South African international Karla Mostert has capped an impressive debut year in the English Superleague with Team Bath Netball by being shortlisted for the Sky Sports Netball Player of the Season award.

The influential defender, who made a name as a netball player while playing for the Kovies in Bloemfontein, is originally from Centurion, where she matriculated at Hoërskool Zwartkop.

She is nominated alongside Ama Agbeze (Loughborough Lightning), Sara Bayman (Manchester Thunder), Sophia Candappa (Surrey Storm) and Sammy Wallace (Hertfordshire Mavericks) for the coveted award, which is voted for by the public.

Mostert, who has played most of the season at goal-defence, arrived at Team Bath in November following a stellar Netball World Cup with the SPAR Proteas where she made the most intercepts of any player.

Team Bath Director of Netball Jess Thirlby said: “Karla’s addition to the squad has lived up to all our expectations and has actually probably exceeded them.

“We already knew we were gaining a world-class defender but the way she has fitted into our squad and philosophy has been equally as impressive.

“Having someone like Karla in the squad is also a massive plus in the way she inspires the younger players. Rubbing shoulders with her in training and working alongside her is undoubtedly helping with their development and that of the franchise moving forward.

“The impact of having internationally experienced players like Karla in our squad cannot be underestimated.

“She has also been very enthusiastic when it comes to contributing to the wider Team Bath Netball programme and in raising the profile of the franchise in the community, visiting schools and clubs to present awards and oversee training sessions. She has a great desire to contribute to the Team Bath legacy.”

Mostert, who plays domestically in South Africa for Bloemfontein-based Free State Crinums, has won 47 caps for her country and played at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as last year’s World Cup in Australia.

She joined Team Bath along with fellow South African Lenize Potgieter and has helped the Blue and Gold qualify for this season’s Superleague semi-finals.

To vote for Mostert, visit https://bit.ly/1qCJ04f