Friday 17 October 2014 10:22, UK
Pamela Cookey says England's netballers want to stamp their authority back on the world stage with a win in the International Series this fortnight.
The Aussie Diamonds won gold at this year's Commonwealth Games and have cemented their place as the World No.1 team with a whitewash 4-0 win over fierce rivals New Zealand in the recent Constellation Cup.
England will be hoping to exact revenge on the two countries they narrowly to lost to at this summer's games in Glasgow and Cookey, who is supporting from home while recovering from an Achilles injury, says the squad are determined to make their intentions clear ahead of next year's World Cup in Sydney.
"The girls were gutted after the Commonwealths and it's been hard to overcome that," said the Surrey Storm shooter.
"I've been fortunate enough to be back in training with them over the last month and a half and they're really coming on and determined to get back on track again.
"It was a one goal loss and though it meant a lot, it was just one goal. No-one remembers what the score was they remember you losing.
"The girls really want to get out there and stamp their authority on the world stage and get that win."
Spurred on
In January 2013 England claimed an historic 3-0 International Series win over Australia, something they had not achieved before. Cookey says the defeat was a wake-up call for the Diamonds, who have been in excellent form ever since.
"When you suffer a loss, especially a 3-0 loss that had never been done to them before, was going to be a big wake-up call for them.
No team on the world stage will sit back on their laurels and carry on as they are and the Australians have definitely upped their game - no one likes losing to England
"They went back to the drawing board and have improved dramatically over the last year and a half.
"No team on the world stage will sit back on their laurels and carry on as they are and the Australians have definitely upped their game - no-one likes losing to England."
Tune in
You can watch England's two matches against Australia LIVE on Sky Sports, with the first game being broadcast on Sunday 19th October at 4am. Cookey encourages all netball fans to tune in or record what is bound to be a terrific contest.
"In our Test-Series at home when we played Australia the amount of support we had from our home fans was amazing and crazy. That really boosted us to know we had so much and backing.
"For the girls out there who are so far from home, to know that people are switching on and getting up early at 4am will be a huge boost - I've already set my alarm."
Pam was supporting Sport for Freedom a charity hosting its inaugural Cycle for Freedom Tour around the UK during which 14 cyclists will ride from Liverpool to London to raise awareness of the growing problem of modern day slavery and human trafficking.
Over 5,000 people are victims of human trafficking and slavery at any one time in the UK and there are estimated to be over 30 million victims worldwide, according the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group.
For more information or to donate head www.sportforfreedom.org/cycle-for-freedom
