There was an element of relief on Monday, as South Africa have long been England’s arch-rivals at the World Cup, having been denied a place in the finals in both the 2020 and 2023 editions, but England finally broke free from that injustice. Although they missed the final, they won by seven wickets. Nat Silver Blunt’s unbeaten 48 put them in first place in Group B.
South Africa are likely to need to win against both Bangladesh and Scotland to reach the semi-finals, while England are in pole position to not only get through the group stages but also, most importantly, defeat reigning champions Australia. It can be avoided. They are expected to advance to Group A in the semi-finals.
Heather Knight warned on Saturday that England’s batting at the World Cup was “not always going to be sexy” given the difficult conditions in Sharjah. However, England needed to score more in the first half, with Danny Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Silver-Brunt finding enough gaps to chip away at a 64-goal partnership and move England closer to victory.
Wyatt Hodge struggled, still needing 11 points, but a beautiful four-ball cover drive from Shiver Brandt secured the win with four balls remaining. Shiver-Brant later joked that the shot was “probably in the top 10 sexiest shots of the tournament.”
“The situation is tough,” Silver Brandt added. “It’s really important to figure out a way to do it and make sure everyone is committed to it, and I think these last two games gave us some great learnings.
“We weren’t able to finish the World Cup in the best possible way in our last game against South Africa, so I’m really happy to get over the line.”
With England chasing a difficult target of 125, Marizanne Kapp dropped her two maiden overs, swung an unpredictable ball enough to trap Maia Boussier in front of leg, and turned the screws on the powerplay.
The catch was then spilled by Anneke Bosch at backward point, although the final result might have been different had Alice Capsey been removed on three pitches for a duck. Capsey added 19 points off 16 balls, including two sweeping boundaries off a three-ball from Chloe Tryon.
By the time Kapp returned for the 15th and final over, Shiver-Brunt had settled down and was able to find the leg-side boundary twice. The over cost 12 runs and Kapp’s clean figures were ruined.
Marisanne Kapp was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone and also rattled Laura Wolvaardt’s stumps. Photo: Satish Kumar/Reuters
“The whole plan was to have a lot of intention in the running, to drive the ball into the outfield, push the fielders, and use that momentum to create boundaries,” Shiver-Brandt said. “It was very important to keep the scoreboard moving.”
Skip past newsletter promotions
Subscribe to our cricket newsletter to get our writer’s thoughts on the biggest stories and reviews of the week’s action
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may include information about charities, online advertising, and content sponsored by external parties. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After newsletter promotion
Earlier, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt anchored her team’s innings with 42 off 39 balls, while at the back end Kapp and Annelie Derksen worked six boundaries to take South Africa to 124 for six. This was the highest score ever. Sharjah during this World Cup.
However, England’s four-way spin attack pounced regularly, with Sophie Ecclestone hitting the stumps of Wolfert and Kapp at the death, with both batsmen fluttering across the line in an attempt to push South Africa’s score up.
Initially, South Africa’s aggressiveness put England’s fielders under pressure. Four catches begged before drinks were served, one behind the stumps, one at slip and two on the ring. England also missed a chance to use up Kapp’s first pitch, as Amy Jones’ wild pitch went wide, leaving time for Kapp to ground out.
However, Bosh pitched a tough inning of 18 of 26 pitches, during which time Bosh’s side threw 44 pitches without scoring and was unable to make the most of his quick start.
