Thunder sign England pair

Northern Thunder have announced the signing of England duo Sara Bayman and Jade Clarke.

Clarke delighted to get back to her roots

Northern Thunder have announced the signing of England duo Sara Bayman and Jade Clarke. Clarke, 26 from Partington has spent the past four years playing for Loughborough Lightning, whilst Bayman 24 from Wigan, has played an instrumental part in the success of the undefeated TeamBath side in The Co-operative Netball Superleague for four years. Both Bayman and Clarke have played for England and in the Superleague for more than 12 years between them. England international coach Sue Hawkins described Bayman and Clarke as specialist ball-hunters, whilst Northern Thunder's head coach, Mike Greenwood said: "I am delighted to welcome the return of the top class centre court players to Manchester as they are a fantastic addition to our team. "We now have the skill and experience of two top class international performers and I'm confident they will add strength and pass on priceless knowledge to their fellow team members." Commenting on her move to Northern Thunder, Clarke said: "I am glad to get back to my roots and I am really looking forward to working with the coach who brought me through as a youngster. There is a lot of young talent in the Northern Thunder squad and with some hard work we can really make a push towards playoffs." Northern Thunder will play their first game of the new Superleague season away at the University of Bath on Thursday December 10. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports. Their first home game is at the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury on Sunday December 13 against strong contenders Surrey Storm. Northern Thunder Squad 2009-10:
Karen Greig - Goal Shooter, Krista Enziano - Goal Shooter, Vicky Phillips - Goal Attack, Charlotte Beenham - Goal Attack, Kathryn Turner - Goal Attack, Krystal Gayle - Wing Attack, Rachel Henry - Wing Attack, Jenna Astwood - Wing Attack, Helen Browne - Centre, Sara Bayman - Wing Defence/Centre, Jade Clarke - Wing Defence/Centre, Rachael Taylor - Wing Defence, Laura Malcolm - Wing Defence, Emma Dovey - Goal Defence, Kate Smith - Goal Defence, Jodie Gibson -Goal Keeper, Kerry Almond -Goal Keeper,