Silver Ferns lead Constellation Cup series after Christchurch victory

The Silver Ferns have taken a commanding 2-0 lead in the Constellation Cup series after defeating the Australian Diamonds 62-50 in Christchurch on Wednesday night. This victory follows a 56-50 win in Auckland on Sunday, extending New Zealand's winning streak against Australia in Aotearoa to 11 matches.

The series now moves to Australia for tests in Sydney on Sunday and Melbourne next Wednesday. A complete 4-0 sweep would allow the Silver Ferns to overtake Australia for the top spot in the World Netball rankings for the first time since 2013.

In the second test, Grace Nweke led the scoring with 49 goals from 52 attempts. Despite a third-quarter surge from the Diamonds that reduced a halftime lead to just three goals, the Silver Ferns responded with a 17-8 final term.

Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich noted the difficulty in containing New Zealand's attack, stating, "Grace is such a huge target down there and New Zealand’s very comfortable in playing possession".

How it developed

• Thu 22 Oct, 6:21amThe report detailed specific penalty counts, noting Australia gave away 84 penalties to New Zealand's 53 during the second test.

Where reports differ

• Reports vary on the penalty count for the second test, with one citing 82 to 50 and another citing 84 to 53.

Compiled from reports by Stuff, The Post, RNZ, NZ Herald, 1News, Otago Daily Times and The Press.