Tuesday 6 August 2019 14:50, UK
Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Serena Guthrie and Geva Mentor are amongst the 29 players that have received a Roses programme agreement for the 2019-20 international season.
The quartet, that were at the heart of England's bronze medal-winning campaign at the Netball World Cup in July, create a strong spine of experience.
The Roses programme comprises of three sections and each marks a different route of entry for individuals.
Jade Clarke, Rachel Dunn and Eboni Usoro-Brown are three athletes that have not been not named in this full-time Roses announcement but may still be involved in the forthcoming programme through a P3 route of entry.
P3 athletes are those that can't commit full time, perhaps due to work commitments, but can still gain selection for international events via a set selection process.
This was the route that Dunn, who is a full-time DNA Investigator, took in order to be selected to compete at the World Cup.
The former England captain Ama Agbeze has not been named in this list of P1 and P2 athletes nor have the Corbin sisters of Sasha and Kadeen.
"There are a lot of exciting international competitions for us to look forward to in 2019-20 calendar, which I see as opportunities for us to expose both our experienced and newer talent to," said the new Vitality Roses head coach Jess Thirlby.
"I'm very much looking forward to working with this team as we head into another very exciting year for our sport."
Of those included there's a new face from Suncrop Super Netball in the form of defender Kate Shimmin.
Shimmin has represtened Australia in the Fast5 Netball World Series but has British Nationality through one of her parents.
She expressed an interest in joining the Roses programme and will look to emulate the success of Chelsea Pitman as she does so.
Elsewhere in the named P1 and P2 athletes there are a wealth of individuals that shone in the Vitality Netball Superleague last season
Team Bath's Sophie Drakeford-Lewis is an individual that Thirlby will know well, Vicki Oyesola of Loughborough Lightning proved herself to be a dynamic defender whilst Iona Darroch and Laura Malcolm are two that will get a chance to stake mid-court claims.
Over the coming weeks and months there will be welcome returns from injury for Gabriella Marshall, Jodie Gibson and Beth Cobden and of course Layla Guscoth after her World Cup injury heartbreak.
Four individuals have also been selected as part of the Roses Futures programme - Halimat Adio of Severn Stars, Olivia Tchine from London Pulse, Imogen Allison of Team Bath and Amy Carter from Manchester Thunder.
The Roses have a camp scheduled for September with confirmation of the individuals that will be involved it in coming closer to the time.
Netball is back on your screens in October with the Fast5 All Stars Championship. We will cover all the twists and turns of the off-season as the Vitality Netball Superleague teams begin to shape their squads for the 2020 season which you can follow on Sky Sports.
