Catherine Anne Cox (born 24 May 1976) is a former Australian netball international and current netball commentator. Between 1997 and 2013, she made 108 senior appearances for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She was a prominent member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

and the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and 2011 World Netball Championships. She was also a member of the Australia teams that won silver medals at the 2003 World Netball Championships and the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2010 Commonwealth Games. Cox captained Australia on seven occasions, including when they won the 2011 Constellation Cup. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era, Cox played for

Sydney Swifts Sydney Swifts were an netball in Australia, Australian netball team based in Sydney. Between 1997 and 2007, they represented Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Together with Sydney Sandpipers and Hunter Jaegers, they ...

. She was a member of Swifts teams that won premierships in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, she captained New South Wales Swifts, including when they won the inaugural 2008 ANZ Championship. During her playing career, she also captained Perth Orioles and West Coast Fever. In her final season as a player, Cox won a fifth premiership with the 2014 Melbourne Vixens.

Early life, family and education

Cox was born in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

in New Zealand's

Northland Region Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...

. She is the daughter of Frances and Neville Cox. Both of her parents are originally from New Zealand. They met in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, before moving to Northland where they lived for seven years. Frances was a teacher at a school in Whau Valley and Neville was a manager at the Arthur Yates seed company. Cox was born in Whangarei Hospital on 24 May 1976. When she was three months old, her family moved from their Mount Parihaka home to

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. The family then moved to

when she was six. Cox was raised in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. She attended Mount St Benedict College and Oakhill College. She graduated from the latter in 1994. Cox started playing netball at age 11, with the Hills District Netball Association. Cox is the mother of a daughter, Harper (born February 2016).

Playing career

New South Wales

Between 1992 and 2004, Cox represented

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in the Australian National Netball Championships at under-17, under-19 and open levels.

Mobil Superleague

During the Mobil Superleague era, Cox played for the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in 1995 and for Sydney Cenovis in 1996. Sydney Cenovis also featured a young Liz Ellis and were coached by Julie Fitzgerald.

Commonwealth Bank Trophy

Sydney Swifts

Between 1997 and 1999 and again between 2002 and 2007, Cox made 135 appearances for

in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She was a member of Swifts teams that won premierships in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between 2004 and 2006, she also helped Swifts win three minor premierships. Between 2004 and 2007, she played in five successive grand finals for Swifts. Her team mates at Sydney Swifts included Liz Ellis, Megan Anderson and Susan Pratley. She formed a notable partnership with Pratley that also saw them play together for New South Wales Swifts and

. Between 2003 and 2007 she was named in five successive Margaret Pewtress Teams of the Year.

Perth Orioles

Between 2000 and 2001, Cox made 25 appearances for Perth Orioles in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She co-captained Orioles during both seasons. She was also named Orioles' Player of the Year for both seasons.

ANZ Championship era

New South Wales Swifts

Between

and

, Cox made 57 appearances for New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship. She also captained Swifts during these four seasons, including when they won the inaugural 2008 ANZ Championship and the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

minor premiership. In 2008 she played in her sixth successive grand final and was named

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. In 2010 Cox made her 200th combined Commonwealth Bank Trophy/ANZ Championship game in Round 13 against Melbourne Vixens. Cox's playing career with Swifts ended in controversial circumstances. Following an "internal review", Julie Fitzgerald was replaced as Swifts head coach by Lisa Beehag. The review was conducted during the

season. Cox publicly criticized

Netball New South Wales Netball New South Wales is the governing body for netball in New South Wales. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing two elite level teams, New South Wales Swifts and Giants Netball, who compete in Su ...

for distracting players with the review and even alleged that it was responsible for Swifts losing the 2011 minor semi-final. Beehag subsequently informed Cox that she would not be needed as either as captain or player the following season and Cox then departed for West Coast Fever.

West Coast Fever

In August 2011, Cox joined West Coast Fever. During the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

seasons, Cox captained Fever and made 26 appearances.

Melbourne Vixens

In February 2014, Cox joined Melbourne Vixens. In April 2014, Cox announced she would be retiring as a netball player at the end of the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

season. In May, Cox played her 250th combined Commonwealth Bank Trophy/ANZ Championship game in Round 10 against New South Wales Swifts. She subsequently went on to help the 2014 Melbourne Vixens win both the minor premiership and the overall championship before retiring.

Grand finals

Australia

Between 1997 and 2013, Cox made 108 senior appearances for

. Between 1994 and 1996 she had represented Australia at under-21 level. She was a standout player in the 1996 World Youth Netball Championships grand final in which Australia beat

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She made her senior debut on 11 June 1997, aged 21, in a 65–38 win against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

at Challenge Stadium in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Cox was overlooked for the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World Netball Championships. After being left out of the 1998 Commonwealth Games squad, Cox considered switching to play for New Zealand after she was approached by Netball New Zealand. However she subsequently re-established herself in the Australia team and was a prominent member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the

and the

and 2011 World Netball Championships. Cox was vice-captain of the 2011 Australia team. She was also a member of the Australia teams that won silver medals at the 2003 World Netball Championships and the

and 2010 Commonwealth Games. In both 2004 and 2005, Cox was named Australian International Player of the Year. Cox captained Australia on seven occasions. She first captained Australia in November 2004 when they lost 50–42 to New Zealand. She next captained Australia in October 2011 against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, after regular captain, Natalie von Bertouch, was injured. During the same match, Cox also scored her 2000th goal for Australia. She subsequently captained Australia when they won the 2011 Constellation Cup. On 20 September 2012, during a 2012 Constellation Cup match against New Zealand, Cox made her 100th Test appearance for Australia. As a result she became only the fourth Australia netball international, after Vicki Wilson, Sharelle McMahon and Liz Ellis, to reach the century mark.

Commentator

Since 2015 Cox has worked as a netball commentator. She made her broadcast debut, when together with Sharelle McMahon, Liz Ellis and Kelli Underwood, she was part of the

Fox Sports (Australia) Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited (formerly Premier Media Group Pty Limited) is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as w ...

commentary team that covered the 2015 ANZ Championship season. In 2015 Cox, Ellis and McMahon toured as part of a stage show named ''The Centurions'', celebrating the careers and back stories of three Australia netball internationals who had played more than 100 international matches. Since 2017, Cox has worked for

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

, providing commentary for their Suncorp Super Netball, Netball World Cup and Constellation Cup coverage.

Honours

;

* World Netball Championships **''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

**''Winners'':

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

**''Runners Up'':

* Netball Quad Series **''Winners'':

;

* Commonwealth Bank Trophy **''Winners'': 2004, 2006, 2007 **''Runners up'': 1998, 2003, 2005 **''Minor premierships'': 2004, 2005, 2006 ; New South Wales Swifts * ANZ Championship **''Winners'':

**''Minor Premiership'':

; Melbourne Vixens * ANZ Championship **''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

;Individual Awards

References