When Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bat against England in Sharjah, she said that South Africa had a chance to go 2-0 up in the Group B standings of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Heather Knight, who was in earshot, must have thought, ‘Not today.’
An aggressive chase led by Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt saw England beat the Proteas by seven wickets here on Monday. Wolvaardt expected the wicket to get slower as the night wore on, but England seemed to be batting on a different wicket altogether.
AS IT HAPPENED | ENG-W VS SA-W WOMEN’S T20 WC
The inaugural T20 World Cup champions relied on creative placement and solid running between the wickets. The South African dugout which began the game with energy was seen walking away with hunched shoulders and discussions on all the moments squandered.
Opting to bat first, Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits struggled a little to find the boundary, a task made harder by a slow outfield.
Wolvaardt kept losing partners at the other end particularly when the England spin quartet began operating. Annerie Dercksen’s back-to-back boundaries in the last over helped South Africa crawl past 120, the first time a team has managed to do so at this venue in this edition of the tournament. Sophie Ecclestone returned eventually match-winning figures of 2/15.
Wyatt-Hodge persevered despite losing opening partner, Maia Bouchier and Alice Capsey fairly early. A 64-run stand for the third wicket set up England’s win comfortably despite the game dragging till the last over.
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