Maree Bowden shows her class as she soars to take a difficult pass. Phil Walter / Getty Images
Canterbury midcourt player Maree Bowden has been added to the Silver Ferns' world championship squad following her strong performances in the New Zealand A team.
Bowden, 26, will join the squad in their first training camp in Dunedin from November 14-18.
Daneka Wipiiti (North Harbour), Jade Topia (Canterbury), Bessie Manu
(Canterbury), Phillipa Duncan (Otago) and Liana Barrett-Chase (Waikato) have been invited to attend the camp as training partners.
Bowden, a punchy wing attack/centre, has been on the brink of higher honours for some time, having acted as a training partner for the Silver Ferns leading up to the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
The New Zealand selectors felt her performances for the New Zealand A side against the Silver Ferns, Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport -in the build-up to the recent test series against Australia - combined with her strong National Bank Cup campaign with the Canterbury Flames this year, had earned her place in the Silver Ferns squad.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken said Bowden had put in the hard work and stepped up her game, making it difficult for the national selectors to ignore her.
The Silver Ferns' squad now includes 16 members and will meet for camps over the summer. Trials will then take place in February and will include Silver Fern squad members and any other players the New Zealand selectors want to have a look at.
The world championship team of 12 is expected to be announced at the end of February.
* England Netball and Sky Sports have reached an agreement for the eight-team Superleague competition, starting next month, to be broadcast regularly for the first time.
Under the agreement, Sky Sports will also show six England international matches this season, starting with a three-test series against South Africa in January as well as a tri-nations series against Jamaica and Australia in May.
Maree Bowden
Positions: Wing attack centre, wing defence.
Born: November 11, 1979.
Height: 1.75m.
National squads: Silver Ferns 2006, NZA 2001-2002, NZ under-21 2000.
National Bank Cup: Canterbury Flames 1999-2006.
Scottwood Trust netball champs: Canterbury 2005-2006, Otago 2003, Canterbury 2000-2002.
* In 2002, Bowden was one of the named training partners for the Silver Ferns before the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
