Netball: Silver Ferns keep England series alive

The Silver Ferns ended a five-game winless streak and leveled the Taini Jamison series with a 57-36 win over the England Roses at a sold-out Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua on Wednesday.

After losing the series opener by one goal in a shock defeat to a Roses side missing all of the Netball World Cup players, the Silver Ferns needed an improved defensive performance in game two which the home side delivered early.

Coach Dame Noeline Taurua’s starting seven, which included 19-year-old goal shooter Amelia Walmsley on debut, were unchanged throughout the game in an unusual move for the veteran coach.

New Zealand were ahead 17-7 after the first quarter.

However, England won the second quarter by six goals to reduce the halftime deficit to 27-23 as the Roses settled at the shooting end and had their best period of the game.

The Silver Ferns fought back in the third quarter with a run of four unanswered goals to start the quarter to take a 39-30 lead into the final quarter.

Walmsley who shot 36 of her 41 attempts formed a productive partnership with captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio in the shooting circle.

Ekenasio was a standout in the game one loss and was strong again in game two shooting at 91 percent.

Post-game Ekenasio told Sky Sport she felt a “ton of relief” to finally have win after the Silver Ferns’ recent struggles.

“It was time for us to show a bit of heart, a bit of mongrel, show what was really in our bellies.

“There’s still some lapses in the game, we’re not perfect yet, so we will go away and look and that and even try and be better again on Saturday.”

Taurua told Sky Sport: “It’s always good to be on the right side of the ledger but still areas obviously that we need to work on ... our ability to grind it out... it’s good for a win but we know we can do better.”

The final test is on Saturday in Hamilton.