Number one in the world Australia defeated a tenacious Malawi 70-46 in their Netball World Cup Pool F encounter.

For the first time this World Cup, the Diamonds lost a quarter, and the teams were tied at 28-28 at halftime.

Australia increased its advantage to 12 points at the end of the third quarter after bringing on goal defense Jo Weston and goal shooter Sophie Garbin.

Australia leads Group F, followed by England, with the top two teams progressing to the semi-finals.

The second pool phase began on Monday, and England and Australia are heavy favorites to win their respective groups.

Australia will play England on Thursday, August 3 at 08:00 BST, while Malawi will play Tonga at 17:00 BST. Both games are available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport app.

Goal assault by Australia “We just built pressure on Malawi,” Steph Wood said, “and we got a lot of ball in the third quarter.”

“Malawi is incredible; they’re a difficult team to play against.” Sticking to our gameplan allows us to extend our lead.”