Key events
Drinks: Perfect first hour for England
15th over: South Africa 54-7 (Jafta 19, Klaas 1) Nat Sciver-Brunt, who rammed home England’s advantage in a spell of 3-1-5-2, is replaced by Charlie Dean. Jafta, who has played defiantly amid the ruins, thumps a boundary over the leaping Ecclestone at mid-off.
I think Ecclestone mistimed her jump, though she might not have reached it anyway.
14th over: South Africa 48-7 (Jafta 14, Klaas 0) Sophie Ecclestone becomes the third England player to bowl a wicket maiden today. In the context of modern white-ball cricket, that’s kind of preposterous.
WICKET! South Africa 48-7 (De Klerk c Knight b Ecclestone 3)
Sophie Ecclestone gets her first wicket of the competition with a typically artful piece of bowling, a flighted delivery that turns to take the edge as Nadine de Klerk throws her hands at the ball. Heather Knight took a smart catch at slip.
Two left-arm spinners, two different threats. As Nasser Hussain said on commentary a moment ago: Linsey Smith troubles batters on the inside, Ecclestone gets them on the outside.
13th over: South Africa 48-6 (Jafta 14, De Klerk 3) A surprise bouncer from Sciver-Brunt is swatted into the leg side by Jafta. The ball bounces well short of the deep fielder and South Africa take a single.
12th over: South Africa 44-6 (Jafta 13, De Klerk 1) Jafta becomes the first player to reach double figures with a classy late cut for four off Ecclestone.
11th over: South Africa 38-6 (Jafta 8, De Klerk 0) A wicket maiden for NSB, who is hitting the pitch hard on a stump-to-stump line. It’s worth stressing that, while timing the ball doesn’t look easy on this pitch, there has been very little sideways movement.
WICKET! South Africa 38-6 (Tryon c Capsey b Sciver-Brunt 2)
What the actual. Chloe Tryon chips Sciver-Brunt tamely to mid-on, where Capsey leaps to take a comfortable catch. South Africa are falling apart. The ball must be stopping in the pitch slightly as that’s the second batter to fall to a mistimed chip.
10th over: South Africa 38-5 (Jafta 8, Tryon 2) Sophie Ecclestone replaces Linsey Smith, two left-arm spinners who are completely different in style. Ecclestone’s first ball slips down the leg side for five wides, though it wasn’t a million miles from bowling Tryon round her legs. The rest of the over is spot on.
There’s a chance semi-final qualification will come down to net run-rate, so it’s important that England push for more wickets and try to inflict a hammering.
9th over: South Africa 32-5 (Jafta 8, Tryon 1) Almost a sixth wicket when Jafta drives just short of Capsey at short mid-on. This is crazy.
NSB bowled in the warm-ups but that wicket came from her first ball in international cricket since January.
WICKET! South Africa 31-5 (Bosch LBW b Sciver-Brunt 6)
This isn’t a dream start for England; it’s gone beyond that now. The captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has struck with her first ball of the tournament. Bosch, who played back when she should have been forward, whipped played around a stump-to-stump delivery, was hit plumb in front and fell over just as the umpire was rasing her finger. Bosch discussed a review but she and Jafta knew it was out.
8th over: South Africa 31-4 (Bosch 6, Jafta 8) Wow, Amy Jones has missed a stumping chance! We don’t see that often. Jafra charged Smith, missed and was relieved to see the unsighted Jones fumble the chance.
A maiden from Linsey Smith, who has stunning figures of 4-2-7-3 – but it should have been a wicket maiden.
7th over: South Africa 31-4 (Bosch 6, Jafta 8) The No6 Sinalo Jafta square-drives Bell classily for four. It’s not often that the only specialist seamer in a team plays second fiddle with the new ball.
That’s happened at the moment. Bell ends her fourth over with a half-volley that is belted to the extra-cover boundary by Bosch.
6th over: South Africa 22-4 (Bosch 2, Jafta 3) Smith has bowled well – duh – but she’s done nothing outlandish with the ball. It’s been typical Smith: a tight line from round the wicket with a bit of inswing. South Africa, who have barely played an attacking stroke off Smith, are like rabbits caught in low wattage headlights.
WICKET! South Africa 19-4 (Kapp b Smith 4)
Have you heard the news: Linsey Smith, on her World Cup debut, has three for four from 13 balls! Marizanne Kapp is the latest South African batter to hear the death rattle. She pushed defensively down the wrong line – the ball may have swung in – and was bowled through the gate. Not quite a carbon copy of Tamzin Brits’ dismissal, but not far off.
5th over: South Africa 17-3 (Kapp 4, Bosch 2) The aptly named Anneke Bosch is the new batter.
WICKET! South Africa 17-3 (Luus b Bell 2)
Another one gone! Sune Luus has lost her off stump and South Africa are three down. Luus tried to a drive a fullish delivery from Lauren Bell that came back sharply, I think off the seam, and sent the off stump for a walk. It’s only jolly well coming home!
4th over: South Africa 16-2 (Luus 2, Kaap 4) The new batter Marizanne Kapp survives a biggish LBW appeal after another inswinger from Smith. Close but probably missing leg. Kapp then seizes upon a half-volley to punch a boundary through extra cover.
WICKET! South Africa 12-2 (Brits b Smith 5)
Have you heard the news: Linsey Smith, on her World Cup debut, has two for none from seven balls! She has just bowled the in-form Tamzin Brits through the gate with a lovely curving delivery. Brits played the line and was beaten all ends up.
