England has sprung an upset to defeat world champions Australia 61-59 in a thrilling second netball test in Sydney.

The Diamonds led 45-43 at three-quarter time, but England – missing injured star shooter Eleanor Cardwell – overpowered the home side in the final term to keep its hopes of a series win alive.

It is only England’s third victory over the Diamonds in 31 Tests on Australian soil.

Three days earlier the Diamonds won the first Test 70-57 in Adelaide, while the third and final meeting will be played in Bendigo on Wednesday night.

English defender Funmi Fadoju was awarded player of the match for her outstanding aerial work and timing.

Squeezing her opponent on the baseline, she forced the Diamonds to send the ball into the shooters over her head, often springing up at the last moment to pinch possession.

Fadoju has been known as one of the Roses’ best defenders for the past two years – dubbed a “firecracker” by her teammates – but has struggled to cement a place in the starting VII.

After impressing late in game one against Australia on Thursday, England head coach Jess Thirlby rewarded Fadoju with the starting goal defence bib.

From there, the 22-year-old rose to the challenge.

All up Fadoju tallied eight gains, two intercepts, 12 deflections, one rebound and one pick-up. She was by far the most dominant defender on court for either team.

At the front-end of the court, Roses duo Liv Tchine (32 goals from 34 attempts) and Helen Housby (29 from 33) made sure to convert her efforts.

Despite missing the experience of Super Netball champion Cardwell, the pair shot at 91 per cent accuracy and outscored the Diamonds 18-14 in the fourth quarter.

It was a tight affair and Australia was well and truly in the game until the final six minutes when their attacking structures came undone.

Here, Fadoju reached the peak of her powers – picking ball off left, right and centre. Nothing could stop the visitors’ momentum as they came home like a freight train.

As the Roses’ confidence grew, they let the ball go and the corridor – looking down into Tchine under the post – opened right up.

Speaking after the match, Roses captain Fran Williams said the team had been working on their self-belief, as they had previously struggled to back themselves in games against the world’s top-ranked team.

“As a leadership group, something we’re really trying to instil within the team is a winning mindset and that competitiveness … I think we saw that today in key moments,” Williams said.

“People standing up, getting great intercepts and being fearless on the ball.

“The freedom our attack showed was beyond their years. That’s the mindset I want this team to front up with every game.”

Meanwhile, Sophie Garbin (24 from 25), Kiera Austin (19 from 22) and Cara Koenen (16 from 19) shared the Diamonds’ goals.

Goal attack Austin said it felt like Australia was facing a whole new English opposition to the one they played on Thursday.

“They lifted their physicality, they were good at their hedging and switches in the circle and we probably didn’t adjust quick enough or use strong enough movement to break that open,” she said.

“There was a lot more ebbs and flows in that game than the previous one, so that’s a massive learning for us to not just rely on them happening and us getting good defensive runs.

“We need to be able to lock down whenever we get an opportunity to score and we didn’t do that as efficiently today.