South Africa led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt was up against England led by skipper Heather Knight in the 9th match of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bat first. The South African openers Tazmin Brits and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got their side off to a good start with a 31-run opening partnership.
Linsey Smith picked up the wicket of Tazmin Brits to provide the first breakthrough for England. Anneke Bosch joined skipper Laura Wolvaardt at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 40-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side to a solid position in the innings. Sarah Glenn cleaned up Anneke Bosch to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Marizanne Kapp joined skipper Wolvaardt at the crease and the duo provided the much-needed impetus to the innings with a 17-run partnership to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Sophie Ecclestone cleaned up the opposition skipper Wolvaardt to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England. South Africa eventually ended up with a total of 124/6 in their quota of overs.
Skipper Wolvaardt (42 off 39 balls), Kapp (26 off 17 balls), Annerie Dercksen (20* off 11 balls), and Anneke Bosch (18 off 26 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Africa. Ecclestone (4-0-15-2), Sarah Glenn (4-0-18-1), Charlie Dean (4-0-25-1), and Linsey Smith (4-0-32-1) were the top performers with the ball for England.
Chasing a target of 125, the England openers Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Maia Bouchier got off to a cautious start with a 16-run opening partnership. Kapp picked up the wicket of Maia Bouchier to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa. Alice Capsey joined Danielle Wyatt at the crease and the duo provided the much-needed impetus to the run chase with a 34-run partnership to take their side to the 50-run mark.
Nadine de Klerk picked up the wicket of Alice Capsey to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Danielle Wyatt-Hodge at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 64-run partnership to take their side on the cusp of victory. Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up the wicket of their opening batter Danielle Wyatt-Hodge to provide the 3rd breakthrough for South Africa.
Back-to-back wins for England!
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt seal the run-chase 👊#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup2024 pic.twitter.com/7sPeXxk5RY
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 7, 2024
England eventually got over the line with seven wickets in hand and four balls to spare. Nat Sciver-Brunt (48* off 36 balls), Wyatt-Hodge (43 off 43 balls), and Alice Capsey (19 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England. Kapp (4-2-17-1), Nonkululeko Mlaba (4-0-22-1), and Nadine de Klerk (4-0-23-1) were the top performers with the ball for South Africa.
Sophie Ecclestone was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning spell (4-0-15-2) with the ball.
Big Match Player💥
Sophie Ecclestone’s 2/15 bags her Player of the Match against South Africa.#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup2024 pic.twitter.com/cgzbBHFZTL
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 7, 2024
Loves all things female cricket