England lost 55-49 in the final of the three-match Test Vitality International Series against New Zealand in Manchester.
After the Silver Ferns won the opening game on Saturday, the Roses defeated New Zealand in a thrilling encounter on Sunday to tie the series.
But England struggled to keep their opponents at bay on Wednesday, making persistent mistakes in front of their home crowd at the AO Arena.
England managed to take a 14-11 lead in the first quarter, but mistakes started to creep in in the second and New Zealand took control.
The Silver Ferns’ persistence and effort paid off as they took a two-goal lead heading into half-time.
However, England managed to regain some momentum thanks to performances from Funmi Fadoju and Helen Housby, but it wasn’t enough as New Zealand took a 42-38 lead heading into the final period.
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Highlights of the second Test as England battled back to tie the series
Head coach Jess Thirlby made changes to England’s attack, but it did not help and New Zealand continued to outscore them.
England will face Jamaica in December, with two games to be played in Kingston and the remaining two in London.
New Zealand’s Kerry Jackson, the match’s man of the match, said: “It was a great game. We were really disappointed with the loss the other day. It’s been a big three months for us so we wanted to finish on a good note.”
“We’re taking a big break right now. We deserve it. We won’t get together (again) until January.”
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Highlights of the first Test as New Zealand got off to a winning start
“I thought we could have done a lot more and I wanted them to take the shackles off them. It’s really disappointing because we gave them the ball today,” Thirlby said.
“It felt really flat and against a team of this level it’s hard to find the ball and our pressure on the court was good overall but New Zealand nailed us today and we just couldn’t adapt to it.”
“If they can’t take the pressure off the scoreboard, it’s going to be a tough battle from there. This game says a lot about ourselves.”
Vitality Netball International Series vs New Zealand Schedule
Saturday 15th November: Copper Box Arena, London
England 58 – 61 New Zealand
Sunday 16th November: Copper Box Arena, London
England 61 – 58 New Zealand
Wednesday 19th November: – AO Arena, Manchester
England 55 – 49 New Zealand
Vitality Netball Horizon Series Schedule in Jamaica
Saturday 6th December: National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
Jamaica vs England, TBC
Sunday 7th December: National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
Jamaica vs England, TBC
Saturday 13th December: Copper Box Arena, London
England vs. Jamaica, 2:15 p.m.
Sunday 14th December: Copper Box Arena, London
England vs Jamaica, 2pm
Times may change slightly depending on broadcast requirements
