England's netballers earned a clean sweep in the Co-operative International Test series against Malawi with a 61-36 win in the third Test at Wembley Arena.
But the visitors gave England a hard workout, and set up a potential scare early on, leading 5-0 from the starting whistle and challenging hard through the first quarter, which ended 11 all.
Malawi head coach Griffin Saenda was disappointed to lose, but felt that his side has learned many lessons: "We have learnt an immense
amount here, much of it from the England team - the way they train, the way they play. We will go home and work hard, very hard, and I know one day we will win."
Malawi came out hard from the first whistle, with GK Grace Mwafulirwa and GD Caroline Mtukule giving England shooters Brownfield and Cookey a torrid time with plenty of physical challenges that unsettled the home side's rhythm.
An ankle injury forced C Clare Elsley from the court, and Sara Bayman who replaced her was soon in the thick of the action, driving the ball hard through midcourt and providing a stabilising influence in the attacking third which settled the English front line. Brownfield soon found her range, and the quarter ended 11 all.
Rotation
The second quarter was all about England, with Brownfield and Cookey's rotation leaving Malawi flatfooted, while WD Naomi Siddall getting the better of WA Peace Chawinga and taking numerous sharp interceptions.
The home side took the quarter 19-4 to stifle Malawi's enterprise and the score ended 30-15 at half time.
Beatrice Mpinganjira returned to C for Malawi at the start of the third quarter, and her presence gave the African side more purpose in attack.
Mary Waya was once again in irrepressible form, squeezing passes through the narrowest spaces and scoring freely. England lost some of their sharpness, and Malawi took full advantage, with Mwayi Kumwenda and Waya netting some long bombs to keep their side in contention for the quarter, losing it only 12-15.
Thrills
The final quarter was full of thrills and spills, as fatigue took the edge from the Malawians' timing, leading to numerous physical challenges and clashes which unsettled the English attack. Newton, Hutchinson and Beckford Chambers were resolute in their defence against the inspirational Waya, and England kept their noses in front to take the win with something to spare.
Coach Sue Hawkins was pleased with the way her team had pulled the game around: "I felt we weren't very sharp in our warm up, and Malawi took full advantage at the start of the game. They really challenged us this week and it's great for world netball that they are emerging at such a rate."
England: GS Brownfield, GA Cookey, WA Corbin, C Elsley, WD Siddall, GD Beckford Chambers, GK Newton.
Changes/substitutions: following injury time out: C Bayman, Newton to GD, Beckford Chambers to GK, 3rd Q: Newton to WD, GD Hutchinson, 4th Q: Hutchinson to WD, Newton to GD.
Malawi: GS Mzagada, GA Waya, WA Chawinga, C Mpinganjira, WD Gedion, GD Mtukule, GK Mwafulirwa
Changes/substitutions: 2nd Q: C Malenga, 3rd Q: GS Kumwenda, Mpinganjira to C, WD Kayira.
Shooting statistics:
England: Brownfield 38/44, Cookey 23/34
Malawi: Kumwenda 8/9, Mzagada 8/10, Waya 18/25
Umpires: Alison Cormack and Rachael Ayre
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