England opened their T20 Women’s World Cup with a win over Bangladesh in Sharjah, but will have a different challenge against South Africa.
Heather Knight’s side turned to spin to beat Bangladesh, with all four spinners including in the match squad while their batting struggled slightly in the slow conditions on a used pitch in Sharjah.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge top-scored with 41, but the rest of England’s batters were arguably wasteful with their wickets and trying to score quickly rather than craft and innings and will have to be more clinical against South Africa.
South Africa beat the West Indies by 10 wickets in a game that had been expected to be one of the more difficult in the group.
The entire tournament has been a low-scoring affair, but South Africa chased 118 to win without losing a wicket against the West Indies, with Marizanne Kapp and Nonkululeko Mlaba already taking two and four wickets respectively in their opener.
Follow all the live action from Sharjah in the blog below
England vs South Africa – Women’s T20 World Cup LIVE
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England won their World Cup opener against Bangladesh
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England vs South Africa will start at 3pm BST
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South Africa win the toss and bat first
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Wicket! Tazmin Brits out for 13 – South Africa 31-1 [5.1 overs]
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Wicket! Anneke Bosch out for 18! – South Africa 71-2 [13.2]
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Wicket! Laura Wolvaardt out for 42! – South Africa 88-3 [15.4]
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Wicket! Chloe Tryon out for 2! South Africa 99-4 [17]
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Wicket! Marizanne Kapp out for 25! South Africa 110-5 [18.1]
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Wicket! Sune Luus out for 1! South Africa 114-6 [19.1]
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South Africa put on 124 for 6 from their 20 overs
Wicket! Sune Luus out for 1! South Africa 124-6 (20)
16:15 , Sonia Twigg
Final over and it will be bowled by Sciver-Brunt! Who takes a run out off the boot!
It’s driven back at her and rebounds off the bowler’s boot and into the stumps at the non-strikers end, that brings an end to Luus’ innings.
South Africa are going for this, but they can’t quite get hold of the ball. They manage to score a boundary, a slightly quicker ball is flicked through midwicket for four.
Another boundary, it’s an inside edge through the legs and that will bring a second lot of back to back boundaries.
10 runs from the final over, and South Africa have set England a chase of 125 to win.
Kapp out for 25! South Africa 114-5 (19) Dercksen 11, Luus 1, Ecclestone 2-15 (4)
16:10 , Sonia Twigg
Ecclestone bowls Kapp! Kapp swings and misses, there was no pace on that and it has hit half way up middle stump, that’s a big wicket for England as she was scoring quickly!
South Africa race back for a second, a big dive is needed, but England haven’t been as clinical in the field as they would like.
South Africa 1010-4 (18) Kapp 26, Dercksen 8, Smith 1-32 (4)
16:06 , Sonia Twigg
Dercksen comes to the crease, but Kapp will face Smith first and manages to get the ball away for a single to bring the new batter on strike and finally bring up the hundred after 17.1 overs.
Dercksen’s first ball is top-edged but falls safe, but on the final ball of the over she smashes the first six of the innings! Smith’s last over goes for 11 runs.
Tryon out for 2! South Africa 99-3 (17) Kapp 23, Dean 1-25 (4)
16:02 , Sonia Twigg
Dean starts her last over, and starts it well with a dot ball. Kapp again goes big and over the top and dispatches Dean straight back over her head for a boundary.
She follows it up with another boundary over deep midwicket, that’s back to back fours for the first time in the game.
Dean has a wicket! The ball just goes under the bat of Tryon and takes off the bails.
Wolvaardt out for 42! South Africa 89-3 (16) Kapp 14, Tryon 1, Ecclestone 1-11 (3)
15:58 , Sonia Twigg
Ecclestone is into her third over out of a maximum of four, and there’s a bit of turn.
Kapp goes for an innovative reverse paddle but cannot pick up a run for it. She goes up and over and it flies behind Amy Jones and will be well-stopped on the boundary to save a run.
Ecclestone strikes! Wolvaardt goes for a big pull shot and completely misses the ball which crashes into the stumps and brings Tryon to the crease.
South Africa 84-2 (15) Wolvaardt 42, Kapp 11, Sciver-Brunt 0-24 (3)
15:53 , Sonia Twigg
Sciver-Brunt will bowl her third. Kapp crunches the ball down the ground for a boundary.
She will know all of these bowlers so well having played in the Hundred since the start.
Kapp has injected a new life into this batting performance and lifted the scoring rate significantly.
11 runs from that over.
Wicket! Bosch out for 18! South Africa 75-2 (14) Wolvaardt 40, Kapp 3, Glenn 1-18 (4)
15:49 , Sonia Twigg
Bosch tries something different, she reverse sweeps for a boundary! The ball races away for four, but when she tries it for a second time, Glenn strikes and Bosch is bowled!
That does bring the dangerous Marizanne Kapp to the crease alongside Wolvaardt, and these two will want to accelerate the scoring rate now.
Kapp is off the mark straight away with a quickly run two that almost turned into a run out with both players stranded at one end. But again England rue a missed chance.
