaking into a World Cup final for the first time.”

“The team are highly ambitious, hugely supportive of each other and I trust together we will do whatever we can to perform at our best in Cape Town.”

England Squad World Cup 2023

Imogen Allison  

Eleanor Cardwell

Jade Clarke

Funmi Fadoju

Layla Guscoth    

Helen Housby    

Laura Malcolm  

Geva Mentor     

Natalie Metcalf 

Chelsea Pitman 

Olivia Tchine      

Fran Williams    

Travelling reserves

Halimat Adio     

Amy Carter        

Sophie Drakeford-Lewis