Breakout netball star on inspiring her teammates, the game’s problems in Australia and why she needed to take a break
The final whistle had blown in England’s first Netball World Cup final when Laura Malcolm spotted her teammate Ellie Cardwell in tears. Their side had lost to Australia by 16 goals – no small margin – but Malcolm was having none of it. “She said: ‘Stop crying, stop!’” remembers Cardwell, with a laugh. “You told us to smile all the way through the competition. Now you need to smile!”
Anyone following the England Roses on their historic World Cup run this summer – beating Australia for the first time in the tournament in their group game, defeating the reigning champions, New Zealand, in the semis, and appearing in a final after 60 years of trying – will have noticed Cardwell’s inspirational role. The goal shooter’s high-voltage enthusiasm made her a natural cheerleader – the woman who gave the crowd a double thumbs up after she netted a long-range shot, or found the few England fans in an arena full of southern hemisphere flags and instructed them to sing louder.