Three Canterbury Ladies stars will go head-to-head with former skipper Susannah Townsend as their preparations for the Junior World Cup in Germany gather pace.

Grace Balsdon, 20, Lucy Hyams, 19, and Eliza Brett, 18, have come through the ranks at Polo Farm and have earned places in the England under-21s squad for the event in Monchengladbach which runs from July 27 to August 4.

England have been drawn in Pool D against tough opponents Germany, Spain and Belgium.

The national team have suffered three defeats against the Germans and Dutch ahead of the tournament but Canterbury played host to two warm-up wins and a defeat against Belgium last week before a series of gruelling fitness sessions at Lilleshall.

Balsdon said: “We get a few days rest before we play a match against the England senior side on Friday and more training at Bisham Abbey.”

The city club trio will come up against former captain Townsend, who left the club this summer to join Reading to play alongside international team-mates there.

The trio travel to Germany on Tuesday before playing warm-up games against Canada, New Zealand and Argentina.

Brett said: “We are all very excited. It’s been an extremely tough period but it’s fantastic experience for us. I've played alongside Susannah for four years so I know her game pretty well, but it will be good to play against her."