A raucous crowd were treated to a tremendous encounter which swayed between both sides and engrossed all of those at the Genting Arena.

For the first time in the three-match Series, the Queens started strongly and threatened a first win over their illustrious hosts but the Roses retained their composure to win a match which, at one stage, had seen them fall nine goals behind.

Having started on the back foot in the previous two games, the Queens came flying out of the blocks and caught England cold.

Led by an inspired Joanna Kachilika, they defended with remarkable discipline and intensity to make it tough for the Roses mid-court to feed the attack.

Instead, turnovers were created and converted as a big lead was quickly built. A tactical change saw Kadeen Corbin replaced by her sister Sasha, with Natalie Haythornthwaite moving to GA.

Not only was the momentum with the visitors, but so was the luck. A slip from Haythornthwaite allowed the Malawi defence to regain the ball in a passage of play which summed up England’s fortunes.

At the end of the opening fifteen minutes, the Queens were 18-10 ahead.

A switch was made for the second quarter as Ama Agbeze and Jodie Gibson switched positions with England looking to get a foothold back into the game.

An early change was forced upon the Queens as Takondwa Lwazi hobbled off and was replaced by Rose Mkanda.

This stop in play allowed the Roses to regroup and force Malawi back with some quick possession play from centre-pass. A stolen ball from Agbeze saw England convert an important turnover.

Injury struck again for the away side as Mkanda was forced from the court with a similar knock to the one which befell Lwazi earlier in the quarter, but the latter was now fit enough to return to the action.

A spree of turnovers eventually saw Haythornthwaite score from range and that sparked England into life. With the gap at five, a fantastic spell saw Cardwell keep her nerve to put the Roses within touching distance, trailing 30-31 at the half-time interval.

An early Malawi turnover in the third quarter was countered when Agbeze ghosted in for a steal, allowing Cardwell to net. This was followed by a breaking call on the visitors from centre-pass as the Roses converted to level the score at 37-37.

Loose hands in the shooting circle from the very next play had England back where they started as Malawi retook the lead.

With time running down on Q3, Rachel Dunn was introduced at GS and Malawi responded by switching Kachilika into GK.

A composed double finish from player of the match Haythornthwaite finally saw the Roses take a lead but lost possession in the mid-court saw the momentum swing one final time in the quarter as the Queens netted twice to take a 46-45 lead.

The final quarter was a tense goal for goal affair in the early exchanges until fantastic defensive pressure forced a turnover with Dunn levelling.

Again ill-discipline cost Malawi from their centre-pass as the Roses snuck ahead once more. A three goal lead with five minutes remaining saw the home side under immense pressure with the Queens coolly taking the ball to goal and defending with renewed ferocity.

The pressure eventually told and the teams were once more tied at 59-59 with just two minutes left on the clock.

Composure was required and with Malawi sensing a first ever victory over their hosts, they went in search of a killer goal.

A fired feed into the waiting Kumwenda was placed two inches too high and drifted long, advantage England.

The experience of Jade Clarke in the mid-court took over and patient movement through the court set-up Dunn to score and finally seal a dramatic victory.

England captain Ama Agbeze collected another Player of the Series award as her excellent form continued.

The Queens will return to Africa with their heads held high as they showed they can certainly mix it with the top nations.

An alternative dilemma now faces Tracey Neville and her coaching team. As the Commonwealth Games creep ever closer on the horizon, a squad with enormous strength in depth will eventually need to be whittled down.

For now the Roses can celebrate a year filled with fantastic performances and promising displays. The task now is to keep this momentum and peak at the right time in the Gold Coast.

Roses starting 7: GS – Cardwell, GA – Corbin, WA – Haythornthwaite, C – Clarke, WD – Cobden, GD – Gibson, GK – Agbeze

Queens starting 7: GS – Kumwenda, GA – Chimaliro, WA – Galleta, C – Lwazi, WD – Sambo, GD – Kachilika, GK – Ngwira

Umpires: Dave Brown and Marielouw van der Merwe with Alison Davies as reserve

Report courtesy of England Netball 

With the Series up for grabs, it was a scrappy start to the game with a few misplaced passes in the opening stages.

