Kelly Simm has helped England to silver in the women's team gymnastics competition at the Commonwealth games.

The Whiteley-based 22-year-old was the most experienced member of the victorious team, which was edged into silver by Canada by just 1.25 points.

England were hit by the respective absences of Ellie Downie, Claudia Fragapane and Amy Tinkler, but their new generation of teen stars rose to the occasion.

Two weeks after learning of her surprise late call-up due to injuries, 15-year-old Taeja James marked her major international debut in style.

Performing the final routine of the competition, James scored 14.1 on the floor, which whilst not being enough to wrest the gold for her team, still saw her qualify for Monday's individual apparatus final in first place.

James, as painfully shy off the floor as she is ebullient on it, said: "I try not to think about the occasion, it's about going out there to do a good routine and counting on my skills.

"I'll go into the final and try to do the same routine as I did today and see what happens. Maybe it helped me being called up so late, because I didn't have the time to think about it all so much."

James was embraced by team-mates Georgia-Mae Fenton, Kelly Simm, Lucy Stanhope and Alice Kinsella after her performance, concluding a consistent team display marred only by mistakes on the beam.

Falls by Fenton and Stanhope would ultimately make the difference on the scoreboard although the inexperienced England line-up still finished comfortably ahead of hosts Australia, who edged out Wales for bronze.

Fenton, 17, who reached the uneven bars final at the World Championships in Montreal last year, matched James's feat by qualifying for her favoured apparatus in first place, and said the big-name withdrawals had contributed to a unique bond within the team.

Fenton said: "What I did in Montreal gave me a lot of confidence because I know I am up there with the rest of them. I guess I know what I have to do in the final.

"It's very sad that the injuries occurred but it's really pulled us together as as team. I'm just so proud of all the girls and I'm so happy to be standing on the podium