Thursday 11 December 2014 10:18, UK
Anita Navin analyses England coach Anna Mayes' squad selection for International Tests against Malawi...
It felt like a tale of the unexpected seeing Pamela Cookey named in the squad to face the Malawi Queens by mid December. What a comeback by the former England captain, who has been fully committed to her rehab and looks all set to enter this Test and World Cup campaign over the next 10 months with more capacity than ever before.
All eyes were on this selection given the recent tour to the southern hemisphere, knowing Norma Plummer has been observing silently behind the team bench supporting England's campaign. The squad selection also marks a unique consideration with the naming of Tamsin Greenway – the Surrey Storm player and coach who retired after the World Cup in Singapore in 2011. Greenway will be the first athlete to manage her role as a parent and athlete in the national squad.
Following the birth of her daughter, Tamsin has continued to indicate her first-class ability to deliver quality ball to her shooters from the wing attack position. Tamsin offers that essential grit, no-messing mentality and most of all, she can fire-up any squad to work to the final whistle. Her will to win is second to none and I am confident her injection of skill and determination will drive England forwards in what has been a testing time after the disappointment of the Games in Glasgow.
The Storm attacking trio of Rachel Dunn, Cookey and Greenway will be out to prove their value and no doubt will gain valuable court time throughout their Superleague campaign too. The partnership of Greenway and Dunn was unstoppable at times last season and no doubt all eyes are on Greenway to add to the mid court strengths of Sara Bayman, Jade Clarke and Sasha Corbin. Bayman and Greenway are equally well established in their ability to link through the mid court and will no doubt be fired up for the up and coming test.
Jo Harten will no doubt also benefit from the speed, shooting and court craft of Cookey. The two had developed a great understanding and Cookey always appeared to allow Harten to concentrate on her role and strengths as a shooter, working mostly inside the shooting circle. The calm persona and wide-ranging court craft of Cookey will be magical and I am sure England can capitalise on this against the top teams in this up and coming campaign.
Rosie Allison is rewarded with a place for her time spent down under and her solid Fast 5 performance in New Zealand has shown her improved accuracy at goal. Allison connects well with Cookey so a revitalised shooting set of pairings look set to hit the court as England meet the Queens. Kadeen Corbin also makes the squad and will be supported by the sister connection of Sasha in the mid court. There will no doubt be a target of improved shooting percentages and coupled with the presence of Greenway, who rarely delivers anything but a precision pass, we should all be confident approaching this pre-Christmas Test series. Missing from the mid court is Serena Guthrie who sustained an injury during the Fast 5 campaign.
There is a sigh in the nation knowing Helen Housby has not made the squad after such a remarkable Superleague season. She is an athlete with a future, who is perhaps unlucky on this occasion, but will need to look on from the A squad camp during December. Retention of the experienced alongside the development of our future generation is critical and it will all be in the safe hands of Tracey Neville to inject and reignite the form of this young gun from the North West when playing for Manchester Thunder.
With Geva Mentor voted the world's best netballer, England supporters will no doubt be eager to witness her 100th cap for her country. Geva will be following on from Jade Clarke's century achievement at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow during the summer.
Mentor will lead a defensive unit which includes the rookie Sam Cook. After another Fast 5 performance to remember, Sam has proven an innate ability to steal possession in and around the shooting circle. She has a great opportunity to reap the benefit of working alongside Mentor to up her game and acquire some of those intricacies in movement and positioning that Geva continues to demonstrate. Also joining the defensive unit is Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Stacey Francis and Ama Agbeze. The options in defence offer a range of defensive styles and Ama Agbeze's impressive defensive determination and ability to move the ball through the court could see her take more court time in this Test campaign.
So 14 athletes have been named and all now will be aiming for a place in the Test 12. There's blend of experience coupled with the injection of youth to hopefully allow England to display their capacity to not only win but maintain the lead through competitive play.
Squad: Pamela Cookey, Rosie Allison, Joanne Harten,Kadeen Corbin, Rachel Dunn, Sara Bayman, Jade Clarke, Tamsin Greenway, Sasha Corbin, Geva Mentor, Ama Agbeze, Sam Cook, Stacey Francis and Eboni Beckford-Chambers.
Malawi certainly entertain and Mary Waya's squad will provide a crowd spectacle with the display of flair and athleticism of the Queens. That said, there is a wave of increased confidence after the selection news; so is this the start of England's campaign for a World Cup podium place? Any thoughts get in touch @netballpundit
Watch England v Malawi live on Sky Sports this December
London, Wednesday 17 December - 7.30pm, Sky Sports 3
Worcester, Saturday 20 December - 3pm, Sky Sports 4
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