Kadeen Corbin is presented with flowers and balloons by head coach Tracey Neville (left) and England Netball President, Lindsay Sartori, in recognition of her 50th cap for England

After leading the team out, Kadeen Corbin started her 50th appearance in style with an excellent steal in the mid-court.

There was a turnover apiece and plenty of tips but not much sticking with both teams taking time to get into a rhythm.

The Queens pulled 3-2 ahead following top work from Joanna Kachilika to win the ball back after a footwork call on Mwai Kumwenda.

Friday’s Player of the Match Corbin continued her fine form with a lovely looping mid-range effort sailing through to draw the Roses level at 4-4.

Natalie Haythornthwaite displayed her athleticism with a great take before finding Wasps Netball teammate Rachel Dunn in her favourite place – under the post – to score.

An excellent Roses scoring streak put England 9-4 up in the blink of an eye.
Tracey Neville’s side continued to push on and displayed some solid defensive pressure.

Beth Cobden read a Malawi pass and flew in with a fabulous intercept, the ball was quickly transitioned through the court and England pushed to eight goals clear.

With the Roses leading 16-9 at the end of Q1, there were no changes made for the start of Q2.

Malawi conceded possession cheaply when they looked to have stolen it and the Roses punished them to take the score out to 20-10.

The Queens continued to threaten with phenomenal hands from Rose Mkanda to keep the ball moving as they worked hard to peg the Roses back to 26-17.

A majestic leap and steal from Jodie Gibson had the crowd on their feet as the Roses remained resolute in defence.

Corbin continued to fire them in from all over the circle and the home side led 31-25 at half-time.

Eleanor Cardwell entered the action at GA at the start of Q3 with Corbin taking the GS bib.

The two teams were goal-for-goal until a converted turnover from the Queens but captain Ama Agbeze led by example with a steal, Corbin replied and the gap was restored to five goals.

The Roses’ attacking play was flowing with a lovely diagonal but Malawi responded in kind to pull it back to 35-30.

The players were leaving everything on court in a hard-fought and passionate match but Cardwell held her nerve to make it 38-32.

With Malawi repeating Friday’s late charge, it was time for another Roses change as Sasha Corbin came on at WA.

A long Queens feed was picked off but England lost the ball in mid-court and Malawi reduced the lead to just three.

A last-second Q3 effort from Corbin rattled out as the Copper Box Arena were all set for a tense final 15 minutes with the score standing at 45-40 to the Roses.

The Corbin sisters combined to great effect with a sharp pass from Sasha finding Kadeen in acres of space under the post and the GS made no mistake to extend the Roses’ lead to 53-44 with eight minutes remaining.

Malawi were unable to capitalise after an effort for Cardwell failed to drop with Gibson once again in the right place at the right time to steal.

The Roses continued to hold a strong lead with five minutes to play and pulled further ahead in the closing stages thanks to sharp shooting and stifling the Malawi attack.

After an impressive defensive display, Gibson was named Player of the Match.

The Roses will now travel to the Genting Arena in Birmingham with an unassailable 2-0 lead, hoping to now see out the series in style and complete a 3-0 whitewash.

Roses starting 7: GS – Dunn, GA – Corbin, WA – Haythornthwaite, C – Clarke, WD – Cobden, GD – Gibson, GK – Agbeze

Queens starting 7: GS – Kumwenda, GA – Chimaliro, WA – Mkanda, C – Lwazi, WD – Sambo, GD – Kachilika, GK – Ngwira

Report courtesy of England Netball 

Kadeen Corbin, England

England raced into an eleven goal lead at the end of the opening quarter with Kadeen Corbin and Rachel Dunn impressively dominating the shooting circle.

At the other end, the Queens were struggling to break through the Roses defensive line and were dealt an early blow when Mwai Kumwenda hobbled from the court after just five minutes.
The momentum was with the Roses and they continued to capitalise in the final third to build a 22-11 lead after the opening fifteen minutes.

