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Nat Metcalfe will go for a second gold medal after being selected in England’s netball squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with Fran Williams announced as captain.
The 12-strong squad includes four newly crowned players Netball Super League Champions Also Manchester Thunder.
London Pulse star shooter Liv Tichine will co-captain the Roses alongside Thunder’s Amy Carter, while the youngest member of the squad is 21-year-old defender Jeda Pechova.
Nottingham Forest’s Pechova won the league’s player of the year award, as well as the fans’ player of the year and young player of the year as he helped his side finish in the top four for the first time.
Pechova was nominated for the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2022, aged 18, and won her first senior cap in 2023 against New Zealand.
He later fell out of favor but has returned in style this year, with Forest coach Chelsea Pittman recently telling BBC Sport: “We’ve seen his high performance demeanor and what he can do as part of that consistency – what do England need to see from him?
“And he’s just attacked it. He’s coming up every session to put his best foot forward. He’s very resilient. He wants to watch video; he wants to get better.”
Wing attack Metcalf was part of the England 2018 team that won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Australia and will be competing in her third Games just 14 months after giving birth to her first child.
The 33-year-old returned to action last December before winning Super League with the Thunder and joining club-mates Carter, Eleanor Cardwell and Lois Pearson on international duty – the latter featuring in his first major tournament with England.
Metcalfe was the only player in the squad to feature in England’s 2018 victory.
New South Wales Swifts star Helen Housby, who is set to become a key figure in England shooting circles, was ruled out of the Stembridge plans in early June with a back injury.
Captain Williams is another who plays in Australia, in his case for West Coast Fever, with England team-mate Sasha Glasgow also in the ranks for the Perth team.
England head coach Anna Stembridge, who has followed suit Jess Thirlby resigns Marche said his squad has the necessary mix of experience and youth.
The Roses, ranked third in the world, are in Pool A with world number one Australia, as well as South Africa, Malawi, Tonga and Northern Ireland, against whom they open their Games campaign on July 25.
Stembridge said: “The competition within English netball is incredibly strong, and this squad reflects the quality and depth we have across our programme.
“Each athlete brings different qualities to this group, and the strength of this team will come from how we combine those qualities and perform together.”
England will be aiming to build on their World Cup silverware in 2023, but Test series defeats to New Zealand and South Africa last year have played havoc with their preparations.
