Netball: Home comes first for English shooter

Northern Mystics import Pamela Cookey believes it is great English players are given opportunities to play in the transtasman league but they need to make sure it is not to the detriment of their domestic competition.

While her fellow England teammates Geva Mentor (Thunderbirds), Tamsyn Greenway (Firebirds) and Sonia Mkoloma (Tactix), dropped their commitments in England to join their ANZ Championship teams for the pre-season, Cookey didn't arrive in Auckland until Tuesday - the day after the Mystics' opening game.

The English shooter opted to see out her commitments with her UK club Team Bath, leading her side to victory in the English Superleague final last weekend, in which she was named player of the match.

Cookey said while she would have liked to have been able to join the Mystics for some of the pre-season, as a players' delegate in the English competition, she felt she needed to make a stand.

"This competition is so great, but we don't want it to have a negative impact on our home competition either, so that was one of the reasons I thought it was really important to stay," said Cookey.

"I was captain as well, so I felt it was really important if we were going to go forward to the end of the season that I stick with them and keep the kind of stability."

Despite only being with the Mystics for less than a week, it is expected Cookey will be rushed straight in to the starting line-up for tomorrow's game against the Central Pulse at the North Shore Events Centre.

While the Pulse will be no easy-beats, it will be a good opportunity for Cookey to find her feet in the League, with the Wellington side lacking experience.