Stacey Francis makes winning return as England Netball seal Series whitewash of Trinidad & Tobago
Stacey Francis made a winning return to action as the Team Bath Netball defender helped England wrap up a 3-0 series whitewash of Trinidad & Tobago.
Francis missed the last month of the Superleague season and the first two matches of the Test series while she recovered from a knee injury.
But she showed she is back to fitness by playing the full 60 minutes of Monday night’s emphatic 69-36 victory at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, the final game on home soil before this summer’s Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
Francis played the first three quarters at goal-defence before switching to wing-defence for the last 15 minutes.
Club colleague Sam Cook came on at goal-keeper for the final quarter, having played the full hour during the 65-42 victory over Trinidad & Tobago at the University of Bath last Wednesday.
Francis tweeted the above picture and added: “Pumped to have featured for 60mins. Also looking forward to the opportunity of more court time and heading to Belfast with the team for Netball Europe!”
A host of former Team Bath Netball players featured in the Trinidad & Tobago series, with Pamela Cookey winning her 100th cap during Friday’s 67-42 success at the Copper Box in London.
She won the player of the series award, while Kadeen and Sasha Corbin, Sara Bayman, Rachel Dunn and Lindsey Keable also played their part.
Next up for England is the 2015 Netball Europe Open, taking place in Belfast from Thursday until Sunday.
Cook and Francis are both in the squad, along with Team Bath alumni Bayman, Cookey, Kadeen Corbin, Dunn and Tamsin Greenway.
