HERE’S a quiz question for you – who was the last Sunderland striker to have been called up by England?

The obvious guesses would be Kevin Phillips or Darren Bent, but they’d be wrong. Well done if you went for Fraizer Campbell, who won his one and only England cap in a friendly against Holland while playing for Sunderland in February 2012. As Roy Walker might have said, ‘It’s good, but it’s not right’.

The last Sunderland striker to have received an England call is Beth Mead, the 20-year-old figurehead of the Sunderland Ladies team that kicks off its latest campaign in the top-flight of the Women’s Super League tomorrow.

Having represented England throughout the junior system, Whitby-born Mead was elevated to the senior ranks for last autumn’s international friendly tournament in China.

The call-up came at the end of a stellar season that saw Mead’s 12 goals in Sunderland’s 14 league matches make her the leading goalscorer in WSL1, and result in her winning the England Young Player of the Year award as well as the Women’s Super League Players’ Player of the Year honour.

With England having risen to number four in the women’s world rankings yesterday, she is part of a generation of players who are transforming the way women’s football is regarded in this country.

And with Sunderland having performed superbly on their WSL1 debut last season, she is also helping to ensure the North-East remains at the vanguard of the growth of the women’s game.

“I know I’ve got a lot of work still to do,” said Mead, who combines her footballing career with a degree course at Teesside University. “I need to prove I’m not a one-season wonder.

“Watching the England team in the World Cup was a huge inspiration for me, and of course I want to play at that level, but I’ve got to nail a place down in the England squad first. This is a huge season for me and Sunderland. We did well last year, but we want to do even better.”

Sunderland finished fourth last season, and were challenging for the title before dropping away slightly in the second half of the campaign.

They lack the financial clout of the ‘big three’ – Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal – but benefit from a hugely successful youth system and the support of Sunderland Football Club, who have pushed for the full integration of the women’s team into the wider club set-up in recent years.

Head coach Carlton Fairweather, a former top-flight midfielder with Wimbledon, oversaw the start of pre-season training in January, and the club have recruited four new signings who should all make an immediate impact on the first team in the shape of Lucy Staniforth, Krystle Johnston, Rachel Pitman and Kylla Sjoman.

Staniforth has moved from Liverpool, and the attacking midfielder’s transfer represents a homecoming as she graduated through Sunderland’s academy system before moving to Merseyside when the Lady Black Cats were denied a place in the inaugural Super League when it was formed in 2010.

“Coming back pretty much ticked every box,” said Staniforth, who has signed a two-year deal back on Wearside. “Having had a spell out injured, I was looking for some regular football and Sunderland’s set-up is brilliant. In that sense, it was pretty easy for me to come back.

“It was difficult when I was here before and we didn’t get into the WSL. I know last year, when the girls finally got into the top division, they were looking to put a marker down and scare some teams off.

“There’s definitely unfinished business for me. I want to have a strong season individually, and hopefully that will help the team.”

Sunderland’s season opener pits them against a Reading side who started their season with a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal Ladies on Wednesday.