Nottingham welcomed the England Roses at Motorpoint Arena on December 4 and 5 after an impressive win against the Jamaican Sunshine Girls in the first game of their three-part series.
Beating Jamaica 55-45 in the first game at the Copper Box, with Manchester Thunder’s Eleanor Cardwell crucial impact in earning England the win.
Cardwell replaced NSW Swifts Helen Housby at goal attack in the latter stages of the second quarter successfully turning round a one goal deficit at half time.
International netball arrived in Nottingham for the series’ second game.
Cardwell’s dominant performance in London earned her a place in head coach Jess Thirlby’s starting seven with Housby dropping to the bench.
The Roses were out of the blocks in emphatic style with an 8 goal lead at quarter time.
“So I couldn’t be happier with how we asserted ourselves in the opening quarter.”
Jess thirlby, england roses head coach
The Sunshine Girls were far from their best but that took nothing away from England’s formidable performance.
From attack to defence the fluidity and connections were clear to see.
With Eboni Usoro-Brown and Stacey Francis-Bayman working excellently in defence – stopping Jhaniele Fowler in her tracks.
Manchester Thunder’s Natalie Haythornthwaite never missed a beat in wing attack while Housby’s shooting was impeccable after replacing Jo Harten in the second quarter.
Head coach Jess Thirlby said: “A strong start is something we have been in search of for a little while, since we played in New Zealand.
“So I couldn’t be happier with how we asserted ourselves in the opening quarter.”
In the final quarter, the crowd were on their feet for the duo of Harten and Housby – a fan favourite.
The second game ended with a monumental 66-47 victory for the England Roses guaranteeing a series win: their first series win over Jamaica since 2013.
The final game was a disappointing end to a successful series with a 53-63 defeat to a confident, well structured Jamaica on Sunday.
Overall, a good few days at the office for the Roses with a series win in preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Natalie Haythornthwaite, who was named player of the series, said: “I’m really proud of the performances we put in overall.
“It’s a real honour to be part of this group.”
The Roses left Nottingham with a series win and a plethora of lessons learnt.
You can watch the Vitality Roses in January 2022 on Sky Sports for the Quad series involving world champions New Zealand.
