World’s Top Two to Face England in Intern'l Series

WORLD’S TOP TWO TO FACE ENGLAND IN INTERNATIONAL SERIES

England’s netballers will have an opportunity to test their progress against the world’s current top two nations, New Zealand and Australia, in an international test series at home in May 2007. This series provides a key competitive opportunity for all three nations ahead of the World Netball Championships, which have been shifted to New Zealand in November 2007, following the recent military coup in Fiji.

England, ranked fourth in the world, placed third at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March 2006, and will be looking to build on this success at the World Netball Championships in New Zealand in November. Meanwhile, English fans will have an opportunity to see one of the great match ups in world sport – New Zealand vs Australia, which takes place at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham on Tuesday 15 May.

The match schedule is as follows:

13 May 2007 England vs New Zealand Australia vs England A
(Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester)

15 May 2007 New Zealand vs Australia
(National Indoor Arena, Birmingham)

17 May 2007 England vs Australia New Zealand vs England A
(Earls Court Arena, London)

“This is a thrilling prospect for both players and netball fans,” says Nigel Holl, Performance Director, England Netball, “offering the chance to see the very best in the world in competition ahead of this year’s World Championships. Performances at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne demonstrated that the England team has closed the gap on the top two in the world, and this series will give us a clear indication of how much more work needs to be done.

“By involving an England A team in the series, we will also be offering our emerging players exposure to the very highest levels of competition, which I am sure they will rise to and benefit from. And for spectators who may not be able to travel to New Zealand later in the year, what better spectacle could there be than the three form teams in the world in close competition with each other?”

“The opportunity to play both Australia and England at this stage of the Silver Ferns preparation for the World Netball Championships is one not to be missed,” says Tracey Fear, Netball New Zealand High Performance Manager Tracey Fear.

Australia’s National Coach, Norma Plummer, is similarly upbeat about the prospects: “This tour will give me an opportunity to get the team back out on court and to work the depth of the side in the lead up to the Netball World Championships in November. It has been almost seven months since our last test and this tour is about focusing us as a team. It brings with it the opportunity to continue to reinforce the team’s bond and develop a closeness which strengthens the team’s understanding, both on and off the court.”

Tickets are available from the box offices at each venue: please visit www.englandnetball.co.uk for more information.

ENDS

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