Like many sports, netball derived out of another sport. James Naismith in 1891 invented a game that young men at the School for Christian Workers could play indoors in Springfield Massachusetts.

Netball came from the early development of basketball across the US.

It was in 1895 that netball was first played in the United Kingdom at Madame Ostenburg's College and it has been a popular sport ever since. It is now played throughout the entire Commonwealth as well as around the world.

The home side The Scottish Thistles recently played Trinidad and Tobago in three test games in Glasgow and came out victorious in all three games. The Thistles are currently ranked at 12th in the world, four places behind Trinidad and Tobago. This win has given the ladies confidence for going into the Commonwealth Games in July/August to come out victorious. Maggie Murray, CEO of Netball Scotland, said: "This test series is a big milestone for Scottish netball. We have a national team who represent their country with passion and pride."

The Scottish Thistles netball team consists of 19 women, whilst there are only 7 players on court at one time, the full team allows for substitutions to be made during play breaks or if an injury occurs. The team Captain is goal shooter/goal attack, Lesley MacDonald. Her Vice-Captain is goal keeper/goal defence Hayley Mulheron. The team trains twice a week, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow as well as at Bellahouston.

The Thistles team as it currently stands is:

Name: Position:

Claire Brownie Wing Defence/Centre

Beverly Campbell Centre/Wing attack

Karin Connell Wing Attack

Jayne Duncan Centre/Wing Attack/Wing Defence

Rachel Forbes Goal Defence/Wing Defence

Lynsey Gallagher Goal Attack/Goal Shooter

Claudia Henison Centre/Wing Attack/Wing Defence

Gail Higgins Goal Attack/Wing Attack

Rachel Holmes Goal Attack/Goal Shooter

Lesley MacDonald Goal Shooter/Goal Attack

Nicola McCleery Wing Attack/Centre

June McNeill Goal Shooter/Goal Keeper

Fiona Moore Wing Defence/Centre

Hayley Mulheron Goal Keeper/Goal Defence

Samantha Murphy Centre/Wing Attack/Wing Defence

Jo Pettitt Goal Shooter

Gemma Sole Goal Shooter/Goal Keeper

Bethany Sutherland Goal Defence/Wing Defence

Fiona Themann Goal Keeper/Goal Defence

The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur was the first time that netball was introduced into the sporting schedule and it has remained there ever since. The Scottish Thistles will be competing at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and their challenge will be to try and contend with world number one and two, New Zealand and Australia respectively. Below is a table of who took what medals in the previous Games.

Gold Silver Bronze

1998 Australia New Zealand England

2002 Australia New Zealand Jamaica

2006 New Zealand Australia England

2010 New Zealand Australia England