South Africa 67-1 (13) Wolvaardt 39, Bosch 13, Smith 1-21 (3)
15:45 , Sonia Twigg
Linsey Smith will bowl her third, and Bosch sweeps square towards cow corner, but it’s just two runs.
She paddles into the leg side for another single.
Still no boundaries have come off the bat in what feels like a very long time. But that was a bit more expensive, seven from it.
South Africa 60-1 (12) Wolvaardt 37, Bosch 9, Glenn 0-10 (3)
15:41 , Sonia Twigg
Glenn continues in this trial by spin and even coming down the pitch, Wolvaardt can only manage a single.
While Bosch is struggling with just seven runs from 18 deliveries, she adds another though paddling the ball up to long off.
Bosch improvises, coming across the stumps to try and hook down towards long leg, but again there is no boundary.
South Africa 56-1 (11) Wolvaardt 35, Bosch 7, Ecclestone 0-7 (2)
15:38 , Sonia Twigg
Ecclestone has a big shout for lbw, there’s nothing given from the umpire, and after a discussion Heather Knight thinks better of it.
The batters are really struggling to score runs, that over goes for just two, which is good for England.
South Africa 513-1 (10) Wolvaardt 35, Bosch 6, Glenn 0-6 (2)
15:33 , Sonia Twigg
Glenn is frustrating Bosch, the first three balls of her second over are dots. Halfway through the over it has been 23 balls since the last boundary.
Just the three runs from the over, largely aided by a poor throw in from the deep scuppering a run out chance.
That will be drinks and the half way mark. This pitch is difficult to score on but England have done well so far.
South Africa 51-1 (9) Wolvaardt 32, Bosch 5, Dean 0-15 (3)
15:29 , Sonia Twigg
Dean is a bit wayward and Wolvaardt sweeps, its fumbled on the line but stopped from crossing the boundary.
The batters are just working the ball around for ones and twos, which England seem content to let them do.
Sophie Ecclestone has dropped Bosch! That’s the third drop and England need to step up their game here.
South Africa 45-1 (8) Wolvaardt 28, Bosch 3, Glenn 0-3 (1)
15:26 , Sonia Twigg
Time for a bit of leg spin from Sarah Glenn. England have kept their bowlers rotated pretty much constantly, not allowing the batters to settle against anyone.
There are four spinners, but they all offer something different.
Three runs from the over, England are turning the screw slightly here.
South Africa 42-1 (7) Wolvaardt 26, Bosch 2, Ecclestone 0-5 (1)
15:23 , Sonia Twigg
Ecclestone comes into the attack for the first time as soon as the powerplay restrictions have been lifted.
Wolvaardt is still at the crease and that will be a bit of a concern for England.
She starts with a fairly tidy first over, just five runs from it.
Wicket! Tazmin Brits out for 13 South Africa 37-1 (6) Wolvaardt 22, Bosch 1, Smith 1-14 (2)
15:21 , Sonia Twigg
Wicket! Brits is out the first ball of the final over of the powerplay!
Brits decides to go up into the air and it was straight to Gibson who held on.
Wolvaardt hits a four to ease the pressure.
South Africa 31-0 (5) Wolvaardt 17, Brist 13, Dean 0-9 (2)
15:16 , Sonia Twigg
Brits scoops it going for the sweep and it’s been dropped by Sarah Glenn! It just fell out as she landed, but that’s a second drop already from England.
Another one from Charlie Dean that skids through and only narrowly missed the stumps. The final ball of the over is a riskier shot, hit up over the infield, but again it won’t reach the boundary and brings just two runs.
South Africa 28-0 (4) Wolvaardt 15, Brits 12, Sciver-Brunt 0-14 (2)
15:13 , Sonia Twigg
A new end for Sciver-Brunt who comes back into the attack. Brits tries to sweep the ball away but just manages to pick up a single.
Wolvaardt picks up another boundary, picking up the length early.
South Africa 20-0 (3) Wolvaard 9, Brits 10, Dean 0-6 (1)
15:10 , Sonia Twigg
After one over of seam, Nat Sciver-Brunt will be replaced by Charlie Dean.
The first three balls of her over is quite tight, cramping Brits for room. But she manages to ease the pressure with a boundary from the final ball of the over.
South Africa 14-0 (2) Wolvaardt 9, Brits 4, Smith 0-8 (1)
15:07 , Sonia Twigg
Wolvaardt does pick up her first boundary the first ball of Linsey Smith’s over, opening up well through extra cover and that one will cross the rope!
Brits works one away and adds another couple. England appeal for lbw against Brits, but the umpire is unmoved and Knight chooses not to appeal.
South Africa 6-0 (1) Wolvaardt 4, Brits 1, Sciver-Brunt 0-6 (1)
15:03 , Sonia Twigg
Nat Sciver-Brunt will open for England, who have kept the same team with the four spinners rather than opting for the additional seamer in Lauren Bell.
