The Sports Guru
England are in a Women's T20 World Cup final for the first time in eight years, and the story of how they got there runs through one player's calf. This covers the 40-run semi-final win over South Africa at The Oval, Nat Sciver-Brunt's 75 on her return from injury, the record fourth-wicket stand with Heather Knight that rebuilt an innings from 23-3, the squeeze that strangled South Africa's chase, and the small matter of Australia at Lord's on Sunday.
England are through to the Women's T20 World Cup final, and they were carried there by the one player whose fitness had hung over the tournament like a question nobody wanted to ask out loud. Nat Sciver-Brunt, back from the calf injury that had kept her out of recent matches, made 75 from 47 balls as England beat South Africa by 40 runs at The Oval on Thursday. It is England's first final in this competition for eight years, their fifth in all, and it sets up a Sunday afternoon at Lord's against Australia, who have won the thing six times.
The scoreline reads comfortably. The first six overs did not. England lost the toss, were asked to bat, and were 23-3 before the innings had found its shape, with a record crowd of more than 21,000 wondering whether the semi-final curse that has followed this team was about to add another chapter. It was not. What followed instead was the highest partnership ever recorded in a Women's T20 World Cup knockout match.
The rescue act: 133 from Sciver-Brunt and Knight
The early collapse was sharp and specific. Amy Jones picked out Annerie Dercksen at point off Shabnim Ismail's opening delivery for two, Danni Wyatt-Hodge was bowled through the gate by Marizanne Kapp at the start of the next over, and Alice Capsey was given out lbw for one despite appearing to get a sliver of bat on it. South Africa had also burned a review on Sciver-Brunt, DRS showing Ismail's ball sliding down leg, which felt like a footnote at the time. It turned out to be the whole plot.
Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight saw off the rest of Kapp's four-over spell, absorbed a stumble to 35-3 at the end of the powerplay, and then set about dismantling the middle overs with the patience of two people who have done this before. Sciver-Brunt survived a second unsuccessful review, off Nonkululeko Mlaba, then reached a 35-ball half-century with three boundaries in a single Nadine de Klerk over. Knight got to hers off 42 balls, launching Ayabonga Khaka over midwicket for six. Their stand was worth 133 when Mlaba finally broke it in the penultimate over, removing both in the space of the same over, Sciver-Brunt picking out Tazmin Brits in the deep and Knight chipping to Laura Wolvaardt at short cover. From 23-3, England closed on 169-5. The recovery did not just repair the innings. It set a total that changed how South Africa had to bat.
A chase that dried up by the over
South Africa began well enough, Wolvaardt and Brits putting on 43 for the first wicket, and then the game tilted on a catch. Wolvaardt, on 17, drove at Linsey Smith and found Sophie Ecclestone leaping at mid-on, the kind of take that quietens a dressing room. Dercksen followed for three, slicing Freya Kemp high to Knight, and the boundaries simply stopped coming. England's bowlers did not need to blast South Africa out. They shut the taps, over by over, and waited for the scoreboard to do the squeezing for them.
The wickets arrived on schedule. Kapp found Sciver-Brunt at cover off Charlie Dean for five. Ecclestone produced a second remarkable catch to remove Sune Luus off Lauren Bell for 11. Brits reached a 44-ball fifty and fell to the very next delivery, advancing at Dean and slicing to Sciver-Brunt to leave South Africa 91-5, which is the sort of line a run chase does not walk back from. Chloe Tryon was bowled by Ecclestone for 12, Sinalo Jafta was run out by a Wyatt-Hodge direct hit, and Bell bowled Khaka for four in the same over. Bell finished with 2-28, Dean with 3-31, and South Africa with 129-8. Wolvaardt was honest about it afterwards: "I think we were outplayed today by a very good England side. The main difference between their innings and ours was that they had more partnerships." She added that South Africa had considered 170 to be par. On the night, it was 41 more than they could reach.
Australia at Lord's, and a 17-year itch
Sciver-Brunt's own account of the day was striking for what it admitted. "The occasion gets quite big as well and so that increased the nerves," she said in the post-match presentation shown on Sky Sports. "There was a lot of emotion pre-game but as soon as the warm-up started, I switched on to game time and enjoyed myself out there." She also explained the method behind the rebuild: she and Knight set out to see off Kapp and Ismail, the world-class opening pair, and cash in against the rest. That is precisely what happened, which is rarer than it sounds. Plans in T20 cricket tend to survive about eight balls.
Now comes the hard part. Australia, who thrashed West Indies in the other semi-final, have six T20 World Cup titles and a habit of treating finals as administrative matters. England's only triumph came in the inaugural 2009 edition, also on home soil, and Sunday at Lord's offers the neatest possible echo: a home final, 17 years on, against the team everyone has to get past eventually. After a summer in which England's men's Test side gave the country little to cheer, the women have put a trophy within touching distance. Coverage starts at 2.30pm on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Mix, with the final also streaming free on the Sky Sports App. England have ended their semi-final hoodoo. Ending the Australian one is a different order of task, but for the first time in eight years, they get the chance.
Frequently Asked Questions
England beat South Africa by 40 runs at The Oval on Thursday 2 July. Batting first after losing the toss, England recovered from 23-3 to post 169-5, with Nat Sciver-Brunt making 75 from 47 balls and Heather Knight 58. South Africa were restricted to 129-8 in reply, with Charlie Dean taking 3-31 and Lauren Bell 2-28.
England face Australia in the final at Lord's on Sunday, with television coverage live from 2.30pm on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Mix. The final can also be streamed free, without a subscription, on the Sky Sports App. Australia reached the final by thrashing West Indies in the other semi-final and have won the tournament six times.
Sciver-Brunt was returning from the calf injury that had kept her out of recent matches, and top-scored with 75 from 47 deliveries. Her 133-run fourth-wicket stand with Heather Knight was the highest partnership in any Women's T20 World Cup knockout match, and rebuilt England's innings after they had slipped to 23-3 in front of a record crowd of more than 21,000.
England's only Women's T20 World Cup title came in the inaugural edition in 2009, which was also played on home soil. This is their fifth final in the competition and their first for eight years, and Sunday's match at Lord's gives them the chance to end that 17-year wait against the most successful side in the tournament's history.
Sources: The final scores of 169-5 and 129-8, the 40-run margin, Nat Sciver-Brunt's 75 off 47 on her return from injury, the record 133-run fourth-wicket stand with Heather Knight (58), the fall of wickets in both innings, Charlie Dean's 3-31 and Lauren Bell's 2-28, the crowd of more than 21,000, the post-match quotes from Sciver-Brunt and Laura Wolvaardt, and the details of Sunday's final against Australia at Lord's, as reported by Sky Sports from England v South Africa at the Women's T20 World Cup.
