England and South Africa eye the semi-final spot

The ninth match of the ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be played between England and South Africa on Monday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. England and South Africa have started their T20 World Cup campaign with wins. While the Heather Knight-led side beat Bangladesh by 21 runs at Sharjah itself, South Africa under the leadership of Laura Wolvaardt thrashed the 2016 T20 World Cup champions West Indies by 10 wickets in Dubai. The team that wins this match is almost guaranteed a semi-final spot.

 

Head-to-Head

England and South Africa have played 24 T20Is against each other, of which England have won 19 and South Africa have won four. In the T20 World Cups, England lead by 3-2 margin.

 

Squads

England: Heather Knight (c), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wk), Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Linsey Smith, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Bess Heath

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Suné Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon

 

Players to watch out

Danni Wyatt-Hodge: This right-handed opening batter of England top-scored with a 40-ball 41 in her previous match against Bangladesh. Her innings comprised five fours. She also won the player of the match award for her match winning knock.

Linsey Smith: This left-arm spinner of England picked two wickets in her previous encounter against Bangladesh. She bowled two overs inside the powerplay in which she claimed one wicket. Besides, she was the only bowler in the match to bowl a maiden over.

Laura Wolvaardt: The captain of South Africa struck an unbeaten half-century in her previous outing against West Indies. In the run chase, she led from the front, stitching a 119-run partnership with her opening partner Tazmin Brits.

Nonkululeko Mlaba: This left arm spinner of South Africa registered her career best T20I figures when she snapped 4/29 against West Indies in the previous game. She bowled well in different phases of the innings and provided her team with the breakthroughs at will.

 

Weather

The weather is expected to be warm with a temperature of around 31 degrees Celsius. Humidity will be 48%.

 

Match details

Date: October 7, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Live streaming: Star Sports Network, Disney + Hotstar