Rachel Walker, from Worcester, is guaranteed at least a silver medal after helping England through to the ladies' hockey final.

The former Nunnery Wood High School pupil figured in a famous 2-1 victory over defending champions Australia.

Now she will figure in the final against India on Sunday with high hopes of striking gold.

Honorary Englishwoman Tricia Heberle was happy to revel in the glory of her side's victory which condemned her compatriots to a bronze medal play-off.

The Western Australia-born coach helped mastermind the win, but it was the way in which it was done which was remarkable.

A stunning first half of fast-flowing, incisive hockey left the Hockeyroos reeling at 2-0 down at the interval.

Manchester-born Kate Walsh scored one from a penalty corner and set up the other for Helen Grant to deflect in -- also from a set-piece -- and was outstanding at the back as a late Louise Dobson penalty corner could not dampen England's spirits.

Crucially, England goalkeeper Hilary Rose also saved a first-half penalty stroke from Dobson as the home side claimed their first victory over the Aussies in a major tournament for 16 years, playing the last seven minutes with 10 women after Walker was sin-binned.

"I'm very, very proud of their efforts," Heberle said. "Especially the way the girls handled themselves in the last 12 minutes or so when it was absolutely torrid. We just had to be dogged and just hang in there -- and we did that very well."

England were without midfielder Lucilla Wright, in hospital with an infected shoulder as a result of an injury sustained in the first group game, and also lost Helen Richardson with a hip injury.

But Heberle said the squad's general fitness saw them through.

"One of the things I identified when I got the job was that if you want to compete with the best in the world then you have got to be able to play at pace," she added. "You have to be able to compete physically and compete with your basic skills."

Worcester's Simon Archer stayed on course for a hat-trick of badminton gold medals with a brace of victories over Scottish opponents.

Archer, who helped England win a team gold earlier this week, breezed into the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles with Jo Goode without dropping a point following a 7-0 7-0 7-0 defeat of Graeme Smith and Elinor Middlemiss.

He had it much tougher in the last 32 of the men's doubles, but Archer and James Anderson eventually saw off Smith and Russell Hogg 7-3 7-5 7-5.