Ruthless England demolish SA to kickstart campaign

Led by an all-round bowling display, England registered a thumping 10-wicket victory over South Africa in Guwahati, on Friday (October 3), to kickstart their 2025 World Cup campaign in a dominant fashion. Led by Linsey Smith's early burst, South Africa folded for 69 - their third lowest total in ODIs - which was chased down in merely 14.1 overs.

Put in to bat, South Africa made a brisk start, with both openers - Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits - cracking a boundary each off Lauren Bell in the first over. However, it was Smith's left-arm spin from the other end that caused the damage and sent back both the openers in successive overs.

Wolvaardt was the first to depart, in the second over, offering a leading edge back to the bowler to a delivery that kicked up a bit. Brits was beaten on the inside edge and cleaned up. Similarly, Marizann Kapp too walked back while looking to play outside the line.

By then, even Bell had found her rhythm and troubled the batters with the movement on offer. She knocked over Sune Luus's offstump. Sinola Jafta offered some resistance after being given a reprieve (a missed stumping by Amy Jones) but England were relentless and kept picking wickets at regular intervals. The 12-run stands that she stitched with Anneke Bosch and Masataba Klaas respectively were the joint-highest of the innings.

Nat-Sciver Brunt, Sophie Eccelestone and Charlie Dean also chipped in with a brace each as South Africa were cleaned up in the 21st over.

The English openers, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones, made light work of the chase. There wasn't as much demon on the surface as the South Africans batters made out of it. Their English counterparts began cautiously against Kapp early on in the run chase. Against the rest,, they were quick to cash in on the scoring opportunities that came their way time and again.

South Africa too opted to use the spin of Chloe Tryon early on, but that didn't prove as effective. Without taking much risks, they sauntered to the target in merely 85 balls.

Brief Scores: South Africa 69 in 20.4 overs (Sinola Jafta 22; Linsey Smith 3-7, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-5) lost to England 70 for no loss in 14.1 overs (Amy Jones 40*, Tammy Beaumont 21*) by 10 wickets