Women's World Cup | England get campaign off to dream start as South Africa bowl out for 69

Asked to bat first, South Africa's formidable in-form opening pair of Laura Wovdaart and Tazmin Brits got off to a positive start with both batters rattling a boundary each in the first over. However, the skipper lasted all of two Linsey Smith's deliveries as she popped one straight back to the youngster to be sent packing for five. The left-arm spinner then added Brits to her tally six deliveries later with indelible amounts of drift from around the stumps to beat the opener's inside edge and ssend the stumps pegging back. A ferocious Lauren Bell inswinger resigned Sune Luus to the same fate the next over before Smith dispatched Marizanne Kapp in eerily similar fashion to Brits, as the Proteas found themselves reeling at 19/4. Sinalo Jafta and Anneke Bosch tried to seize back some momentum with a boundary each thereafter, the duo surviving till first change when Natalie Sciver-Brunt brought herself into the attack. Fresh off a long layoff from bowling due to injury concerns, the pacer struck with her very first ball as captain in a World Cup by pinning Bosch plumb in front of the stumps to leave the powerplay score reading 38/5. The veteran then repeated her antics the next over by finding a huge leading edge off Chloe Tryon, before Sophie Ecclestone had Nadine de Klerk caught at slip in lieu of a booming drive. Jafta thus remained the final Proteas hope and she made her intentions known with a statement-making four over mid-off against Charlie Dean, even though the off-spinner sent Masabata Klaas back to the hut her very next over. However, Jafta failed to keepr her composure in the dire situation, choosing to dance down the track four deliveries later only to be sounded the death rattle by Ecclestone. Dean capped off the world-class bowling effort by flattening Nonkululeko Mlaba's off-stump, thus bowling out South Africa for 69. their second-lowest World Cup score ever.

In response, English openers Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont had to sit through a testing new-ball spell from Kapp but the occasional misfield and a five wides off Tryon meant they managed to eke out 39 runs without loss from the 10-over powerplay. As soon as the field spread, Jones took on the onus to get tje job done as quickly as possible with two cracking boundaries off Mlaba and a gorgeous whack over mid-wicket against Klaas, before punishing Ayabongo Khaka for back-to-back boundaries in the 13th over to take England within six off victory. However, her opening partner had the honour of scoring the winnings runs as she turned a ball around the corner off her pads for four, sealing victory with all 10 wickets and 215 balls to spare.

ENG-W Won!

On fire!

What a player!

Well played!

Good Start!

On Fire🔥

True!

Top scorer!

Yes!

Very poor !