3rd over: South Africa 12-1 (Brits 5, Luus 2) Bell gets some extra bounce to beat Brits, who will keep attacking despite the loss of Wolvaardt. That’s the way South Africa play these days.
Later in the over Luus gets off the mark with a clip for two.
2nd over: South Africa 9-1 (Brits 4, Luus 0) Smith, whose roundarm spin makes her an awkward proposition, bowls four dot balls to Sune Luus to complete a wicket maiden.
WICKET! South Africa 9-1 (Wolvaardt ct and b Smith 5)
Linsey Smith strikes with her second ball at a World Cup! England decided to open with left-arm spin rather at one end and the move paid off straight away. The captain Laura Wolvaardt push-drove with hard hands and chipped a simple return catch back to Smith. What a start for England.
1st over: South Africa 9-0 (Wolvaardt 5, Brits 4) A solid start for South Africa, with a boundary apiece for the openers off Lauren Bell. I was going to describe those boundaries, but STOP PRESS.
The South African opener Tazmin Brits averaged 26 from 30 ODIs at the start of 2025. So far, so meh. A sparkling 109 against India in Colombo was the catalyst for the best year of her career: 109, 14, 26, 38, 57, 26, 101, 101*, 171*.
In case your mental arithmetic isn’t what it was, that’s 643 runs at an average of 92. And in her last three innings – yes, yes, I know – she averages 373.
The players are lining up for the anthems. While they sing it loud, I’m going to grab a coffee. Be back for the first ball.
More pre-match reading
Even by Emma John’s standards, this is quite brilliant
It is mere years that women in the subcontinent have been taken seriously as cricketers. For generations, they faced scorn, disapproval, ostracism – even the threat of violence – to pursue their passion. Now India is hosting a World Cup in which the prize fund is $13.8m (£10.3m) and the home nation’s players will become national treasures if they secure their first tournament victory.
It would, then, be a travesty if this weekend’s talk focused on their male counterparts. And yet, when India face Pakistan on Sunday, comparison is unavoidable. And not because the home side are highly favoured to triumph, but because they are not expected to shake hands with their opposition. Handshakegate, if we must call it that, will have a fourth instalment.
Pre-match reading
A terrific interview with Tammy Beaumont from the latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly.
Beaumont’s experiences of the amateur era have given her a broad perspective on the game. She is studying for a Master’s in leadership in sport, and it’s clear she thinks deeply about cricket and its wider impact. She wants women’s cricket to retain the “accessibility and warmth” that characterised its non-professional years but says an increasingly toxic environment makes that challenging.
We’ve got to keep sharing our characters and stories but, at the same time, we have to protect ourselves. Media scrutiny is part and parcel of professionalism. What I struggle with at times, and it’s not dealt with properly, is abuse online. That’s gone through the roof in the last couple of years. We’re still trying to build brands and grow the game and interact with fans online but, for me, I’m like, absolutely not. I want none of it. It’s gone from social media being a tool for the good of the game to now where it’s just constant abuse. Some of the stuff that my teammates got in The Hundred, as well as myself, was utterly disgusting. Racist, horrendous, sexist stuff. Horrific. And nothing is really done about it.
Raf Nicholson’s preview
The job of selecting an XI will be made easier by the expectation that the captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, will bowl her full allocation of 10 overs, allowing England the luxury of selecting seven batters against South Africa. “She’s been one of the most successful bowlers in the WPL in the past few years so we’re hoping to continue that form in 50-over cricket,” Edwards said.
England’s top order is stacked with experience, with Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont set to open the batting and Heather Knight at No 3. Knight injured her hamstring against West Indies in May and faced a race against time to be match-ready for this tournament, opting for time in a hyperbaric chamber over surgery.
Team news
England have resolved the Alice Capsey/Emma Lamb dilemma by picking them both in a powerful batting line-up. Lauren Bell is the only specialist seamer, supported by Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Heather Knight returns from injury to play her 100th ODI.
There are no surprises in a strong South African team; it includes nine of the XI who played in last year’s T20 world Cup final defeat to New Zealand.
England Beaumont, Jones (wk), Knight, Sciver-Brunt (c), Dunkley, Lamb, Capsey, Dean, Ecclestone, Smith, Bell.
South Africa Wolvaardt (c), Brits, Luis, Kapp, Bosch, Jafta (wk), Tryon, De Klerk, Klaas, Khaka, Mlaba.
England win the toss and bowl
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt calls incorrectly and Nat Sciver-Brunt chooses to field first. That’s a useful toss to win with the potential for batting to become easier under the lights.
“Don’t mind having a bat too much,” says Wolvaardt.
Preamble
Ssshhhhhhhhh! The talking is over, at least for now, and England’s World Cup is about to begin. The bad news is they start with a tough game against South Africa in Guwahati. The good news is they start with a tough game against South Africa in Guwahati. Victory today would give England instant momentum and underscore the cautious confidence of their pre-tournament chatter.
An excellent win over Australia in their last warm-up has increased that confidence, even if the individual performances of Alice Capsey (88 not out) and Sarah Glenn (5 for 32) gave Charlotte Edwards a slight selection headache.
Edwards is a serial winner, so there’s no danger of England setting their sights low. But from a distance they are in the slightly unusual position of having a very clear par for the tournament.
Failure to reach the semi-finals would be a minor shocker, even allowing for the improvement among the traditional also-rans. Reaching the final ahead of either Australia or India, the two clear favourites to win the competition, would be a serious achievement. And if England win it… no, let’s not go there. It’s way too early for that sort of talk.
Today’s match begins at 10.30am BST.
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