ENG W VS SA W T20

Right then, that is it from this game where England Women go on top of Group B while South Africa Women suffered their first defeat of this T20 World Cup. Next up, is a big one. It is the Trans-Tasman rivalry as Australia Women take on New Zealand Women on 8th October, Tuesday. That game will begin at 2 pm GMT, but as you know, you can join us early for all the build-up to the match. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

Heather Knight, the victorious skipper of England Women says she is very pleased and appreciates the way they controlled the chase. Talks about the spinners doing the job and says they brought the team back in the game and says it was great to see the energy, especially from Sophie Ecclestone. Appreciates Danni Wyatt-Hodge and says it is great to see her bat with such patience and smartness. Concludes that they now have a big break and they will probably go explore Dubai before the next game.

Laura Wolvaardt, the captain of South Africa Women says that 10-15 runs more and things could have been interesting but they also did not take their chances in the field. Adds that the bowlers did well to take it deep. Mentions that it was not as slow as the first two games and they thought 140 would be a winning score, but they lost all momentum after the Powerplay. Says that cannot ask more from the bowlers, but you cannot bowl loose balls against the English batters as they have all the shots in their books. Ends by saying that the next games are a must-win and it will be a nice challenge against Bangladesh Women in these conditions.

Sophie Ecclestone is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her 2 for 15 in 4 overs. She says she tries to keep it simple and enjoy the game. Adds that she is very happy to get those two wickets in the middle helping the team win. Mentions the English spin arsenal and says they work as a unit and they are all high-class bowlers. Concludes that the conditions are different here and they are adapting to it really well and look forward to carrying the momentum ahead.

Presentation Time...

Earlier in the game, South Africa Women posted a decent total but batting was a struggle on this wicket. Only 3 batters touched the 20-run mark with skipper Laura Wolvaardt leading the way with a decent knock of 42 runs off 39 balls. The spinners were once again the key for England with Sophie Ecclestone being the pick of the bowlers taking a couple of wickets while all the other spinners chipping in with one each. While chasing, England Women struggled a bit initially, but they showed good character and recovered well to execute a good run chase.

South Africa Women, on the other hand, started excellently with the ball. Marizanne Kapp was superb and bowled a couple of maidens including a wicket-maiden. She also became the first South African Women to achieve that feat in T20 World Cup. They kept the runs in check in the Powerplay but could not capitalise allowing the opponents to get back in the game. Nadine de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up one wicket each, but the game was lost in the middle overs where they failed to take their chances and let Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt take the game completely away from them. However, they still managed to drag the game till the last over and ensured that their NRR does not take a big hit.

Many thought that wicket could have been an opening for South Africa Women, but that was not the case. Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Danni Wyatt-Hodge at the crease and slowly but steadily started to take the game away from the Proteas. Both of them showed their experience to go on the attack when needed and also to rotate the strikes to not let the bowlers settle in at all. Wyatt finally lost her patience after a run-a-ball knock of 43 but was one of the architects of this chase. She added 64 runs to the partnership with Nat Sciver-Brunt and that put them on the verge of victory but she would have been disappointed not to stay there till the end. In the end, Nat Sciver-Brunt remained unbeaten on 48 and finished things off with four balls to spare.

England Women were slow to get off the blocks scoring just 8 in the first 3 overs. Maia Bouchier really struggled to get going and departed on 8 off 20 balls which put the pressure on her opening partner. However, Danni Wyatt-Hodge showed good patience and resilience to get through that period and she was also helped by Capsey who came in and shifted the momentum to get the chase going. She made 19 off 16, and it was crucial for them to get out of trouble.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR ENGLAND WOMEN! They have been the most in-form team in this format and have sent out a clear message to the others that they are one of the top contenders for the trophy. This is also a sweet revenge for them for the defeat against South Africa Women in the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup Semi-Final.

FOUR! Up, up and over! Nat Sciver-Brunt finishes off in some style and England Women wrap the game with 7 wickets and 4 balls to spare. On a fuller length, just outside off, Nat Sciver-Brunt skips down the track and lofts it over covers for a boundary to get England Women their second win on the trot!

A good start to the over! A dot! Full and on middle and off, Nat Sciver-Brunt pats it back to the bowler.

Who bowls the last over? It will be Ayabonga Khaka.

Shorter in length and outside off, Nat Sciver-Brunt drags it across to long on for a single. England Women need 4 more runs off 6 balls.

Full and outside off, Nat Sciver-Brunt shuffles a bit and looks to sweep but misses.

On a good length, just outside off, Nat Sciver-Brunt cuts it to point.

FOUR! Easy picking this! Nadine de Klerk drags the length back but not too short, on middle, Nat Sciver-Brunt waits deep in the crease and pulls it all along the ground to deep square leg fence for a boundary.