Overseas stint proving invaluable to Wolverhampton's Laura Malcolm

Wolverhampton-born Malcolm has been involved in the England set-up for 11 years and earned her 50th cap against Australia last year.

She also featured at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and admits that her first World Cup call-up feels "extra special".

Malcolm said: "It really has [been a rollercoaster for English netball]. Everyone is always trying to get better.

"Even though I might not have been to those competitions [2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 World Cup], I've still been very much involved in the squad in the build-up to those kind of things.

"It's really nice that we've all gone on this journey together. There's so many people who have played their part in our success, and to be able to go one step further and get myself into the World Cup just makes it extra special."

Malcolm won four titles across her 10-year spell in the Superleague, before jetting off to New Zealand to join Mainland Tactix in 2022.

And the 32-year-old has revealed that her spell in New Zealand provided her with a new challenge, and one which she has relished.

"It's like the complete opposite style of play that I go for, so it was massive learning curve in terms of what I was doing on court," Malcolm said.

"What was really cool was the environment, and the vibe that the group had was quite a contrast to what I am used to.

"They are so chilled as people off the court but they are also so chilled when it comes to stepping onto it. It's just given me a different perspective on how to approach netball and has challenged me to get a different side out of my game. So it was a very valuable experience.

"I'm a big believer no matter who you are, where you come from, how old you are, or how young you are, that you should always be learning and adding different tools to your box.

"I've definitely collected a few tools in my box. Whether that's mindset or physical things on court. I'm trying to pick out those tools, and see how they can work in this environment essentially."

This year's Netball World Cup will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre between July 28 and August 6.

England have been drawn into Group B which consists of Malawi, Scotland and Barbados. They've finished in third-place in each of their last three appearances in the competition, and last reached the final in 1975.

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