Visitors England, fresh from a commanding 3-0 sweep in the T20I series and a clinical 2-1 victory in the ODI series, in the final leg of their multi-format tour of South Africa—a four-day one-off Test at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, winning the toss and electing to bat first, England delivered a masterclass in their first women’s Test in South Africa since 1961.
England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and debutant Maia Bouchier, began with positive intent, racing to a 50-run partnership in just 65 balls. Ayanda Hlubi then broke the stand, pitching one short outside off that resulted in a mistimed pull from Beaumont, with Suné Luus taking a sharp catch moving to her left at midwicket. Skipper Heather Knight joined a composed and fluent Bouchier, who brought up her maiden Test fifty off 71 balls (9×4, 1×6). Knight settled in quickly, guiding England to 103/1 at the close of the first session.
Just three balls into the post-lunch session, Tumi Sekhukhune struck, trapping England skipper Heather Knight lbw with the score at 103. Nat Sciver-Brunt walked in and wasted no time, getting off the mark with a boundary and continuing to find the gaps with precision. Maia Bouchier, set and confident, matched her partner’s aggression, further consolidating England’s strong position. Sciver-Brunt dazzled with her stroke play, reaching a blistering half-century off just 46 balls—the fastest by an Englishwoman and the third-fastest overall in women’s Test history.
Minutes later, Maia Bouchier brought up a sensational century on debut, reaching the milestone off just 124 balls—the fastest century by an England woman in Tests—featuring 18 boundaries and 2 sixes. The duo of Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt continued to dominate, racing to a 150-run partnership in just 148 balls. Sciver-Brunt, dealing in boundaries, seemed poised to eclipse Bouchier’s newly set record. True to expectations, she did so in style, flicking one off Suné Luus to bring up her second consecutive Test century against South Africa in just 96 balls—the fastest in women’s Test history.
In the very next over, Nonkululeko Mlaba drew a healthy edge from Maia Bouchier, and Suné Luus held on to a sharp catch at slip, ending Bouchier’s impressive innings at 126 off 154 balls, with England at 277/3. Danni Wyatt-Hodge (10*) joined Nat Sciver-Brunt (102*), and the pair saw England safely through to tea, with the visitors firmly in control at 292/3 after 60 overs.
In the final session of Day 1, with the third-wicket partnership between Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt (174 off 172) broken, South Africa breathed a sigh of relief, especially after dismissing Wyatt-Hodge for 12, with Mlaba once again striking with a brilliant delivery. By restricting the flow of runs, South Africa regained control, and their discipline was rewarded with a fortunate breakthrough. Amy Jones’ straight drive, deflected off Mlaba’s fingers onto the stumps, resulted in Sciver-Brunt being run out for 128 (145), caught short of her crease.
Shortly after, Charlie Dean departed for 8 (13), leaving England at 368 on the board. The set Amy Jones was next to go, dismissed for a brilliant 39, as Mlaba claimed her fourth wicket. Marizanne Kapp took the new ball in the 90th over and provided an immediate breakthrough, dismissing debutant Ryana MacDonald-Gay for 2 (17). In the following over, Tumi Sekhukhune trapped Sophie Ecclestone (21 off 28), as England lost 5 wickets for just 38 runs. Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer (3) faced 4 balls combined before skipper Heather Knight declared the innings at 395/9 (92), with 20 minutes remaining in the day’s play.
South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt (8*) and Anneke Bosch (6*) took guard and survived the final passage of play, facing 5 overs of pace from the two Laurens and one over of spin from Sophie Ecclestone, accumulating 17 runs from 6 overs. At the end of the day’s play, South Africa trailed by 378 runs, facing a mountain of a task to survive the early minutes of day 2 and remain competitive throughout the day.
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