Catherine Anne Cox (born 24 May 1976) is a former Australia 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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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 held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

and the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

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

2003 World Netball Championships The 2003 World Netball Championships were the eleventh edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica from 10 to 20 July. After 100 matches, New Zealand's Silver Ferns ...

and the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. Cox captained Australia on seven occasions, including when they won the

2011 Constellation Cup The 2011 Constellation Cup was the 2nd Constellation Cup series played between Australia national netball team, Australia and New Zealand national netball team, New Zealand. The series featured five Test match (netball), netball test matches. Th ...

. During the

Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...

era, Cox played for

Sydney Swifts Sydney Swifts were an 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 were one of three te ...

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

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, she captained

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was ...

, including when they won the inaugural 2008 ANZ Championship. During her playing career, she also captained

Perth Orioles Perth Orioles were an Australian netball team that, between 1997 and 2007, represented Netball Western Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Orioles were one of the founding teams of the competition. They never finished higher than sixth i ...

and

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, t ...

. 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 regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

. 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: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, before moving to Northland where they lived for seven years. Frances was a teacher at a school in

Whau Valley Whau Valley is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through it. The valley was named for the whau trees which grew there in the 1850s. At the end of the 4 km long Whau Valley Road is the principal ...

and Neville was a manager at the Arthur Yates seed company. Cox was born in

Whangarei Hospital The Northland District Health Board (Northland DHB or NDHB) is a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the Northland Region of New Zealand. In July 2022, the Northland DHB was merged into the national health service Te ...

on 24 May 1976. When she was three months old, her family moved from their Mount Parihaka home to

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. The family then moved to

when she was six. Cox was raised in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She attended

Mount St Benedict College , motto_translation = Peace , established = , principal = Michael Hanratty , location = Pennant Hills, North Shore, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , ...

and

Oakhill College , motto_translation = With God as our leader , location = Castle Hill, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_im ...

. 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 ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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

Mobil Superleague

During the

Mobil Superleague The Esso Superleague, later known as the Mobil Superleague, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1985 and 1996. The league was Australia's first national netball league. It was organized by the All Australia Netball A ...

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 Elizabeth Margaret Ellis, (born 17 January 1973) is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian ...

and were coached by

Julie Fitzgerald Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between ...

Commonwealth Bank Trophy

Sydney Swifts

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

in the

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

, Megan Anderson and Susan Pratley. She formed a notable partnership with Pratley that also saw them play together for

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

in the

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

in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. She also captained Swifts during these four seasons, including when they won the inaugural 2008 ANZ Championship and the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. In 2010 Cox made her 200th combined

/ANZ Championship game in

Round 13 ''Round 13'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, and the only album to feature Welsh vocalist Carl Sentance, formerly of Persian Risk and the Geezer Butler Band. It includes a cover of "Heya" by J. J. Light (a ...

against

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

. Cox's playing career with Swifts ended in controversial circumstances. Following an "internal review",

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

In August 2011, Cox joined

. During the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

seasons, Cox captained Fever and made 26 appearances.

Melbourne Vixens

In February 2014, Cox joined

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

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season. In May, Cox played her 250th combined

/ANZ Championship game in Round 10 against

. 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

. 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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Challenge Stadium Perth Superdrome, known as HBF Stadium under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a sports complex in Perth, Western Australia. It is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). The venue is located in the suburb of Mount Cl ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Cox was overlooked for the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

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 Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

. 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

and the

and

. 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, after regular captain,

Natalie von Bertouch Natalie von Bertouch ( ; born 16 December 1982), also known as Natalie Bode, is a former Australia netball international. Between 2004 and 2012 she made 76 senior appearances for Australia. Bertouch was a member of the Australia teams that won ...

, was injured. During the same match, Cox also scored her 2000th goal for Australia. She subsequently captained Australia when they won the

. On 20 September 2012, during a 2012 Constellation Cup match against New Zealand, Cox made her 100th

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

appearance for Australia. As a result she became only the fourth Australia netball international, after

Vicki Wilson Vicki Wilson, OAM, (born 11 February 1965 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian netball coach and retired international player. She is the current head coach of the Netball Fiji side. Netball career Wilson was a part of the Australian nat ...

Sharelle McMahon Sharelle Jane McMahon (born 12 August 1977) is an Australian former netball player who captained the Australia national netball team. She played in the goal attack and goal shooter positions. Domestic career Born in Bamawm, Victoria, McMahon ...

and

, to reach the century mark.

Commentator

Since 2015 Cox has worked as a netball commentator. She made her broadcast debut, when together with

and

Kelli Underwood Kelli Underwood (born 1977) is an Australian radio and television sports journalist and sportscaster specialising in Australian rules football, netball and tennis. She was the first woman to call an Australian Football League match on televisi ...

, 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 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

, providing commentary for their

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

, Netball World Cup and

Constellation Cup The Constellation Cup is an international netball competition contested by Australia and New Zealand. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series ...

coverage.

Honours

;

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

**''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

**''Winners'':

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

**''Runners Up'':

;

**''Winners'': 2004, 2006, 2007 **''Runners up'': 1998, 2003, 2005 **''Minor premierships'': 2004, 2005, 2006 ;

**''Winners'':

**''Minor Premiership'':

;

**''Winners'':

**''Minor Premierships'':

;Individual Awards

References