England recover from slow start to beat Malawi

England overcame a nervy start to keep up a perfect record at this Netball World Cup with a 62-39 win over Malawi.

After struggling to keep possession in a tight first quarter, they improved to pull ahead in Cape Town, South Africa.

England face Scotland in their final Pool B match on Sunday already assured of their place in the next group phase.

Scotland, who earlier beat Barbados 53-44, will advance even if they lose to England should Barbados fail to beat Malawi.

However, Wales suffered a second loss at the tournament, falling to a 75-40 defeat by Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jamaica in Pool C.

It was a 100th World Cup victory for England, who – as they did in their first match – used all 12 of their players as they seek to settle into the tournament before the bigger challenges ahead.

Helen Housby enjoyed 100% shooting accuracy with 17 goals from 17 attempts but there were some flaws exposed in possession that coach Jess Thirlby will be keen to fix as soon as possible.

An injury to rising star Funmi Fadoju in the second quarter – the goal defence limping off with what looked like an ankle problem – had given England some worrying moments but she shook that off and later returned in the third quarter.

‘Not the level England expect from themselves’

While England can take positives from a second victory in Cape Town, they will undoubtedly be scrutinising mistakes in a particularly error-strewn first quarter.

Former England captain Ama Agbeze, part of BBC Radio 5 Live’s commentary team, said the Roses will need to tidy up mistakes before coming up against netball powerhouses Australia and New Zealand.

“You might only have a split second to make a decision – when you have the ball you need to categorically take it to goal,” she said.

“In this game there were lots of errors, lots of dropped passes and people pulling the ball way in front of team-mates.

“That’s not the level of play that England expect from themselves or that Thirlby will want.”

England lacked the seamlessness they displayed on Friday and, while an overall shooting accuracy of 94% is positive, the Roses will rue missed opportunities to increase their tally further.

Shooter Eleanor Cardwell waved her arms in the air in frustration after several looping passes sailed past her and out of court, while the ball needed to be swapped three times because it was flat in a disjointed opening 15 minutes.

A much-improved second quarter followed but Housby said the game was “hectic” and that her side needed to be “smarter” as they head into their final Pool B match.

New Zealand survive test, Australia & South Africa cruise

Earlier on Saturday, defending champions New Zealand survived a scare, eventually edging a tight contest 54-44 over Uganda, whose unique style of play could cause upsets further into the tournament.

Meanwhile, world number ones Australia cruised to another comfortable victory, showcasing their dominance by sweeping to a 85-38 win over Tonga, who have shot up the rankings in recent years.

The results put both sides on track to top their respective Pools in the tournament’s preliminary group stage.

Another of the top teams, hosts South Africa, also recorded their second win of the tournament, beating Sri Lanka 87-32 in front of a packed arena of home fans and will face Jamaica on Sunday in an eye-catching fixture that will determine the winner of Pool C.