England have won the cricket world cup in a nail-biter against the Black Caps, The Silver Ferns are three from three in their netball world cup campaign and Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon 2019. Footage/Sky Sport
It's two from two for the Silver Ferns.
Following an encouraging start to their Netball World Cup campaign on Friday night with a 19-goal victory over Malawi, the Silver Ferns dominated Barbados 78-25 in their second pool game in Liverpool.
Although the Ferns' real test will only begin next week in stage two of the competition - where they will likely cross paths with rivals Australia - Noeline Taurua's side continued to impress.
As expected, Taurua opted for a slightly different starting line-up in order to manage the court time of her stronger players.
Maria Folau spent some time on the bench in the opening quarter allowing Bailey Mes to take to the World Cup court for the first time.
Nerves looked to disrupt a strong start for Mes in the early stages of the clash as she worked on finding a solid connection with Ferns goal attack Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
But building in confidence again under the hoop, things started to settle and Mes finished with a performance Taurua said was pleasing to watch.
Bailey Mes shoots at goal. Photo / Getty
"She took a couple of shots to be able to settle but once she got in there she's very strong under the post," Taurua said after the match. "She did a good job out there.
"It's understandable that she needed to settle herself but she brings a lot of value to not only the team but the unit as well."
Ferns defender Katrina Rore made it out for her second time back on court since recovering from a calf strain.
Sporting the wing defence bib instead of her usual goal defence, Rore was an influential addition to the midcourt alongside captain Laura Langman.
Barbados shooting duo Sheniqua Thomas and Shonica Wharton showed their strength with impressive long bombs from the circle edge. And although boasting high hit rates under the post, it was errors in the midcourt which saw a lack of opportunity for Barbados to score.
Further changes and rotations for the Ferns came in the second half as Casey Kopua, Ekenasio and Langman were given some well-deserved rest.
Damisha Croney of Barbados in action against New Zealand's Katrina Rore. Photo / Getty
Following a 26-5 second-quarter thrashing, Taurua's experimental combinations certainly proved themselves promising.
As the second half rolled on, the pace was well and truly set in favour of the Ferns.
Barbados struggled against what was described as the formidable 'black wall,' as the Ferns cruised to their second win of the World Cup to remain at the top of their pool.
"I'm really happy with how that whole unit combined and I thought overall it was a great step up from yesterday," Taurua said.
"I'm really happy especially defensively I thought we were tighter as a unit and created a lot of turnovers ... being able to get all 12 on is a bonus."
Silver Ferns goal shoot Grace Nweke speaks about the Constellation Cup series and the rivalry against the Diamonds in the final match. Video / Alyse Wright
