The national side will take on the Isle of Man for a series of three ranking Test matches; Suzy Drane and Nia Jones will co-captain the team with Clare Jones named as vice-captain
Wednesday 10 November 2021 13:37, UK
Wales Netball have announced a 15-player squad for a series of ranking matches against the Isle of Man later in November.
Head coach Sara Moore has selected 12 athletes and three reserves for the three encounters with the Isle of Man's national side.
Suzy Drane and Nia Jones will co-captain the team, with Clare Jones named as vice-captain and a wealth of Vitality Netball Superleague athletes involved.
The fixtures will all contribute towards Wales Netball's position in the World Netball World Rankings, and that is critical when it comes to their desire to be part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa, and Malawi are the first six teams to have qualified for next year's Commonwealth Games.
Six other places are now available and due to the impact of COVID-19 on the international calendar, the Commonwealth Games Federation and World Netball have extended the qualifying period.
The deadline for qualification is now January 21, 2022 and once that date passes, the Commonwealth Games Associations that are ranked seventh to 12th in the World Netball World Rankings will also secure qualification.
Wales Netball currently sit in ninth position, one place behind Scotland who also have fixtures coming up against Barbados at the beginning of December.
"Having the opportunity to play ranking matches is invaluable for us, as we aim to qualify for Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022," Moore said.
"We've had some really valuable training matches over the past few months, which will stand us in good stead to play the Isle of Man."
Wales Squad for Isle of Man Series: Betsy Creak, Suzy Drane (co-captain), Clare Jones (vice-captain), Kyra Jones, Nia Jones (co-captain), Zoe Matthewman, Shona O'Dwyer, Ella Powell-Davies, Eleanor Roberts, Georgia Rowe, Christina Shaw, Leila Thomas.
Reserves: Morganne Dunne, Celyn Emanuel and Lucy Howells.
