After getting bowled out for 69 by England at the ACA Stadium to begin their 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, South Africa decisively defeated the same opponent to go to the championship match on Wednesday with a 125-run victory in the first semifinal.
With this victory, South Africa defeated England with a clinical effort and advanced to their first-ever Women’s World Cup final. Leading the charge with a brilliant 169 off 143 balls, captain Laura Wolvaardt’s innings will go down in World Cup legend.
Before unleashing a late-innings blitz that saw her plunder 69 runs off her final 28 deliveries, she reached her century off 115 balls with composure and accuracy. The Proteas scored an incredible 319/7, and her performance, which included 20 fours and four sixes, is also the highest score by a South African in a Women’s ODI World Cup.
Marizanne Kapp’s early outburst shook England as they chased a record target, cutting them to 1-3. England were bowled out for 194 in 42.3 overs as Marizanne, who had momentarily left the field due to cramping, returned to finish with 5-20 and clinch a five-wicket treble.
Although Nat Sciver-Brunt (64) and Alice Capsey (50) managed to put together a 107-run partnership to provide momentary hope, South Africa’s unrelenting discipline and scoreboard pressure prevented England from fully recovering from the early setback. The ghosts of Bristol 2107 and Christchurch 2022 were buried, making it a night of redemption for South Africa.
Two of the Proteas’ best match winners, Marizanne and Laura, rose to the occasion with performances that defined their careers. Now, South Africa can watch as Australia and India compete for the opportunity to play alongside them in the final on Sunday. Heather Knight was forced to hack on to her stumps without disturbing the scorers in a double-wicket maiden over after Marizanne sent Amy Jones through the gate for duck, giving South Africa a superb start to their defense.
Ayabonga Khaka’s back-of-length shot straightened off the deck and found Tammy Beaumont’s outside edge, which UltraEdge verified with a tiny spike as the opening went back for zero, causing more problems for England.
Nat and Alice stayed behind to reconstruct England’s innings. Before middling several fours off Ayabonga and Nadine de Klerk to reach the fifty mark of their partnership, the pair scored a couple streaky boundaries. When substitute Nondumiso Shangase dropped her catch off Sune Luus, Alice just made it out alive.
To make matters worse, Nat used a frantic full-length dive to survive being run out by the narrowest of margins. Alice achieved her first ODI half-century from 70 balls with excellent sweeps. Nat hit the milestone off 59 balls with a loft off Sune Luus for six on the very next ball.
But by forcing Alice to bunker out to mid-off, Sune got the final laugh. When Tazmin Brits dropped her catch off Sune and had to leave the field for medical attention after landing severely on her right arm, Nat survived yet another fright. Marizanne came back to catch Nat behind on a drive just as South Africa needed a wicket.
In her subsequent over, she returned with a late-moving delivery that caught Sophia Dunkley’s outside edge. Charlie Dean then edged behind for a golden duck to complete a fifer, surpassing Jhulan Goswami to become the best wicket-taker in the history of the Women’s ODI World Cup with 44 scalps.
After that, the outcome was inevitable: Danni Wyatt-Hodge heaved to deep backward square leg off Nadine de Klerk, Sophie Ecclestone swept to deep mid-wicket off Nonkululeko Mlaba, and Linsey Smith sliced to mid-off. The Proteas team began to celebrate as they moved one step closer to winning the trophy.
Short scores:
South Africa defeated England 194 all out in 42.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 64, Alice Capsey 50; Marizanne Kapp 5-20, Nadine de Klerk 2-24) by 125 runs in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 169, Tazmin Brits 45; Sophie Ecclestone 4-44, Lauren Bell 2-55).
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