Cricket Match Report | England beat South Africa by 10 wickets

South Africa 69 (20.4 overs) lost to England 73-0 (14.1 overs)

England opened their Women’s World Cup campaign with a crushing win over South Africa.

Author | Sophie T

England launched their Women’s World Cup campaign in ruthless fashion, sweeping aside South Africa with a 10-wicket win after bowling their opponents out for just 69 in Guwahati.

Linsey Smith led the way with the ball, returning remarkable figures of 3 for 7 as she dismissed captain Laura Wolvaardt, the in-form opener Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp. Sinalo Jafta was the only South Africa batter to reach double figures in a dismal display that lasted only 20.4 overs and represented their third-lowest total in one-day internationals.

Nat Sciver-Brunt marked her return to competitive bowling with 2 for 5, her first spell since the Ashes, while Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean also claimed two wickets apiece. Lauren Bell set the tone by bowling Sune Luus, while Sciver-Brunt trapped Anneke Bosch lbw with her first delivery as South Africa crumbled to 38 for 5 inside the powerplay.

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The chase was little more than a formality. Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones began cautiously on a pitch that offered some help for the spinners, before cruising to the target in 14.1 overs, finishing unbeaten on 21 and 40 respectively.

The result hands England an early net run-rate boost ahead of their second group match against Bangladesh on Tuesday, where rain could yet play a role.

England needed this win

After the Ashes demolition earlier this year and series defeats against India in the summer, England needed a convincing response in their first major test under the leadership of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards. They delivered emphatically, sweeping aside a lacklustre South Africa in a performance shaped by the brilliance of Linsey Smith.

Lauren Bell was handed the awkward task of opening the bowling in humid conditions and conceded early boundaries, but Smith immediately wrestled back control when Laura Wolvaardt chipped a return catch from a ball that held in the surface. It was the first sign that England had judged the conditions perfectly, favouring a spin-heavy attack while South Africa persisted with pace.

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Smith’s relentless accuracy was rewarded as she accounted for the in-form Brits and the dangerous Marizanne Kapp, both undone by deliveries that drifted through their defences. There had been uncertainty over Sciver-Brunt, who is still managing her return to bowling after an Achilles problem, but she quickly dispelled any doubts by trapping Anneke Bosch lbw and then removing Chloe Tryon with a tame shot to Alice Capsey at midwicket.

South Africa mustered only six boundaries, three of them from Sinalo Jafta, and their resistance ended when Nadine de Klerk was well held at slip off Sophie Ecclestone to leave the tail exposed.