Malawi nearly caused the biggest upset in World Cup history when they pushed world number one Australia all the way in a Pool F match at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The Queens won the second quarter and gave Australia their first-quarter loss of the tournament. However, they could not capitalise on a halftime score of 28-all and eventually went down 46-70.

Malawi’s last Pool F match is on Thursday against Tonga.

Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka 71-36 in Pool E to get their first win of the World Cup. Shooters Nalani Makunde and Nicole Muzanenamo.

The Gems completely outplayed Sri Lanka with effortless movements across the court that created enough space for attacking manoeuvres. Zimbabwe will be looking for their second win against Singapore on Wednesday.

It was a see-saw battle between Barbados and Singapore in Pool E. Having won all five previous World Cup meetings against Singapore, Barbados were made to work to claim another one and keep an unblemished record.

The final scoreboard was 55-50 in favour of Barbados, after the scores were tied at 40-all at the end of the third quarter. Barbados next face Sri Lanka.

A powerful Tonga scored a well-deserved 55-47 victory over Scotland in a Pool F encounter.

The Thistles came to within four points in the last quarter, but couldn’t manage to pull it through as they ran out of steam.

It was a great result for the Islanders, playing in their second World Cup. Both teams have a rest day on Wednesday.

In a Pool F match, England steamrolled past Fiji for a comprehensive beating of 89-28.

The Roses were simply too powerful and kept their opponents to single-digit scores in each of the four quarters.

England have Tuesday to prepare for Thursday’s highly anticipated clash with Australia while Fiji will take on Scotland.