Amy Jones is standing up to the stumps, and the first ball is cut away by Wolvaardt and the throw is terrible allowing South Africa to get back for three. That ball just stopped before going over the boundary rope.
Drop! The next ball gets a bit of extra bounce and has been dropped by Knight at slip! It was a thick edge but she got almost a full hand to it.
England vs South Africa
14:56 , Sonia Twigg
The anthems are done and the match is about to get underway
England vs South Africa
14:53 , Sonia Twigg
Time for the national anthems, starting with South Africa.
England vs South Africa
14:52 , Sonia Twigg
England and South Africa are preparing to come out onto the field in Sharjah for their second T20 World Cup match.
England vs South Africa
14:51 , Sonia Twigg
Heather Knight: “I would’ve had a bat, too. But we know the conditions pretty well now, I think it’ll play pretty much the same.
“We bowled brilliantly [against Bangladesh] so we’ll be looking to do the same and set the tone tonight. It was tricky to bat here the other night so we’ve had a chat about how we go about things, we still want to play our brand of cricket but adjust it to these conditions.
“We’re excited to get going, it’ll be a tough test for us. History won’t play into it, we know they’re a quality side but their opening game was played in different conditions. We’ll have to play our best cricket to win.
“Our team is unchanged.”
How to watch England vs South Africa
14:45 , Sonia Twigg
England vs South Africa is due to start at 3pm BST on Monday 7 October at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Cricket, with coverage on the channel from 2.30pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Is England v South Africa on TV today? Channel, start time and how to watch T20 World Cup game online
14:40 , Sonia Twigg
England will look to build on an encouraging start to the Women’s T20 World Cup as they face a tricky test against South Africa.
The spinners were, predictably, to the fore in England’s opener against Bangladesh, with Linsey Smith excelling.
South Africa should provide a sterner test of Heather Knight’s side having beaten them at the semi-final stage on home soil at the last edition of this tournament.
A classy half-century from Laura Wolvaardt carried South Africa to a ten-wicket victory over the West Indies in their first game in the United Arab Emirates.
Toss – South Africa will bat first
14:38 , Sonia Twigg
Wolvaardt said at the toss: “We are batting first because the pitch looks slow and we are hoping to get a total and then defend it.
“It was nice to start with a win in our first group game but this is a big game because the chance to go 2-0 in the competition gets us in a good position.
“What would we like to improve? We were pretty good in our first game without being perfect in all areas so it’s about trying to improve them.”
Toss – South Africa will bat first
14:34 , Sonia Twigg
South Africa win the toss and choose to bat first as Laura Wolvaardt calls tails and makes the right decision.
This could be a poor toss to lose for Heather Knight, three out of four matches at this tournament have been won by the side batting first.
Heather Knight prepared for T20 World Cup campaign to not be ‘sexy’
14:20 , Sonia Twigg
Skipper Heather Knight has warned that England Women’s T20 World Cup campaign may not always be “sexy” as they wrestle with the conditions in the United Arab Emirates.
Knight’s side launched their bid for glory with a 21-run Group B victory over Bangladesh on a tricky pitch in Sharjah, where the slow outfield compounded the problems for batters.
England were restricted to 118 for seven having won the toss and elected to bat, but while Knight admitted there was room for improvement, she was happy with that total at the halfway stage.
She told Sky Sports: “It wasn’t far off par but I think if we push up to about 135, 140, that’s going to be a really good score if we get on that type of wicket again.
Heather Knight prepared for T20 World Cup campaign to not be ‘sexy’
England prepared ‘to take fight’ to South Africa in crucial World Cup clash
14:10 , Sonia Twigg
Cape Town will be on the minds of both teams when England take on South Africa at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – a year on from a dramatic semi-final.
On home soil last year, the Proteas women reached the final of the tournament for the very first time thanks to a six-run win over England at Newlands.
Now the teams meet again, this time in a Group B encounter, with both one win from one in the United Arab Emirates.
A second success would be a giant step towards qualification for the final four, and England are only too aware of how close it was last February.
England prepared ‘to take fight’ to South Africa in crucial World Cup clash
England won their opening game against Bangladesh
14:01 , Sonia Twigg
Linsey Smith starred with the ball as England launched their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a 21-run victory over Bangladesh.
Smith turned in figures of two for 11 from her four overs and played the significant role in the dangerous Nigar Sultana Joty’s run out as Heather Knight’s side limited the Bangladeshis to 97 for seven in the Group B showdown under the lights in Sharjah.
She and Charlie Dean each claimed two wickets to help successfully defend a target of 119 after Danni Wyatt-Hodge had scored 41 in a modest total of 118 for seven on a tricky pitch.
England won the toss and opted to bat, and opener Maia Bouchier enjoyed a reprieve when she was dropped by Rabeya Khan at point off the bowling of Marufa Akter on 16.
Spinner Linsey Smith impresses as England beat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
England vs South Africa
12:06 , Sonia Twigg
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live build up and coverage of England’s second match of the Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa in Sharjah.
Both sides won their opening match, and in the group not containing India and Australia, South Africa are likely to be England’s toughest test.
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