Wolvaardt leads SA to challenging total against England

Laura Wolvaardt struck 42 in 39 balls to lead South Africa to a challenging 124 for six in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match against England in Sharjah on Monday.

It is the highest total made at the ground in the competition to date. The slow pitch and outfield make it tough going for the batters.

Wolvaardt won the toss and chose to bat first. She and fellow-opener Tazmin Brits got the South Africans off to a brisk start of 31 in 5.1 overs before Brits was held at long-on off the bowling of left-arm spinner Linsey Smith.

The power-play realised 37 runs but then the England spinners got on top of new batter Anneke Bosch, who laboured to 18 off 26 balls before she was bowled trying to scoop a delivery from legspinner Sarah Glenn.

Marizanne Kapp played an important innings, upping the run-rate by showing good intensity and some powerful hitting. Wolvehaardt, who was set to score five consecutive World Cup fifties, was then bowled by England’s masterful left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone for 42 (39 balls, 3x4s).

Annerie Dercksen followed in Kapp’s footsteps, slamming two sixes in her unbeaten 20 in just 11 balls. But wickets continued to fall regularly with Ecclestone leading the four-spinner attack with 2-15 in four overs, including the key scalp of Kapp with a superb slower delivery that never seemed to arrive, leading Kapp to play way too early. Legspinner Sarah Glenn (1-18 in four) and offspinner Charlie Dean (1-25 in four) also impressed.

The England fielding was less impressive, however, with Brits being missed twice and two other chances going down.

ENGLAND: Maia Bouchier, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (capt), Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wk), Danielle Gibson, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Linsey Smith

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinolo Jafta (wk), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka