England netball captain Pamela Cookey says the sport is in the best condition ever after her team’s international series whitewash against world number ones Australia.
Cookey led her side to three consecutive victories against the reigning world champions – the first time ever for England, culminating in a 58-51 win at the National Indoor Arena on Saturday.
Before the series, England had only beaten the Diamonds twice in their histories but with wins in Bath, London and now Birmingham, captain Cookey thinks the sport can only progress from here.
“With more people getting on the court than ever before – not just in schools, but in clubs and at universities – the more competition we have for our places, makes us play better,” she told BBC Sport.
According to national funding body Sport England, almost 160,000 women play netball every week , 40,000 more than in 2008 – a remarkable rise considering the sport is yet to join the high-profile Olympic programme, so was unable to showcase itself in the recent home Games.
This growth at the grassroots level helped lead to a £6.6m improvement in the sport’s funding to £25.3m over the next four years.
