Netball: Ferns bounce back to win

New Zealand bounced back from a loss to England to down Jamaica 37-28 in their third game at netball's new-look FastNet world netball series in Manchester today (NZT).

After a first-up 27-22 win over Malawi, the Silver Ferns were beaten 24-21 by world No 3 England in their second match of the three-day tournament but recovered to notch up a comprehensive win over Jamaica.

Each match in the series comprises four six-minute quarters, with rolling substitutions allowed and goals scored outside the circle worth two points.

Each team nominates one quarter as a power play, where goals are worth double, and goals scored outside the circle are worth four.

New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken opted to start the Jamaican game with Paula Griffin at goal attack instead of Maria Tutaia, and her combination with goal shoot Irene van Dyk was a real feature of the match.

New Zealand's midcourt, well-marshalled by Laura Langman at centre, seemed more settled and with the shooters creating plenty of options in the circle, the Silver Ferns eased out to a 7-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

For Jamaica, goal shoot Romelda Aiken was uncharacteristically wayward, hounded and harried by some excellent defence from goal keep Katrina Grant and Silver Ferns captain Casey Williams at goal defence.

New Zealand maintained momentum in the second spell, and went into the halftime break with a 12-10 lead as Jamaican goal attack Simone Forbes kept her team in the game with some good courtwork and poised shooting.

Forbes sunk a brace of two-pointers, one in the third quarter power-play worth four points, but New Zealand - who also took the third spell as their power play - went into the final quarter leading 26-22.

And in the closing six minutes, the Silver Ferns stepped their game up another notch to outplay Jamaica 11-6 and wrap up the win.

New Zealand coach Aitken was happy with the step-up her team showed after a stuttering performance in their opening two games.

"We seemed to play at the pace of our opposition," she told TV One afterwards.

"We really needed to get our structure back. For us, it's all about consolidation."

Aitken said England had looked impressive in their win over the Silver Ferns earlier in the day: "They are very polished, and we're certainly not at that stage yet."

In the first two matches of the series, England easily accounted for Samoa 36-16, while Australia were too strong for Jamaica 31-26.

The top six netball nations b Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, England, Samoa and Malawi - are contesting the inaugural world series.

- NZPA