In the second semi-final match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, England Women will be going one-on-one against South Africa. The much-anticipated knockout game will be conducted at the Newlands in Cape Town on Friday.
England Women have one of the best squads in the tournament with a perfect mix of batters, bowlers, and all-rounders. The team is not having injury concerns and all its players will be available for selection on Friday.
Nat Sciver-Brunt will be the English batter to watch out for as she is leading the run-scoring charts while Sophie Ecclestone is likely to be the key bowler.
Coming to South Africa Women, the Proteas did not have it easy in the T20 Championship. The batters did not impress much in the league round and thus the bowlers deserve all the credit for Proteas’ entry into the playoff round.
South Africa will also be fielding their best playing XI as no player is likely to miss the semi-final encounter.
What has happened so far?
England Women and South Africa Women experienced contrasting rides in the league round of the T20 World Cup 2023. Englishwomen dominated the tournament right from the first match. They defeated West Indies Women in their first match by seven wickets by chasing 136 runs in 20 overs.
Heather Knight’s side followed it up with victories over Ireland Women, India Women, and Pakistan Women by four wickets, 11 runs, and 114 runs respectively. Both the batters and bowlers have worked in sync in the competition so far.
As far as South Africa Women are concerned, they experienced a roller-coaster ride in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. The Proteas Women kick-started the tournament with a defeat against Sri Lanka Women by three runs.
They made a comeback in their second game against New Zealand Women only to lose their third match against Australia Women by six wickets. However, Proteas picked up the pace in the last league game as they scored a massive win by ten wickets against Bangladesh Women to book a berth in the semi-final match.
Head to Head Record
England Women will be eager to continue their brilliant record against South Africa Women in the T20 Internationals on Friday
England Women’s cricket team enjoys a good lead over South Africa in the head-to-head records in the shortest format of the game. In the history of the T20 Internationals, the Heather Knight-led side has faced the Proteas in a total of 23 matches.
English Women were declared winners in 19 games while three games saw South Africa ending up on the right side of the result. One T20 International between the two sides ended without any result because of poor weather conditions.
The two teams last played against each other in the Commonwealth Games 2022 and the high-profile game of cricket saw England Women scoring a win by 26 runs.
Key Players
Nat Sciver-Brunt (England Women)
The major credit for England Women’s spectacular performance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 goes to Nat Sciver-Brunt. The 30-year-old is ruling the run-scoring charts in the tournament with a whopping 176 runs to her name in four games at an average of 88.00.
She will enter the semi-final match in high spirits as England’s last league game against Pakistan Women saw Nat delivering a fine knock of 81* runs off 40 balls including 12 boundaries and one maximum. The middle-order batter can be the difference between England Women and South Africa Women on Friday.
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Women)
It was a must-win game for South Africa Women as they locked horns with Bangladesh Women in their last league match. Laura Wolvaardt was the one who stepped up for the team in crucial times and steered the Proteas Women to a win by ten wickets. The opening batter won the player of the match award for her knock of unbeaten 66 runs off 56 balls.
Overall, Laura has scored 116 runs in four games at an average of 38.67. Undoubtedly, she will be the most crucial player for South Africa Women on Friday.
Predicted Playing XIs
England Women: Danielle Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight ©, Amy Jones (wk), Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus ©, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
Prediction
England Women will walk into the second semi-final match against South Africa Women as favorites. They were brilliant in the league round with four wins to their name from as many games. After topping the Group B points table with eight points to their name, Englishwomen will be filled with momentum and confidence.
Meanwhile, South Africa Women can give a good fight to the opposition as they picked up the pace in the second half of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.