Eleanor Cardwell shines as dominant England reach Netball World Cup semi-final

They made it five wins from five in the tournament, ahead of their final pool game against Australia on Thursday morning (8am UK time).

Leading the way was Blackpool’s Eleanor Cardwell, who scored 40 times from 41 attempts.

That performance ended with the 28-year-old, taking part in her first World Cup, being named as the player of the match.

England’s highest-scoring opening quarter so far laid the platform for victory as they were 26-8 ahead after the first 15 minutes in Cape Town.

A similarly emphatic second period followed, the Vitality Roses winning that 24-7 for a 50-15 lead at half-time.

New faces were introduced during the second half but England continued to score frequently.

They took the third quarter 19-8 before the final period was 20-5 in their favour, ensuring a comfortable victory.

Despite their perfect record so far, England head coach Jess Thirlby maintained her players would be keeping their feet on the ground.

She told the BBC: “I think we’re in a good place. We’re not getting carried away. We just need to quietly go about our business.

“There’s a nice quiet confidence in the group and I think tonight’s a good step in the right direction.

“Irrelevant of who the opposition are, we’ve stayed very true to our Roses way. I think we’re in a really healthy place, both away from the court and on it.

“We’ll have a full recovery session in the morning, then a lot of the girls have got friends and family here.

“I know that will really give them the energy they need for the following challenge: a little bit of time out in the daylight and pretty much just being a normal human for a few hours.”

The semi-finals will be played at 10am and 3pm UK time on Saturday, with a third and fourth-placed play-off on Sunday (3pm), followed by the final (5pm).

England are looking for their first World Cup win since the tournament’s inception 60 years ago.