The 18-year-old is part of a 18-strong squad that will be reduced to 14 before travelling to Sheffield then Coventry for the first two matches against the African team, ranked fifth in the world, with the climax of the tour a third match for England, world ranked third, played at London’s Wembley Arena.
Guthrie’s call up to the full national training squad had come a little earlier than expected, so even an ommission at this stage should not be regarded as a too big a blow, with her long-term ambition of being Jersey’s first full international still on course.
Guthrie first caught the eye of the England selectors as a 14-year-old when she trialled for the Under-17 squad and was invited to monthly training sessions with them.
In 2005 she joined Team Bath and featured for their Youth Superleague side and the following year officially made the U17 England side, earning her first caps in March 2006 as England U17s won the European Junior Netball Championship.
Her progression has been fast-paced and she quickly moved up from U17s to U19s and then in December 2006 won a place in the U21 side – this progress recognised by the Channel Islands the following month as she won the NatWest Rising Star award at the CI Sports Personality of the Year presentations.
Her debut in the top flight of English netball came in October 2007 and since then Guthrie, who is supported by Ogier, has become a permanent figure in the Team Bath Superleague side.
Her outstanding performance in February when she featured for an England select side that won the Netball Europe Open has ensured the former Le Rocquier student has remained on the road to National prominence within England’s setup.
The test series will be televised with Monday’s first game in Sheffield to be shown on Tuesday, and the second test on Wednesday to broadcast on Thursday – both programmes will go out at 5.30 pm on Sky Sports 2 and will be repeated on Sky Sports Xtra later in the evening.
The final test match, at Wembley, on Friday will be shown at 5 pm and 11 pm on Sky Sports 2.