The return of Kumwenda provided a much needed spark for the Queens and they responded excellently in Q2.

The deficit was down to six almost instantly as the energy through court from the visitors started to pay dividends. A more robust defensive approach from the Queens failed to halt the Corbin streak as she ended the half with 15 goals from 15 attempts.

Despite the continued accuracy of the Roses’ shooting duo, the advantage had shrunk to 39-30 at the half-time interval.

The physicality continued in the third quarter with Jade Clarke and Beth Cobden putting in the hard yards to cover Malawian attacks. A number of deflections and steals keeping the away side at bay.
It was matched by a rejuvenated Queens with Loreen Ngwira showing her athleticism with an astonishing sideline intercept to push her side forward.

With five minutes remaining in the quarter Ellie Cardwell made her way into GA with Corbin taking over at GS. The change made an instant impact with the Roses able to stifle their opponents, and the clock, to take a ten goal advantage into the final quarter, 51-41 to the hosts.

With a significant gap to overcome, Malawi had to come out fighting and they certainly did. Turnover goals reduced the Roses’ lead and the phenomenal Queens support in the stands ratcheted the noise levels up another notch.

England remained calm and the introduction of Sasha Corbin saw the home fans in full voice to welcome the ever-popular mid-courter onto court.

However, it was sister Kadeen who was stealing all the headlines with a fantastic Player of the Match performance.

A piece of wonderful movement was deservedly spotted by Clarke who unleashed a fabulous feed for the younger Corbin to cap a fine display.

The Queens continued to battle but were ultimately undone by their slow start. There was certainly enough heart shown after that to suggest that Sunday will not necessarily be the coronation that the Roses will be hoping for.

Roses starting 7: GS – Dunn, GA – Corbin, WA – Haythornthwaite, C – Clarke, WD – Cobden, GD – Gibson, GK – Agbeze

Queens starting 7: GS – Kumwenda, GA – Chimairo, WA – Galleta, C – Lwazi, WD – Dambo, GD – Kachilika, GK – Ngwira

Umpires: Dave Brown and Alison Davies with Marielouw van der Merwe

Report courtesy of England Netball

Ama Agbeze will lead the side with England’s most capped player, Jade Clarke, taking on the role of Vice-Captain.

After recently making their debuts at Netball Europe, Vicki Oyesola and Josie Huckle are both included.

The Roses squad selected to face Malawi is as follows:

Ama Agbeze (Capt.), Jade Clarke (Vice-Capt.), Eleanor Cardwell, Beth Cobden, Kadeen Corbin, Sasha Corbin, Rachel Dunn, Jodie Gibson, Natalie Haythornthwaite, Josie Huckle, Vicki Oyesola, Natalie Panagarry

Looking ahead to the Series, England Roses head coach Tracey Neville said: “With a number of players spending some valuable time with their club sides, it’ a fantastic chance for those coming in to perform on the biggest stage and really stake a claim for a place on the plane to Australia for the Commonwealth Games and looking further ahead to the home World Cup in 2019.

“It’s an exciting squad with some great combinations and we can’t wait to entertain the audiences in London and Birmingham next month. We look forward to the fantastic support we always receive from the Roses’ fans.”

All players will be available for selection at the Netball Quad Series in January, which will provide one final chance for the squad to be assessed ahead of selection for the Commonwealth Games.

The Series against Malawi will be the Roses’ last international series of 2017 as preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and England’s hunt for gold intensify.

The Queens are currently ranked sixth in the official INF world rankings and are always real crowd pleasers with their flair, energy and passion.

The schedule for the upcoming Roses fixtures is as follows:

England Roses v Malawi Queens, Friday 24th November, Copper Box Arena, 7.45pm

England Roses v Malawi Queens, Sunday 26th November, Copper Box Arena, 2pm

England Roses v Malawi Queens, Wednesday 29th November, Genting Arena, 7:45pm

Report courtesy of England Netball