Over the past 18 months, there have been some close games between England and South Africa. The semi-final of the ICC World Cup last year went down to the wire and expect it to do so again today.
England have got off to a slow start, in part due to their game against Sri Lanka being rained off. They then beat Bangladesh and while the score was comfortable there were a number of players that looked rusty. Considering the fact that the rain around St Lucia made it impossible to train outside, Heather Knight and her side will be pleased that that is a distant memory.
South Africa will be England’s first real test during this World T20. South Africa lost to hosts West Indies in a game that they should have been more competitive in. Chasing only 108, South Africa got their tactics wrong when batting.
It was almost as if South Africa were trying too hard to smash the ball out of the ground, especially Laura Wolvaardt. South Africa’s battery of pace bowlers did the damage the other day and if England put in another nervy performance South Africa could be back on track.
Players to watch out for:
Tammy Beaumont
The player of the tournament at last year’s ICC World Cup, Beaumont will look to get her first score of note in this year’s competition. With Danni Wyatt seeing as the danger player at the top of the order Beaumont could slip under the radar and score big.
Lizelle Lee
The big-hitting opener played an uncharacteristic inning against West Indies, but there were glimpses that a really big score isn't too far away. Lee is very familiar with the England bowling attack since South Africa toured England earlier in the year. As well as touring for South Africa, Lee was an important part of the Surrey Stars side that won the Women's Cricket Super League.
Conditions:
The pitches so far have been slow and low. The slower you bowl the less it bounces. It has taken batters a while to get in but once in then, the runs become easier to score. With the outfield being saturated this time last week, but has now dried out so shots will have more value.
Numbers to look out for:
Heather Knight will win her 50th T20 cap.
Danni Wyatt is 6 runs from scoring 1000 T20 international runs.
Who said what:
“They’re athletes. They’re brilliant in the field. I’ll never fault them." - Dane van Niekerk
Probable XI:
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee (wk), Dane van Niekerk (c), Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune, Moseline Daniels
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