England shooter Pamela Cookey to retire from international netball
Wednesday 21 October 2015 14:33, UK
England shooter Pamela Cookey has announced that she is to retire from international netball with immediate effect.
The former England captain amassed 114 caps over eleven years for the Roses and also represented her country at U17 and U21 levels.
The news was exclusively revealed on Tuesday's Sportswomen show on Sky Sports News HQ and Cookey said it was now time for the next generation to take England forward.
She said: "It's been such a long career but I think now is the time (to retire from international netball) after the World Cup.
"I started to question my commitment and the sacrifice and I've never done that before because it's netball and it's what I do, I just go out there and play.
"But when those thoughts started coming into my head I knew something wasn't right. It's gone back-and-forth in my head but I think I have achieved everything I have wanted to achieve as a professional athlete and now it's time to pave the way for others."
Cookey made her debut against the Australian Diamonds as a fresh-faced 19-year-old back in 2004.
In 2006, she collected her first medal in a major competition as part of the bronze medal winning Commonwealth Games team in Melbourne. A feat she repeated four year later at the Games in Delhi.
The 31-year-old from Birmingham helped secure a bronze medal at the 2011 Netball World Cup in Singapore and then, in her role as vice-captain, help inspire the team to a first ever global championship gold medal at the Netball World Series.
As a consistent fixture in the team, only injury ruled her out of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The tenacity and determination that were evident throughout Cookey's career were showcased in her comeback.
A successful rehabilitation period allowed the ever-popular attacker to reach the 100 cap landmark in May when she was honoured on court with a standing ovation following a win over Trinidad & Tobago at the Copper Box.
Her last game in the red dress was at the Netball World Cup in Sydney earlier this summer, as part of the England side which successfully claimed bronze with a 66-44 victory over Jamaica.
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