Live Cricket Score, England vs South Africa, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, semi-final 1: ENG qualify for final
Live Cricket Score, WWC 2017, semi-final 1: ENG qualify for final
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 between England and South Africa at Bristol. I am Kaustubh Mayekar and I will be your host for the day. Hasn’t this been a fascinating tournament? Dane van Niekerk’s South Africans had to play the qualifiers to ensure a berth in the tournament and therefore their entry ahead of New Zealand in the semi-final is surreal and a story in itself. But they are against the league stage toppers England.
Heather Knight’s England suffered an upset against India in their tournament opener but they made amends with 6 back-to-back victories to top the league stages. The last time they met South Africa, the English batters pounded them all around the park to amass 373 in a high-scoring game. That was Bristol too. So expect another batting paradise. They have two big threats to conquer: first, South Africa’s all-round bowling attack, and secondly, complacency. The second one is possibly the bigger of the two threats. We saw what England men had to face in the Champions Trophy semi-final last month. Despite being lethal in the group stages they were outdone by a low-ranked Pakistan.
It will eventually boil down to England’s batting against South Africa’s bowling. Tammy Beaumont is the highest run-getter in the tournament with 372 runs at 53.14. South African skipper van Niekerk tops the bowling charts with 15 wickets at 8.33 with her smart leg-spin while No. 1-ranked bowler and her teammate Marizanne Kapp is second in the list with 12 scalps at 17.41.
Squads
England: Heather Knight (c), Sarah Taylor (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield and Danielle Wyatt.
South Africa: Dane van Niekerk (c), Trisha Chetty (wk) Moseline Daniels, Nadine de Klerk, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Odine Kirsten, Masabata Klaas, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Chloe Tryon and Laura Wolvaardt.