NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa Women set England a target of 125 on a tricky Sharjah surface in Match 9 of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup and it took a couple of calm knocks from Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt for England to cross the line and register their second win of the tournament.
England lost Maia Bouchier and Alice Capsey inside nine overs, with the scoring rate being less than six. However, that’s when Wyatt-Hodge and Sciver-Brunt came together and put on a match-winning 64-run for the third wicket. Wyatt-Hodge crafted 43 off as many deliveries, while Sciver-Brunt remained unbeaten on 48 off 36.
“Really pleased, that was a really controlled win. The way we controlled the middle overs when they were batting and the way we restricted them, the pitch was slightly better than the other day, but felt it was going to be a tricky chase. Has been really tough to chase here. We controlled that chase brilliantly,” said England skipper Heather Knight.
“Nat - very cool and calm head, Danni and that partnership was outstanding to watch. You could see her (Wyatt-Hodge) getting frustrated out there, she's not used to going at 100 SR, but that's what it's going to take sometimes on these pitches. We have talked a lot about it, just finding a way and she did that brilliantly. Really smart options.”
In the first innings, it was Sophie Ecclestone (2/15) and Sarah Glenn (1/18) who kept South African batters in check. “Really pleased (with the spinners), these are the sort of games I actually love captaining because you feel like you can make a real difference and the girls were outstanding again.
“Sophie was back to her best and the way she bowled, she made it really tough. She seems to get a little bit of bounce, I don't know how, really strange on that wicket. Proper performance, really happy with our energy on the field as well.”
Meanwhile, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said anything around 140 would have been a match-winning score. The opener scored 42 off 39 deliveries but could never get going. Marizanne Kapp (17-ball 26) and Annerie Dercksen (11-ball 20*) played those cameos that got South Africa past 120.
“Obviously, very disappointed. 10-20 more runs with the bat could have been interesting, obviously didn't take our chances in the field either. I didn't feel it was as slow as the first couple of games. When we started batting, we were talking about 140. We lost our way a little bit after the powerplay,” said Wolvaardt.
“You can't ask for much more with the new ball, a bit more control from the spinner would have been better. It's so tough to bowl to these batters who have all the shots. It's difficult to set fields. Must-win games for us, both of them can be pretty tough in these conditions, so definitely we have to be on our A-game.”
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