England thrash Tonga to boost semi-final hopes

What the report says

BBC Sport reported that England strengthened their push for a Commonwealth Games netball semi-final place with a 94-32 win over Tonga in Pool A at the Hydro in Glasgow on Wednesday. The result set a new Commonwealth Games scoring mark for England, passing the 89 goals they scored against Sri Lanka in 2002.

The match was described as must-win for England, who led 27-8 after the opening quarter and continued to build the margin. Goal average and goal difference may decide qualification from the pool, and England improved theirs to a 1.74 goal average and a goal difference of 127. Eleanor Cardwell led the scoring with 54 goals from 60 attempts, while Sasha Glasgow added 18, Ella Clark scored 12 and Olivia Tchine contributed 10.

England remained third in Pool A but moved level on six points with South Africa and defending champions Australia, who were due to meet later Wednesday. South Africa entered that game with a 2.06 goal average and a goal difference of 123, while Australia stood at 1.99 and 116. England are scheduled to face South Africa in a decisive final group match at 21:00 BST on Thursday. Tonga, appearing at their first Commonwealth Games after rising to eighth in the world rankings, are out.

In other netball results reported by the BBC, Scotland narrowly lost 45-43 to Jamaica in Pool B, damaging their semi-final hopes. Wales were eliminated after a 65-37 defeat by New Zealand, while Northern Ireland’s 78-30 loss to South Africa on Tuesday left them with four straight defeats.