![]() Cardwell warming up for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2023 | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Born | Blackpool, England | 11 November 1994|||||||||||||
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||
University | Liverpool John Moores University | |||||||||||||
Netball career | ||||||||||||||
Playing position(s): GA, GS | ||||||||||||||
Years | Club team(s) | Apps | ||||||||||||
2012–2016 | Manchester Thunder | |||||||||||||
2017–2018 | Severn Stars | |||||||||||||
2019–2022 | Manchester Thunder | |||||||||||||
2023 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 16 | ||||||||||||
2024 | Melbourne Mavericks | 11 | ||||||||||||
Years | National team(s) | Caps | ||||||||||||
2016–present | ![]() | 71 | ||||||||||||
Medal record
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Last updated: May 2025 |
Eleanor Cardwell (born 11 November 1994) is an English international netball player. [1] She plays in goal attack and goal shooter for England and currently plays for Melbourne Mavericks in the Suncorp Super Netball league. [2]
Cardwell was born in Blackpool and began playing netball at primary school before joining Blackpool Netball Club at the age of 10. [3] [4] She has a BSc in Sports and Exercise from Liverpool John Moores University where she graduated in 2016.
Cardwell started her career at Manchester Thunder initially as a defender, before Tracey Neville encouraged her to become a shooter in the 2015 Super League season. [5] [6] [7] She made three grand finals with thunder in 2012, 2014 and 2016, winning the title in 2012 and 2014. [8] [9] [10]
Cardwell moved to new Super League franchise Severn Stars for the 2017 season where she played for two seasons. [11]
She returned to Manchester Thunder ahead of the 2019 Super League season. [12] There she won a further two Super League grand finals in 2019 and 2022. [13] At the 2022 Super League Awards, she took home the Sky Sports Fans’ Player of the Season and was named Players’ Player of the Season. [13]
In 2023, Cardwell made the move to Australia and joined the Adelaide Thunderbirds for the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball season. [13] The Thunderbirds won the championship in extra time by a single goal and Cardwell was named the Grand Final MVP. [14] [15]
For the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball Season, Cardwell joined former Manchester Thunder and England head coach Tracey Neville at new franchise Melbourne Mavericks for the teams inaugural season. [16]
Cardwell represented England U17s in Netball Europe and U19s for a tour of Jamaica. [7] She made her England Netball debut in 2016 against Northern Ireland in Netball Europe. [17] Her first call-up to a senior major international competition was the 2022 Commonwealth Games, [4] where England failed to medal. [18] She achieved her 50th England Roses cap in October 2022 against Australia. [4] In 2023, Cardwell was part of the England Roses team who achieved their first ever Netball World Cup Silver Medal in Cape Town. [19] Cardwell won silver at the 2024 Netball Nations Cup.
Cardwell previously trained in Taekwondo three nights a week alongside her netball. [4] She is also known for her advocacy work supporting women and girls with correct-fitting sports bras. [20]