Netball World Cup: Kadeen Corbin was unlucky to miss out, says Karen Atkinson
Wednesday 1 July 2015 17:19, UK
Kadeen Corbin’s attacking skills could have contributed to England’s Netball World Cup squad but the decision to leave her out is understandable, says Karen Atkinson.
Corbin and her sister Sasha were the notable exclusions from Tracey Neville’s 12-player squad for the Sydney tournament, which is live on Sky Sports between August 7 and 16.
Atkinson, the ex-England international and current Loughborough Lightning head coach, was surprised to see the Corbins excluded, Kadeen particularly, but believes a lack of consistency counted against them.
There is a clear lean towards experience and that’s how it should be because the World Cup is not a developmental tournament – get your best team out there.
“I expected to see Kadeen in the squad because she can play against top teams and do damage,” Atkinson told Sky Sports.
“But, at the same time, I understand Tracey’s point of view that Kadeen hasn’t done that consistently. It was a tough call for Tracey around the shooting circle because Kadeen can attack against defenders in a completely different way.
“I’m also disappointed for Sasha but she was fighting for a mid-court spot against some top players. The players picked are more experienced and versatile than Sasha.
“The strength in depth is shown by the absence of the Corbins. Tracey was very clear that she wanted players who could play in an additional position, and perform within a unit. They will have to go away and work on the consistency of their games.
“There is a clear lean towards experience and that’s how it should be because the World Cup is not a developmental tournament – get your best team out there.”
Atkinson insists that England’s squad, captained by Geva Mentor who plays in her fourth World Cup, is good enough to lift the trophy in Australia.
But she has warned that England’s rivals from the southern hemisphere will, as always, be their biggest threats in Sydney.
“This team is good enough but they’ll have to perform on the day,” Atkinson said.
“The issue is the strength of the other teams. At the Commonwealth Games last year, we missed an opportunity by failing to defeat an under-strength New Zealand.
“They will be stronger this time around but are still beatable. England have also improved since then – the key thing is the addition to every area of the court. Sonia Mkoloma at the defence end, Tamsin Greenway at the mid-court and Pamela Cookey at the shooting circle weren’t at our disposal.
“But Australia will be the out-and-out favourites because of the quality of their players and their consistency.”
England's Netball World Cup campaign begins on August 7 at 6am on Sky Sports 3 HD.
