Home News Product Reviews Health & Fitness Features Healthy Eating

ARCHIVE NEWS

If it is not your content, try to search here:
Cricket - 19. July 2017.

England triumph in nail-biting World Cup semi-final

England beat South Africa by two wickets in a thrilling World Cup semi-final at Bristol's County Ground to seal a place in the final at Lord's on Sunday where they will play either India or Australia.

If you want a seat, you're too late, it's a sell-out.

Dane van Niekerk made it one each in terms of tosses, winning this one after losing in the group match, and she chose to bat on a pitch that was difficult to read. It ended up playing consistently well, albeit with a lot less pace and bounce than the brand new strip these two had played on here a fortnight ago.

England bowled and fielded extremely well on that pitch. There were no dropped catches, the ground fielding was sharp enough to spark two crucial run-outs, and Anya Shrubsole showed the England bowlers the way with a combination of discipline and devilment. In fact, they had chased with relative ease until a mid-innings hiccup set nerves jangling and triggered a dramatic finale.

Lizelle Lee was the first wicket to fall in South Africa's innings, comprehensively bowled in the sixth over by Shrubsole, just two balls after successfully overturning an LBW decision. Trisha Chetty was brilliantly stumped by Sarah Taylor six overs later, and the Proteas were in a precarious position at 48/2.

Teenage superstar-in-the-making Laura Wolvaardt was the galvanising influence, with a calming innings of 66 that belied her age. She teamed up well with the more experienced Mignon du Preez to build a solid partnership and right the ship; they put on 77 in two balls less than twenty overs before Heather Knight removed Wolvaardt's leg stump bail with her second ball of the game.

Knight's introduction came after Laura Marsh and Alex Hartley had proven difficult to get away and, though neither took a wicket, they proved a more economical option than Natalie Sciver or Gunn. However, Wolvaardt was the only wicket to fall to England's spinners: instead, it would be two run-outs of key figures that swung the pendulum to the hosts.

Marizanne Kapp was the first of those, called through unwisely by du Preez and undone by Shrubsole's pinpoint throw and Taylor's reliably quick hands. Then, van Niekerk, who had muscled her way to 27 from 39 balls, wanted a single, but was sent back to the non-striker's end, again by du Preez. Sciver's throw to the bowler, Hartley, was good again and the South African skipper was unlucky, her bat popping up into the air just as it crossed the crease.

Chloe Tryon, who had scored a 25-ball half-century in the group match, went very tamely. She lobbed a leading edge to be caught and bowled by Jenny Gunn for just one run, and from 170/6, the Proteas lost no further wickets but rather limped to the end of their fifty overs, barely getting above a run a ball at any stage.

Du Preez finished unbeaten on 76, with Sune Luus 21 not out, and van Niekerk confessed afterwards that she felt the final score was 30 shy of a competitive total.

England, chasing 219 to win, started well with Lauren Winfield getting the lion's share of the strike and playing aggressively in an opening partnership of 42 from just eight and a half overs. Unfortunately, having made it to 20 she played one shot too many and hit the ball straight up in the air off Ayabonga Khaka, the pick of the South African attack with two for 28 from ten consecutive overs.

Tammy Beaumont was Khaka's other wicket, bowled playing across the line with the score on 61, and Sarah Taylor was joined by Heather Knight to begin the march home. They added 78, seemingly with no major discomfort, but there was an air of nervousness growing in the crowd throughout their partnership, and eventually this reached the players in the middle.

At 139 for three, with Taylor just having passed 50, a devastating spell of three wickets for six runs in 11 balls made sure this would be no cake-walk. Taylor was run out by a direct hit from van Niekerk before Knight hit a Sune Luus full toss to Wolvaardt at square leg and Sciver's wicket, bowled around her legs by Luus four balls later, sent a real gasp around the ground.

Fran Wilson and Katherine Brunt came in to repair the damage, which they did with a nerve-shredding partnership of 28. It took them 50 balls, below the required rate at the time, but was a vital passage of play as England looked to wrestle the momentum from a buzzing South Africa.

SA captain Dane van Niekerk: "I'm very proud. We were thirty short [with the bat], but the way my team went out there and performed, I couldn't ask for more."

When Brunt was unluckily bowled off her pads things still looked shaky for England, who needed another 46 to win at a run a ball, but Gunn came in to help Wilson along and they seemed to be suffering from none of the nerves that had the crowd on the edges of their seats.

Forty runs came from 28 balls, Wilson playing her innovative sweeps and nurdles, while Gunn worked her way through the gears into hitting mode; two fours in three balls in the 48th over, bowled by Ismail, put England into a winning position.

Thank you so much, if you tweet or share
UP
Have you read it?
England Women squads named for white-ball tour to New Zealand
Gilles & Poirier Golden at ISU Four Continents Championships
Please follow us