Defending Champions England have made it to their second consecutive final of the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. A magnificent century by Danielle Wyatt and a supportive half-century by Sophia Dunkley helped England put up a huge score against South Africa in the second semi-final of the Women’s World Cup 2022. England went on to score 293/8, even after losing their top order players early in the game at the Hagley Oval. They managed to defend to total easily to seal the game by 137 runs.
Earlier, winning the toss, South African skipper Sune Luus elected to bowl first. While the Proteas were going unchanged, England roped in Anya Shrubsole in place of Freya Davies. Opener Tammy Beaumont, skipper Heather Knight, and all-rounder Natalie Sciver had to walk back to the pavilion soon as they entered the crease. It was Wyatt who played a brilliant knock of 129 (125), and to support her in the partnerships were Dunkley and Amy Jones.
It was a sigh of relief for South Africa when they dismissed Wyatt, but Dunkley and Sophie Ecclestone left no stone unturned as the former hit a 72-ball 60, and the latter, who came in late into the game, scored five fours in the 11 balls that she faced. England couldn’t have reached this score if South Africa hadn’t missed the crucial catches. Leaving South Africa to chase 294 in 50 overs, England had a very clear mindset in the second innings.
South Africa’s batting line-up came crashing down
South Africa’s chase came crashing down when they lost their best batter, opener Laura Wolvaardt, to Shrubsole for a two-ball duck in just the second over of the inning. Shrubsole then dismissed their other opener- Lizelle Lee in her second over. The England bowlers kept adding wickets to their tally at regular intervals, which restricted the Proteas from being able to chase it. Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Lara Goodall, Mignon du Preez, and all others failed to withstand the English bowling attack.
It was the magic of Ecclestone on the field, as she led her team’s bowling attack and picked up six wickets in succession. She ruled the second half of the innings after she was introduced into the bowling attack. In just eight overs of her bowling, she managed to dismiss the middle order and the lower order and grabbed a six-wicket haul, thereby sending South Africa home for 156 runs, and winning the game by a whopping margin of 137 runs.
A proper team effort from the defending champions helped them make their way into the finals twice in a row. England will now face Australia in the finals of the World Cup. Both the teams are in good winning form for the past few games, and the competition will be cut-throat. The final game will be played on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at the Hagley Oval starting at 06:30 AM IST.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Absolutely broken.. 😔💔 #CWC22
— Danevn81 (@Danevn811) March 31, 2022
3 losses on the trot and we thought #England was done this #CWC22!
What a turnaround it has been since then and now they’re in the finals 👏🏽
Defending champions for a reason, just one big hurdle to cross now. #AUSvENG coming up on Sunday— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) March 31, 2022
Congratulations to @Heatherknight55 and @ECB_cricket woman’s World Cup team for making the final 🙌🏻
— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) March 31, 2022
Comprehensive win… well played England 👏 @englandcricket #CWC22 #finalherewego… 🤸🏽 pic.twitter.com/k2qUgOePmw
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) March 31, 2022
Boooom…. Can’t wait for Sunday 👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/fE6IDi3Oio
— Charlotte Edwards (@C_Edwards23) March 31, 2022
Peaking at the right time is what tournament play is all about … Exactly what @ECB_cricket are doing at the #ICCWomensWorldCup2022 !!! Well done @Heatherknight55 & all the team .. Now time for one last performance against the Aussies …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 31, 2022
— Jason Roy (@JasonRoy20) March 31, 2022
Love watching @Danni_Wyatt .. What a time to produce an innings of pure class .. England v Aussie final looks tasty .. #ICCWomensWorldCup2022
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 31, 2022
That’s a big score, but then again these girls have shown on a number of occasions they have great character and big hearts. Got a good feeling about Lizelle Lee today. #CWC22 #SAvENG
— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) March 31, 2022
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/Djkn5BG
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