Judgement day for England with World Cup final spot in sight

6 hours ago 1

When England face South Africa in Wednesday's Cricket World Cup semi-final in Guwahati, batting collapses may be at the back - or front - of both sides' minds.

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It was at the same venue on October 3 where South Africa were skittled for just 69 by England en route to a 10-wicket defeat to start the tournament.

And for England it is the same opposition they capitulated spectacularly against in their previous global semi-final, at the 2023 T20 World Cup.

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Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward look ahead to England vs South Africa, discussing Sophie Ecclestone's fitness and whether Nat Sciver-Brunt's side can cope in a knockout game

Two years ago, then under the captaincy of Heather Knight and coached by Jon Lewis, England required 33 runs from 23 balls with seven wickets in hand to make the T20 final.

But when Nat Sciver-Brunt clothed Nadine de Klerk to long-on, England folded, ending up on 158-8 in a chase of 165, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

That inability to cope under pressure was seen in the following T20 World Cup as well, with a glut of dropped catches leading to a harrowing loss to West Indies and a group-stage exit.

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England dropped five catches in their damaging defeat to West Indies at the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup

Those flaws were witnessed again during last winter's Ashes series in Australia as England tumbled to a 16-0 defeat on points across the formats. That proved the last straw for the decision-makers.

Out went Knight as captain - although she remains a key player - and Lewis as coach.

Under new skipper Sciver-Brunt and coach Charlotte Edwards there is a steel to this England side, shown during the World Cup league phase when they rallied from a batting wobble to beat Bangladesh and then fought back with the ball to pip India.

Sciver-Brunt urges England to 'trust their methods'

Now, though, is England's judgement day as we find out whether they can win a first knockout match since their semi-final victory over South Africa in the 2022 50-over World Cup.

Has a corner been turned or will old failings creep in?

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Highlights from England's narrow four-run victory over India in Indore that clinched a spot in the Women's Cricket World Cup semi-finals.

Sciver-Brunt said: "To be in a knockout stage of a World Cup this early on in our tenure is really special and we are taking that extra pressure as a privilege.

"Hopefully we can instil in everyone to trust our methods, trust everything we've been doing is correct, and that putting that out on the pitch will be good enough.

"In bigger games the hardest thing to do is to treat it like any other game but hopefully everyone can feel really confident in their skills.

"There is different personnel that haven't been in knockout stages but there's some very experienced people who have. The message to the team has been to trust everything that we've done so far."

I think England are in a good place. The loss to Australia probably brought them back down to earth but I think that is almost a good thing as they were put under pressure. They have also been excellent in the field, which is a good sign of where they are as a team.

Sky Sports' Cricket Nasser Hussain added: "The match against India was a good sign. England were up against it with a big crowd in, losing the game, but they handled pressure really well.

"I fancy them against South Africa now as there might be a bit of mental scarring from that first game of the tournament.

"I think Tazmin Brits is the key wicket. If she gets off to a flier, the others can bat around her and South Africa will feel they can control the game. If she goes early, the baggage of 69 all out comes back."

Spin bowlers starring for England - but not lower middle order

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Highlights from England's first game of the Women's Cricket World Cup as they bowled South Africa out for 69 and thrashed them by 10 wickets

In that 69 all out earlier this month, three of South Africa's top four batters - Brits, Laura Wolvaardt, and Marizanne Kapp - were out to England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, while the Proteas were bundled out for 97 on Saturday as Australia leg-spinner Alana King registered record World Cup figures of 7-18 from seven overs.

Spin bowling has been the highlight of England's World Cup with Smith's drift, Sophie Ecclestone's bounce and Charlie Dean's turn helping the trio pick up 32 wickets combined - 12 each for left-armers Smith and Ecclestone and eight for off-spinner Dean.

Ecclestone, who is expected to be fit to face the Proteas after sustaining an injury to her bowling shoulder in the eight-wicket win over New Zealand on Sunday, bagged 6-36 in the World Cup semi-final victory over South Africa in Christchurch three years ago.

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England spinner Ecclestone took four wickets across five overs during a brilliant spell against Sri Lanka earlier this month

England won that match at a canter by 137 runs, rolling their opponents for 156 after Danni Wyatt-Hodge's 129 from 125 balls had underpinned a total of 293-8 at Hagley Oval.

Wyatt-Hodge replaced Emma Lamb for England's final group game of this World Cup - the latter omitted after averaging 7.20 across five innings with a best score of 13.

Wyatt-Hodge only faced seven deliveries against New Zealand, ending two not out, and it feels like a possible misstep that England did not send her out to bat at the fall of the first wicket, when a further 94 runs were required in a small chase of 169.

That means the 34-year-old will take on South Africa undercooked and with Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey yet to really fire in the lower middle order, that may be an area the Proteas pinpoint.

To expose that, though, they will have to get through openers Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont and then Knight and Sciver-Brunt, all of whom are in decent nick.

South Africa have match-winners of their own in Wolvaardt, Brits, fiery all-rounder Kapp - the "most passionate" cricketer former England seamer Tash Farrant says she has ever played with - left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and lower-order punisher De Klerk.

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Nadine de Klerk's incredible innings of 84 from just 54 balls saw South Africa to an improbable three-wicket win over India

De Klerk's swashbuckling 84 not out off 54 balls from the No 8 spot dragged her side to a comeback win over India, while she repeated the trick in a nail-biter against Bangladesh with 37 not out from 29.

De Klerk handled the pressure then. Will England do so now?

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