England edged over the line by two wickets with two balls remaining in a dramatic contest against South Africa yesterday to reach the Women’s World Cup final at a sold-out Lord’s on Sunday.
Heather Knight’s team were seemingly cruising to victory at 139 for two as she and Sarah Taylor put on 78 for the third wicket in pursuit of a modest target of 219 against a team they had beaten by 68 runs at the same ground in the group stage.
Although fluent scoring was not easy on a used pitch, Knight and Taylor looked composed and assured after the loss of openers Lauren Winfield, caught for 20, and the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Tammy Beaumont, who was bowled hitting across the line for 15.
Taylor looked to be at her match-winning best having driven, ramped and pulled her way to her third half-century of the tournament, before being run out going for a sharp single. The next over, Knight struck a waist-high full toss straight to square leg and was followed back to the pavilion four balls later by Natalie Sciver, who was bowled round her legs for three.
From a position of control England had contrived to lose three wickets in 12 balls, slumping to 145 for five with only 16 overs for the lower order to score 74 runs on a pitch that was becoming increasingly harder to bat on.
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England, though, have tremendous depth in their batting and, after the loss of Katherine Brunt for 12, a seventh-wicket partnership of 40 off 34 balls between Jenny Gunn and Fran Wilson took England to the brink of victory.
Gunn, who made her debut 13 years ago and is known for her calmness under pressure, survived a close run-out call and guided England past 200 in the 47th over, in which she took Shabnim Ismail for ten runs. The 31-year-old drove the ball down the ground for four and pulled a full toss through mid-wicket, meaning England were almost home and dry, needing only ten runs off the last three overs.
However, in a match of constant changing fortunes, two final twists laid in store. First, Wilson, who had batted serenely, was caught behind for 30 trying to ramp the ball over her head with her side still needing six off the last two overs.
England scrambled three runs off the penultimate over, before Laura Marsh was bowled by Ismail trying to move across her stumps to flick the ball to leg.
Two were now required off the final three balls and it was left to the ever-reliable Anya Shrubsole, who was injured fielding, to stride down the pitch and crash her first ball past point for four runs to the delight of her team and the 2,000 supporters at the ground.
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After the match, Gunn, who finished 27 not out, made light of her words of wisdom to Shrubsole. “I tried to give her advice on what they might bowl at her but she just totally ignored me and whacked it for four,” Gunn said.
In the field, England’s bowlers were impressively disciplined to restrict the South Africa batsmen. Having won the toss, South Africa made a slow but solid start, losing the wickets of Lizelle Lee, who had her middle stump uprooted by Shrubsole, and Trisha Chetty, who was stumped by a superb piece of wicketkeeping by Taylor in which she whipped off the bails from a leg-side wide.
Laura Wolvaardt, the 18-year-old opener, made a valiant 66 and former captain Mignon du Preez, with 76 not out from 95 balls, gave their side hope of defeating the side who had topped the group-stage table.
Wolvaardt, who was dropped on 34 by Alex Hartley, the slow left-arm spinner, off her own bowling, put on a stand of 77 in a third-wicket partnership with Du Preez that never managed to ignite. The partnership was broken by Knight with a ball to Wolvaardt that kept low and cannoned into her stumps.
Three wickets in 12 balls - How England nearly lost it in ten mad minutes
The England captain should have had another wicket soon after when she dropped Marizanne Kapp who struck a full toss back to her. To Knight’s relief, Kapp did not capitalise on that as she was run out two balls later by an excellent throw to Taylor, which left South Africa at 126 four in the 32nd over.
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With South Africa looking to up the tempo, Dane van Niekerk, the South Africa captain, struggled to find any timing against some excellent accurate bowling. The pressure eventually told when she was run out for 27 in the 42nd over after being sent back by Du Preez.
Chloe Tryon was deceived next over by a slower ball from Gunn, which she dutifully hit back to the bowler, leaving Du Preez and Sune Luus, with 21 from 25 balls, to put on 48 in just under eight overs to finish on 218. A total that proved agonisingly short.
World Cup final
England v Australia/India
Sunday
10.30am
Sky Sports Cricket
