The Roses will take confidence from the win against a side ranked second in the world, but questions may be raised about Guthrie’s fitness after she was seen limping away from a collision in the dying moments of the match.
It was a score-for-score first quarter, with England maintaining a one-goal lead, going in 13-12 up. It was much the same in the second, as both teams remained in deadlock, the Roses going into half-time 25-24 up at the Liverpool Echo Arena.
It was in the second-half that they turned on the style, stretching out a ten-goal lead by the end of the third quarter, and then extending it to 13 to rival their record margin over the Silver Ferns by the time the final whistle blew.
In the other fixture world champions Australia defeated South Africa 62-45.
England will face the Proteas in the second round of games on Saturday, before meeting Australia on Sunday for what could be a title decider.
