South Africa Women will clash with England Women on 31st March 2022 at Hagley Oval stadium in Christchurch from 6:30 AM IST in the second semifinal of the Women’s CWC 2022.
Defending champions England will want to make it twice in a row at the World Cup, while South Africa will want to hold the elusive trophy for the first time by advancing to the finals.
Probable XIs:
SAW: Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus (c), Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka
ENGW: Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver, Amy Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Charlotte Dean, Freya Davies
Players to watch out for:
Laura Woolvardt is in great touch in the Women’s World Cup. The opening batter has guided South Africa to victory on her shoulders alone in a few matches. She will look to replicate the same success in the semifinal.
For England, Sophie Eccelstone is bowling quite good at the World Cup. England will hope that Ecclestone removes the dangerous Woolvardt to pave the way for finals.
Clash at the group stage:
South Africa Women defeated England Women in the tournament’s group stage by two wickets in the last over thriller. The match could have gone either way, but Marizanne Kapp kept her nerves under control in the death overs to take South Africa beyond the finishing line. One can expect the semifinal between the two teams to be a firecracker of a match filled with exciting twists and turns.
Journey throughout the tournament:
South Africa runs a great campaign at the tournament with 5 wins out of 7 games and one loss, while a match against West Indies resulted in no result. They have had their fair share of close encounters but managed to thrive at the crucial moments to perform exceptionally well at the group stage.
England, on the other, had been playing with fire throughout the tournament. They lost three matches in a row in the initial phase of the World Cup but bounced back hard to win the remaining matches and qualify for the semifinal. They will look to ride on the winning momentum to pass through South Africa and reach the finals.
Also read: Women’s World Cup 2022: England Qualifies for Semi-Finals