Silver Fern Irene Van Dyk looks to shoot under pressure from the English defence during the first test in Auckland tonight. Picture / Fotopress
New Zealand displayed better combination through court and accuracy in the shooting circle to down England 52-30 in Auckland tonight in the opening match of a three-test netball series.
The world champion Silver Ferns showed signs of rustiness at times in their first international of the year.
But, captained for
the first time by wing attack Adine Wilson, later named player of the match, they were never threatened on the scoreboard from the start.
England, who trailed throughout at the North Shore Events Centre, were hampered by a shooting performance that produced 17 missed shots from their three shooters.
For New Zealand, champion goal shoot Irene van Dyk had an 84 per cent success rate, with 42 from 50, while goal attack Jodie Te Huna scored 10 from 19.
The tourists avoided the size of the defeat they suffered against Australia in Melbourne a fortnight ago, when they went down 61-21, but the result was never really in doubt.
There were no surprises in the starting line-ups put out by both sides.
New Zealand, with van Dyk in accurate early form, raced out to a lead that they extended to 15-9 at the end of the first quarter.
In defence, goal keep Vilimaina Davu and goal defence Joline Henry put good pressure on England shooters Karen Greig and Ama Agbeze.
By halftime, New Zealand had moved out to a 29-17 advantage and both teams made changes at the start of the third quarter.
New Zealand rearranged their defence, with Anna Scarlett coming on for Henry and Sheryl Scanlan replacing Victoria Edward at wing defence.
England reshuffled their midcourt, taking off centre and skipper Olivia Murphy and bringing on Chioma Ezeogu at wing attack.
New Zealand finished the quarter 39-24 ahead, despite a dip in van Dyk's shooting, when she missed five of her 14 shots during the period.
They then gave a first cap to New Zealand Under-21 skipper Laura Langman, who went on at goal defence, while Scarlett moved to goal keep to give Davu a rest.
England took off Agbeze, bringing on Rachel Dunn at goal shoot for her third cap.
The Silver Ferns upped the tempo in the final 15 minutes, taking out the quarter 13-6.
The second test is in Wellington on Wednesday night, with the final test in Invercargill next Saturday night.
- NZPA
