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England amde an incredible start to their Women's ODI World Cup campaign and defeated South Africa by 10 wickets in what was totally a one-sided clash. After winning the toss and electing to field first at the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati, Nat Sciver-Brunt & Co. went on to dominate with the ball.
Linsey Smith got the side to big wicket of South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt in the second over and also got the wicket of Tazmin Brits in her next over. The Proteas completly crumbled in front of the opposing bowlers with half of their batters returning to the pavilion after just nine overs.
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Wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta (22) was the only South African player to get past the 10-run mark as England bundled out their opponents for just 69 runs. Notably, this is South Africa's second-lowest total in the tournament's history. Their lowest total came in the 2009 edition of the World Cup when they got bundled out for just 51 runs against New Zealand.
England dominated with the bat as well
In reply, the England batters made light work of the opposing bowlers as the opening duo of Tammy Beaumont (22*) and Amy Jones (40*) helped the side in reaching the 70-run target in just 14.1 overs. This 10-wicket victory saw England begin their World Cup campaign on a high.
After the match, Wolvaardt remarked that the team have become poor in batting overnight and added that they didn't expect the ball to swing that much. She further stated that they will have to put this match behind them and move on.
"Not the way we would have wanted to start the tournament. Not our best work with the bat. We have not become a bad batting team overnight. Team has shown a lot of resilience in the past, want to put this behind us (and move forward). They bowled really well with the new ball. Linsey was excellent. We did not expect that much swing, but could have played straighter lines," Wolvaardt said.
"Just to keep trusting what we have done in the past is good. We have had good preparation. Putting this game behind us and moving forward as fast as we can. In tournaments like this, need to have short memory of games like this and come in with the right intent (in our upcoming matches)," she added.
On the other hand, Sciver-Brunt had nothing but praise for her side, who put in an exceptional performance with both the bat and the ball.
"Massively pleased. Everyone was on it in the field. Had a few first-ball wickets as well, so it was a captain's dream. (On Smith) She just stuck to her strengths. She is a left-arm spinner but can swing the ball. We knew she was a really good match-up (against the openers), who have scored a lot of runs in the lead-up to this tournament. It was an important partnership to break. We are really blessed we have so many talented cricketers in our squad," Sciver-Brunt said.
Who will the teams face next?
England will be hoping to continue this form in their upcoming fixture against Bangladesh that will be held on October 7. Meanwhile, South Africa will be hoping to register their first win of the tournament wh en they come up against hosts India on October 9.
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