Big picture: England’s strong record vs SA
South Africa enter the World Cup on the back of a solid run of games. They played a tri-series with India and Sri Lanka, then played Pakistan in Pakistan. They have been in action regularly with the same set of players, high on confidence. While the women made it to successive T20 World Cup finals in 2023 and 2024, the men ended the drought of ICC titles with the World Test Championship win this year.
“It’s been amazing to see how the country has supported them and how excited everyone was back at home and united to support them in that trophy,” Wolvaardt said. “Hopefully we have the chance to do something similar to really get the country behind us in this tournament.”
Sciver-Brunt, however, was okay with the team’s preparation away from internationals. They had a ten-day camp in Abu Dhabi, where they acclimatised to the conditions they would encounter at the World Cup. Plus, there are eight players in the England squad with WPL experience.
“We got some great time out in the middle in really hot, humid conditions where in England it’s not like that,” she said. “So preparing physically in that way was really good. That is going to be a massive part of our tournament, making sure that we are adapting as quickly as we can.”
During the India vs Sri Lanka match at the ACA Stadium, spin played a part in the middle overs while it was easier to face pace at the start. That is a template that Sciver-Brunt backed England to follow.
“That’s a blueprint that we work with, especially when we’re bowling, making sure the spinners in the middle are doing a really good job for us and making it really hard for people to get away. I think that has been a really good strength of ours for a number of years. We’ve got a brilliant spin attack.”
Form guide
England LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
South Africa Lwwww
In the spotlight: Nat Sciver-Brunt and Marizanne Kapp
In her first World Cup match as captain, the spotlight will be firmly on Nat SPE-Brunt. She is England’s leading run-scorer since the 2022 World Cup and only Amy Jones has more than her so far this year. That is in addition to her 20 wickets in the last three years. With a view to manage her workload, she hadn’t bowled since the WPL but resumed duties with the ball at the warm-up games. With Heather Knight returning from a hamstring injury, Sciver-Brunt will draw from her WPL experience to navigate the side at the ACA Stadium, where the track could be slightly two-paced.
A like-for-like, South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp is at the peak of her powers. Give her the new ball, she’ll dry up the runs and pick up wickets. Send her in with South Africa in a spot, she will not just arrest the slide but also transfer the pressure back on the opponents. A WPL regular for Delhi Capitals, Kapp is into her fifth World Cup and would want her team to cross the finish line this time. “The amount of experience that she has is invaluable,” Wolvaardt said on match eve. “She knows every player going around. She’s bowled to basically all of them.”
Team news
Sciver-Brunt will bowl at the World Cup, which means England could play an extra spinner or an extra seamer. But she said on match eve that she would “like to select seven batters to go into this tournament” which opens the door for Alice Capsey, who also bowls offspin.
England (probable): 1 Amy Jones (wk), 2 Tammy Beaumont, 3 Heather Knight, 4 Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), 5 Sophia Dunkley, 6 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 7 Alice Capsey, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Charlie Dean, 10. Em Arlott, 11 Lauren Bell
Ayabonga Khaka bowled full-tilt on the eve of the game. She could shoulder duties with fellow seamers Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Annerie Dercksen. Karabo Meso had a long batting stint ahead of Sinalo Jafta, who is South Africa’s preferred wicketkeeper.
South Africa (probable): 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt)
Pitch and conditions
Rain washed out England’s pre-game practice session, while South Africa managed to get theirs done under lights. Showers are expected on Friday as well with IMD issuing thunderstorm alerts. A washout isn’t on the cards, though.
A fresh pitch will be used for the game. Expect spin to come into play as the game goes on, as was the case during the India vs Sri Lanka contest.
Stats and trivia
- No opening pair has scored more runs than Laura Wolvaardt-Tazmin Brits in ODIs since January 2023. They have 1536 runs at an average close to 60. The next best is Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal with 1316
- South Africa have won only two of their last six ODIs against England
- Marizanne Kapp has dismissed Heather Knight five times in 15 innings, Nat Sciver-Brunt three times in nine innings and Tammy Beaumont five times in 13 innings
- Charlie Dean has got Laura Wolvaardt out three times in seven innings for only 65 runs and Sune Luus three times in four innings for just 19 runs
Quotes
“She obviously has a lot of experience. I think it would be stupid of me not to listen to her. She’s a hugely valuable person in our side, whether it’s with the bat or just that tactical thinking. She’s got a brilliant brain for cricket. So, yeah, I’m encouraging her to be as vocal as she wants to be.”
Nat SPE-Brunt on former captain Heather Knight
“The biggest learnings in that series are probably just how to play spin, especially being nice and proactive with the bat against the spinners in that middle phase. We generally get off to good starts, and I think we had really good death overs with the bat in that series in Sri Lanka, but probably could have done a bit more in that middle phase.”
Laura Wolves on the learnings from South Africa’s last two series
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7
