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The Silver Ferns powered back strongly to force a convincing 65-59 win in the one-off netball test against England after the match was sent into extra time in Bath today.
Apart from the first few minutes, the Silver Ferns led throughout before England stormed back to life on the back of some sterling defensive work and the accuracy of shooter Louisa Brownfield to level the scores midway through the fourth quarter. In a thrilling final passage of regular time, the teams could not be separated, and ended the match on 51-all, forcing an extra 14 minutes of overtime.
The Silver Ferns dominated extra time as they shut down the England threat to out-score their hosts 14-8.
The Silver Ferns made a telling start to the match, repelling England with a dominant opening stanza. Both coaches opted for their most experienced line-ups which included Maria Tutaia at goal attack for the Silver Ferns and the established defensive duo of Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma taking their places for England.
The Silver Ferns built on the confidence and momentum established in recent series against the World 7 and Australia with a positive showing for the first three quarters today. Stunned by England on their last tour to the UK in 2007, there was a strong resolve there would be no repeats in Bath as the Silver Ferns turned on a masterly early display.
Slick and fluid through court, the Silver Ferns were almost faultless in the first 15 minutes as shooters Irene van Dyk and Tutaia capped the fine start with pinpoint accuracy. The Silver Ferns made the most of their opportunities to stretch out to a 19-12 lead at the first break.
Laura Langman, playing her 50th test match for the Silver Ferns, and Temepara George dazzled with their speed and fluency through court at times with England's midcourt defence kept busy trying to contain the dynamic duo.
Turnovers proved costly for England as the New Zealanders sprang out to an eight-goal advantage before the hosts staged a minor comeback. The growing defensive combination of Casey Williams and Katrina Grant was at its menacing best as they thwarted England's threatening advances with a clutch of timely steals.
The shooting accuracy from both teams was a feature with 25 minutes ticking over before the first miss of the match was recorded.
Persistence paid off for England as they chipped away at the deficit with the Silver Ferns heading to the half-time break 30-26 ahead.
The Silver Ferns maintained their four-goal advantage to lead 42-38 at three-quarter time, but the switch of Mkoloma from goal keep to goal defence continued to pay dividends for England who remained a threat.
The exploits of Mentor and Mkoloma were to the fore in the final quarter as England fought back strongly to level the scores with eight minutes of regular time remaining. They held the lead with two minutes to go but the Silver Ferns rallied to keep on level terms in a thrilling run to the final whistle before taking the wind out of England's sails in a telling period of extra time.
STARTING LINE-UP - ENGLAND:
GS: Louisa Brownfield GA: Pamela Cookey WA: Tamsin Greenway C: Karen Atkinson WD: Jade Clarke GD: Geva Mentor GK: Sonia Mkoloma.
BENCH: Sara Bayman, Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Stacie Francis, Naida Hutchinson, Jo Harten
SHOOTING STATS:
Louisa Brownfield - 33/35 (94%)
Pamela Cookey - 23/24 (96%)
Jo Harten - 3/5 (60%)
MATCH LINE-UP - NEW ZEALAND:
GS: Irene van Dyk GA: Maria Tutaia WA:Temepara George (Vice-Captain) C: Laura Langman WD: Joline Henry GD: Casey Williams (Captain)
GK: Katrina Grant
BENCH : Liana Barrett-Chase, Paula Griffin Laura Langman, Wendy Telfer, Anna Thompson, Larrissa Willcox
SHOOTING STATS:
Maria Tutaia - 29/31 (94%)
Irene Van Dyk - 36/38 (95%)
Slideshow Images: English defender Geva Mentor pressures Irene van Dyk; and Silver Ferns defenders Casey Williams & Katrina Grant pressure England shooter Louisa Brownfield. (PHOTOS: Michael Bradley)