England edge Jamaica with thrilling win to maintain 100 per cent start to Netball World Cup

England edged a thrilling contest with Jamaica to book their place in the next round of the Netball World Cup ©Getty Images

England surged to the top of Pool B at the Netball World Cup with a thrilling 54-50 victory over Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Jamaica at the Allphones Arena on the Olympic Park in Sydney.

On what was an emotional day for coach Tracey Neville following the death of her father Neville, who passed away in a Sydney hospital yesterday evening having fallen ill after travelling to the tournament to lend his support, England recovered from a difficult start to seal their place in the next phase of the competition.

The match began after a minute's silence inside the 21,000-capacity venue and it was Jamaica who started the better of the two sides, going into the break with a 28-23 advantage.

England, currently ranked third in the world, however eradicated the errors that had plagued their first-half performance and produced a much-improved display in the second to claim a pulsating win.

The result also increases the chances of avoiding defending champions Australia in the next round.

The home side, winners of 10 of the 15 tournaments since it was first held in 1963, were once again in formidable form as they crushed a hapless Barbados 83-16 in Pool A to maintain their perfect start to the tournament.

The Australian Diamonds, winners of 21 consecutive matches in all competitions, asserted their authority over Barbados from the off on their way to securing their second convincing win of the competition following a 73-32 success against Trinidad and Tobago in their opener yesterday.

Australia recorded their 21st consecutive victory in all competitions by thrashing Barbados ©Getty Images

They will go up against arch-rivals New Zealand, who also have two wins from two in the pool after beating Trinidad and Tobago 74-38 today, in their next match which will decide who tops the group.

The two sides have faced each other in the final of the last four Netball World Cups, including in Singapore four years ago, and both will be hoping to finish off the first phase of the competition in style.

Elsewhere, Malawi picked up their second win in commanding fashion as they broke a national record on their way to thrashing a beleaguered Sri Lankan side 101-19 in Pool C to seal their spot in the next phase.

South Africa cruised to a comfortable win in the other match in Pool C, beating Singapore 69-21.

Scotland bounced back from their defeat to England in their first match with a 47-36 success over Samoa to increase their chances of progressing from Pool B.

Uganda are also through to the second round as they proved too strong for Fiji, emerging with a 61-40 victory.