Coverage: Australian Diamonds v England Roses in Adelaide

THE Australian Diamonds have made it two from two in the quad series, handing the England Roses a hammering in Adelaide.

The Australian Diamonds play the England Roses on Wednesday night in Adelaide.

THE Diamonds have cruised to victory over England in the Netball Quad Series on the back of a dominant performance from shooter Caitlin Bassett.

The 193cm Bassett netted 46 of her 51 shots to help the Diamonds claim a 66-46 win on Wednesday night in Adelaide.

Bassett’s performance over three-and-a-half quarters was three points off the career best she recorded against Jamaica in last year’s World Cup.

Matched up against valiant Roses goalkeeper Ama Agbeze, 28-year-old Bassett’s height and reach proved too much for the England captain to handle.

The tourists came out of the blocks strongly, with goal defence Stacey Francis making several deflections.

But the Diamonds’ superior passing allowed them to take control of the game and the Roses had little answer for Bassett, who was able to grab rebounds with ease.

Bassett was assisted well by goal attack Natalie Medhurst, who scored from 11 of her 13 shots.

Diamonds defender Sharni Layton’s manic pressure forced the Roses to look for tough shots which often didn’t come off.

Caitlin Bassett starred for Australia on Wednesday night.

Layton, matched up on Roses shooter Jo Harten, had five deflections and three intercepts in a standout first half as the Diamonds took a six-point lead at the long break.

Harten converted 28 of her 34 shots and set up the Roses with her creative passing but had little support from goal attack Kadeen Corbin, who netted 10 of her 14 shots but lacked aggression. With Harten briefly sidelined with an ankle injury, the Diamonds were able to open up the game, restricting the Roses to just eight points.

From there, it was all the home team, who were able to carry on the impressive form from their 68-43 series-opening win over South Africa.

The Diamonds’ first real test of the series will come on Sunday in Melbourne when they face world No.2 New Zealand, who smashed South Africa earlier on Wednesday 65-46.

Australia 66 (Caitlin Bassett 46 Natalie Medhurst 11 Caitlin Thwaites 6 Stephanie Wood 3) bt England 46 (Joanne Harten 28 Kadeen Corbin 10 Helen Housby 5 Ellie Cardwell 3) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre

See how the action unfolded in our blog below.

Originally published as Coverage: Australian Diamonds v England Roses in Adelaide