England made it two wins from two at the Women’s T20 World Cup as their spinners and batters Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt starred in a seven-wicket win over South Africa in Sharjah.
After limiting Bangladesh to 97-7 at the same ground on Saturday, Heather Knight’s side restricted South Africa – the team that beat them in the semi-finals of the 2023 T20 World Cup – to 124-6 two days later, with left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone bagging 2-15.
England then reached their target with four balls to spare – Nat Sciver-Brunt (48no off 36) striking the winning boundary after sharing a 64-run stand with Danni Wyatt-Hodge (43 off 43) for the third wicket from 50-2 following the exits of Maia Bouchier (8 off 20) and Alice Capsey (19 off 16).
England now sit top of Group B, with further pool matches against Scotland on Sunday and West Indies next Tuesday to come, both live on Sky Sports, as they target a first T20 World Cup title since the inaugural edition on home soil in 2009.
England contain South Africa despite fielding blunders
Knight’s side were sloppy in the field in the first half of the South Africa innings, shelling four catches in total with Tazmin Brits (13) dropped on nought and 12 – Knight at slip and Sarah Glenn at short fine leg the fielders – before Brits holed out off left-arm spinner Linsey Smith (1-32).
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Watch as Danielle Gibson catches Tazmin Brits after the South African player survived two England drops
Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt (42 off 39) was another player to get a lifeline, grassed by England wicketkeeper Amy Jones on 22 after edging Ecclestone behind but the bowler finally castled Wolvaardt in the 16th over as the right-hander heaved across the line.
England strangled South Africa’s run rate after the departure of Brits, with Anneka Bosch bowled for a torturous 18 from 26 balls as she looked to sweep leg-spinner Glenn (1-18).
Marizanne Kapp fired fleetingly with her 26 off 17 balls including successive boundaries off Charlie Dean (1-25) but she was then cleaned up by Ecclestone, as the England bowler rebounded from going wicketless in the 21-run win over Bangladesh on Saturday.
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England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt ran out Sune Luus after Annerie Dercksen’s drive deflected off her foot onto the stumps
Sciver-Brunt, the only seamer deployed by England, did not take a wicket with her bowling but did run out Sune Luus after deflecting an Annerie Dercksen drive back onto the non-striker’s stumps in the final over, before Dercksen (20no) thumped and edged consecutive fours.
Wyatt-Hodge, Sciver-Brunt fire with bat for England
England stuttered at the start of the chase, with Kapp sending down an opening-over maiden and then pinning Bouchier lbw halfway through the fifth over to end the opener’s sketchy, jittery innings with the batting side having just 16 runs on the board.
Capsey should then have been dismissed for a duck, only for Bosch to spill a fairly routine chance at backward point, and the England No 3 went on to strike three boundaries before she chipped a slower ball tamely back to South Africa seamer Nadine de Klerk.
England were guilty of throwing away wickets cheaply in the 21-run victory over Bangladesh at the weekend but Wyatt-Hodge – who had top scored in that match with 40 from 41 balls – and Sciver-Brunt ensured that did not happen again.
South Africa’s last hope appeared to come when Kapp, whose first three overs were taken for only five runs in total, returned to bowl her last with England’s requirement 43 from 36 balls.
But Kapp conceded 12 runs – eight of them off Sciver-Brunt boundaries – as England cut their ask to 31 from 30 deliveries, a position of strength they did not relinquish.