Women's WC: England elect to bowl first against South Africa

Guwahati, Oct 29 Anneke Bosch has come in for South Africa as England won the toss and elected to bowl first in the first semi-final of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at the ACA Stadium on Wednesday. The winner of this clash will advance to the final in Navi Mumbai on November 2.

After winning the toss, England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt said left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who sustained a minor injury near her collarbone during the eight-wicket win over New Zealand in Visakhapatnam, will be playing the semi-final.

“I don’t think there’s a niggle. She’ll (Ecclestone) play through anything. She’s one of those players who doesn’t like being on the sidelines — she’ll be raring to go out there to play. I think it’s about trusting the process and everything we’ve done to get here. We know what we’re capable of,” said Nat.

She also talked about putting pressure early on the South African batters. “I think it puts pressure on them, especially with the bat, and hopefully, for the spinners, it’ll be easier to play later on. It’s very different from the wickets we’ve played on before. The Mumbai wicket is quite unique. It’s been interesting throughout the tournament, but I think the surface is really good for the final,” added Nat.

The last time these two teams met in the tournament, England’s spin bowling trio of Linsey Smith, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean shared seven wickets between themselves to bowl out South Africa for just 69 and win by ten wickets co-incidentally in Guwahati.

Meanwhile, Anneke comes into the playing eleven in place of Masabata Klaas, which means South Africa have an extra batter in the mix. “Probably would have looked to have a bowl as well. But then again, runs on the board in a semi-final can be pretty good too, so not too unhappy about it.”

“Just felt like it’s something we’ve needed (an extra batter) in the last couple of games. Would have been nice to have someone there at the end to bat with for a bit longer. Anneke’s been amazing for us, and we still have plenty of bowling options with Sune and Dercksen able to bowl as well. Hopefully, more runs in it today, but at the end of the day, it’s all about winning. That’ll be the main goal,” she said.

Playing XIs

England: Amy Jones (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, and Lauren Bell

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, and Nonkululeko Mlaba

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