Eleanor Cardwell stars as England's netballers see off South Africa

The Roses won the three-match series 2-1 thanks to a 53-50 victory at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Sunday.

Having won last Tuesday’s first match 54-51 in Manchester, Jess Thirlby’s squad lost 61-59 on Saturday in the first of two matches in Nottingham.

They started the decider quickly, forcing errors from their opponents, with Blackpool-born Cardwell and Sasha Glasgow scoring all their chances for a 16-11 lead in the first quarter.

England carried on where they left off in the second period, taking a lead of seven before South Africa rallied to trail 29-25 at half-time.

The momentum initially went South Africa’s way in the third quarter but England recovered to preserve their four-goal lead for the final period.

They were able to keep their opponents at bay with Cardwell having the final word as she registered the last goal to ensure a series win.

Thirlby told England Netball: “We’ve got an incredibly, talented, exciting group that are already showing signs how to grind out wins, even when it might not be perfect but I’m really excited about the potential.

“We were very excited to be playing back in front of a home crowd. It felt like a long time coming and I think the girls have learnt how to energise and almost use the crowd to elevate their performance. We want to make the crowd proud and just embrace these moments.”