KEY POINTS:
Netball is a simple game. Score off your centre pass and you stay in the game. Score off your opponents' and you go into the lead. Scoring is the one thing England have struggled with. Until now.
Guided by former Australian shooter Marg Caldow, England are a serious
threat to the supremacy of New Zealand and Australia.
"England got enough ball down their attack end but they never quite finished off," Caldow said.
"Now we are finishing off and we are getting even more ball down there. We have now caught up with the rest of the world as far as shooting accuracy is concerned."
But it is not just the attacking end which Caldow has worked on.
"Also the backline, it was there but they still had work to do, they weren't quite where they need to be. They could have been fitter, stronger and more powerful and they have become that. But focus certainly had to go on through the midcourt but more particularly in the attack third."
Caldow, who won world titles with Australia in 1963, 1975 and 1979, took over from former Silver Fern coach and player Lyn Gunson.
"I can clearly remember when I first picked them up, I was a little disappointed with their fitness and skills. I guess what pleases me now - and a lot of credit has to go to the girls - is how they have applied themselves to become elite athletes and how hard they have worked.
"The greatest thing is seeing them develop individually and as a team. They are now up there with the top teams in the world."
Caldow is bold enough to say England go into the world championships ranked second behind Australia.
"It would be a fair comment to say that Australia are number one in the world at the moment.
"I think England have done well. We have only lost one match in a test series this year and that is against Australia, we went down by seven when they were in England.
"New Zealand have been beaten by Australia and by England so to me they have slipped down a rung. Jamaica sits below that.'
Beating New Zealand, Caldow said was "fabulous".
"From our perceptive we deserved that win. I don't think New Zealand gave England the credit they deserved. England were better on the night, they played extremely well and won in most positions on the court.
"What has gone around the world now is that England is a force and the top teams do have to take them seriously."
The only time England are likely to meet New Zealand is if they make the final. In the semifinals, if all goes to plan, England will face Australia and New Zealand meet Jamaica.
"We know meeting Australia, if all goes to plan in the semifinal, is going to be a tough assignment. They are the top team at the moment but I'd have to say that England is not concerned about that. We feel we are playing well and anything can happen on any given day. England know when they step out on court they have to be on the top of their game if we are on that particular day we are in with a very good chance."
Caldow knows well how the green and golds play, as she was captain in the 1970s.
"I am fully aware of what their strengths are and where their weaknesses are and we'll certainly be looking at those."
New Zealand, she said, may be going through a hard time having lost instrumental centre Temepara George but cannot be underestimated.
She is not superstitious nor does she get nervous.
"No point. I am just excited that at last it is coming. You were peaking for the end of July [when the tournament was initially to be held before the Fiji coup], we were doing that very nicely and then our season ended and the girls had to have a bit of a drop down and we had to bring them back again. That has been a bit painful but everyone has had to do it."
* ENGLAND
Tamsin Greenway
Ama Agbeze
Karen Atkinson
Jo Binns
Louisa Brownfield
Jade Clarke
Pamela Cookey
Jo Harten
Geva Mentor
Sonia Mkoloma
Amanda Newton
Sara Bayman
