England stormed into the final of their home T20 World Cup with a comprehensive victory over South Africa built on blistering half-centuries by Nat Sciver Brunt, returning from injury, and Heather Knight.

The England captains present and past combined for a 133-run partnership for the fourth wicket off 90 balls to rescue their side from a perilous 23 for 3 and set up a 40-run win. It was the highest partnership for any wicket in a Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final and the second-highest at this edition of the tournament, earning them the right to face Australia in Sunday’s title decider at Lord’s.

Sciver-Brunt, back in the side after missing three games with a recurrence of a calf injury, smashed 75 off 47, and Knight 58 off 47, before an all-round effort by England’s bowlers held South Africa to 129 for 8 in reply to 169 for 5, vanquishing the hosts’ poor record in global semi-finals between them in recent times.

An early onslaught from Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp had England in trouble at the end of the powerplay, the hosts’ equal worst for that phase of play in the tournament alongside their second game, against Ireland. Kapp conceded just one boundary on her way to 1 for 16 off her four overs and Ismail ended with 2 for 31.

Among the early wickets was the in-form opener, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who managed just 12 but England showed the enviable batting depth which has finally gelled this summer to emerge on top after losing to South Africa in the semi-final of last year’s 50-over World Cup and the 2023 T20 edition.

Ismail became the first woman with 50 wickets at T20 Women’s World Cups when she struck first ball to remove England opener Amy Jones. Ismail started in the second over of the match with a short ball which reared from outside off stump as Jones leaned back to cut and sent a leading edge straight to Annerie Dercksen at cover point. Since her half-century against Sri Lanka on the opening night of the tournament, Jones has had a wretched run with the bat, scoring 36 runs across her five subsequent innings with a highest score of 17.

Ismail had her second wicket in as many overs when, the ball after Sciver-Brunt survived a hopeful South Africa review for lbw on a ball that was sliding down leg, she pinned Alice Capsey on the pad plumb in front. While Capsey didn’t call for the DRS, replays showed she had got a faint inside edge onto the ball. Those dismissals bookended the most spectacular moment of an enthralling passage of play, when Kapp beat the inside edge of Wyatt-Hodge’s tentative prod and tore out off stump. That left the tournament’s leading run-scorer back in the dugout, and South Africa well on top.

With Kapp bowled out by the end of the seventh over, Sciver-Brunt began picking off boundaries with ease. She was particularly deft at finding the rope through fine leg. Her scoop off Nadine de Klerk was followed immediately by a powerful punch wide of deep midwicket to bring up her half-century. Replacing Sophia Dunkley, who had scored 57, 14 and 49 not out at No. 3 in her absence, Sciver-Brunt made good on a harsh but expected selection call to play a pivotal innings. While she dealt largely in fours – 11 in all, along with a monster six into the stands beyond deep midwicket – Sciver-Brunt showed no obvious sign of her injury while running between the wickets.

Knight joined in on the act, advancing to a fuller ball from Nonkululeko Mlaba and clearing cover before driving Ismail down the ground to close in on her fifty, which she brought up with a powerful slog-sweep for six off Ayabonga Khaka. Knight and Sciver-Brunt departed in the space of three balls as Mlaba made the double breakthrough, but they had done enough in asking South Africa to post what would have been the second-highest successful run chase in T20 Women’s World Cups.

After a frustrating tournament, Laura Wolvaardt was once again starved of the strike in the first three overs. She faced four balls and scored just two runs but worked her way to a run-a-ball 13 by the last over of the powerplay. If she thought that was the opportunity to find her touch, Sophie Ecclestone, who had not yet begun to work her magic with the ball, quickly showed her that it wasn’t.

Wolvaardt advanced down the track to try and hit Linsey Smith over mid-on but Ecclestone leapt, reached and bent her back to take a sharp overhead catch and end South Africa’s opening stand on 43. They finished the powerplay with the required run-rate already up at nine an over, and it would only grow from there.

England have been much improved in the field since their fateful 2024 campaign and tonight holding catches proved to be a hallmark of their victory. Ecclestone used all of her considerable height and agility to remove Wolvaardt in a crucial breakthrough, then took another difficult chance over her shoulder running back from short fine leg to take a top edge from Sune Luus.

Knight and Sciver-Brunt held straightforward chances, including the wicket of Tazmin Brits for a fighting 51, and while Charlie Dean missed a chance off Dercksen running back from mid-off and jumping with her left arm outstretched, it would have been a spectacular effort if it came off. Wyatt-Hodge’s direct hit from backward point to run out Sinalo Jafta in the penultimate over epitomised England’s gains in confidence and execution in the field at this tournament.

Scores:
England Women 169 for 5 in 20 overs (Danni Wyatt-Hodge 12, Nat Sciver-Brunt 75, Heather Knight 58; Marizanne Kapp 1-16, Shabnim Ismail 2-31, Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-25) beat South Africa Women 129 for 8 in 20 overs  (Laura Wolvaardt 17, Tazmin Brits 51, Sune Luus 11, Nadine de Klerk 14, Chloe Tryon 12; Linsey Smith 1-25, Lauren Bell 2-28, Charlie Dean 2-31, Sophie Ecclestone 1-21, Freya Kemp 1-11) by 40 runs

[Cricinfo]

After seven defeats across their previous eight Tests, an innings victory,  was the proverbial monsoon in the desert as far as West Indies were concerned. A statement victory to start off the new World Test Championship cycle, and one that has no doubt reignited belief within this young West Indian outfit.

Whether it was Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase’s epic partnership or the fire-breathing exploits of Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph, West Indies swarmed Sri Lanka across all departments. And with Shai Hope set to make his return to the XI, it’s clear this West Indies side is one on the rise. Of course, it’s far too early to make sweeping declarations, but if they can add consistency to their ceiling, there is no saying how far they can go.

As for Sri Lanka, the first Test was unquestionably a reality check. There was certainly some rust owing to their quite gentle Test schedule as of late, and so in terms of potential areas of improvement there are many. Pathum Nissanka had a Test to forget, as did other cornerstones of the batting unit such as Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis. The only positive takeaway was skipper Dhananjaya de Silva’s first-innings century, but more will be needed from those around him, especially when dealing with top-tier pace away from home.