ENG-W vs SA-W

And then there were two, Australia vs England, once again in a WC final and Lord's will be all decked up on Sunday as the South African dreams have been shattered once more. The two best sides of the competition, the two marquee teams in the Women's game and one of the two teams is going to extend their unbeaten run and be crowned the new T20 WC champions, who will it be? We will find out together. Make sure you join us for the final showdown, for now this is Sourabh Agrawal taking your leave on behalf of Pradeep and the rest of the team. Cheers!

Nat Sciver-Brunt (England Women captain): What a special place to play cricket! We have really loved playing cricket here over the years. Great ground to show the crowd how much we love playing for England, trying to inspire as many people as we can. (having the belief from 23/3) We have got full confidence in our batting lineup from top to bottom. There was no real worry about the people coming in but Heather and I knew he had to show composure. We could have gone harder but it might not have worked out

(did she feel they had enough at the halfway mark?) We had a good total, there was some variable bounce and keeping the stumps in play was important. Freya Kemp specially did really well with the cutters and the off pace deliveries. To get three overs from the same bowlers is pretty tough in the powerplay, Linsey has done a great job for us in the powerplay. To have 4 overs of Ecclestone in the middle overs is really important for us. Linsey got that wicket of Laura Wolvaardt was really important, we stuck to it after she hit one over the top and I looked at Linsey and said here we go again. 

(thoughts on the crowd) The crowd has been infectious, tried to soak a bit in while batting. Can't wait to do it all again at Lord's. (how is her calf?) The calf is fine. 

(thoughts on the final coming up against Australia) It is going to be massive. What an occasion it is going to be, fronting up in a home World Cup final and what an opposition to face. Obviosuly a really talented side and they have had huge success. We will see what happens at Lord's

Laura Wolvaardt [South Africa Women captain]: [On the semi-final defeat] "It's obviously very disappointing, but it just wasn't meant to be for us today. England outplayed us and deserved the win. They were the better side." [On what made the difference] "I think the biggest difference was the partnerships. We started brilliantly with the ball, but they put together a crucial stand that shifted the momentum. We couldn't build similar partnerships with the bat, and none of our batters really managed to kick on. That's frustrating in a game of this magnitude, but we'll go back to the drawing board." [On the conditions and the chase] "I thought it was a pretty good batting surface. Around 170 felt like a par score, especially with how quick the outfield was. We backed ourselves to chase it, but England bowled really well, had clear plans against us, and we couldn't execute our game." [On the atmosphere at the Oval] "The home support definitely plays a part, but it's also great to see a crowd like that. It created a fantastic atmosphere, and it was nice to see a few South African fans there as well." [On South Africa's campaign] "It was a decent tournament overall. We're pleased to have reached the semi-finals, but if we're honest, our batting never really clicked consistently. We had a few special innings along the way, but as a unit we didn't quite fire, and that showed again today. Our bowling and fielding were strong throughout, though, and we'll review what went wrong and look to come back better." [On the future of the squad] "We've got a really exciting mix of experienced players and young talent coming through. Hopefully we've learned plenty from this campaign. Players like Miane Smit showed what they're capable of, and hopefully they, along with the rest of the group, can take another step forward by the next World Cup."

Nat Sciver-Brunt is the Player of the Match! Here's what she has to say: [On returning for the semi-final] "I was definitely nervous. The occasion was huge, and having missed a few games, there were a lot of emotions before the match. But once the warm-up got underway, I managed to switch into game mode, enjoy myself and focus on contributing to the team." [On rebuilding England's innings] "We knew Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp are world-class new-ball bowlers capable of causing early damage. Heather and I wanted to absorb that threat first and then make the most of the opportunities against the rest of the attack. We put our heads together, trusted our experience and managed to build the partnership the team needed." [On batting conditions ]"There was a bit of variable bounce, so it was important to play straight, stay strong on the stumps and be really clear about where you wanted to score. Once you spent some time in the middle, batting became a little easier, but it was definitely challenging for new batters. That's why our partnership was so important."

9:40 PM local time, 2:10 PM IST: MATCH SUMMARY

England Women (169/5 in 20 overs) beat South Africa Women (129/8 in 20 overs) by 40 runs

Nat Sciver-Brunt 75(47) | Lauren Bell 2/28(4)_
Tazmin Brits 51(45) | Nonkululeko Mlaba 2/25(4)

Australia vs England in the final of the 2026 T20 Women's World Cup at Lord's on Sunday - we are back to the good old days!

The two unbeaten sides in the competition will fittingly fight it out after a couple of days time for the ultimate crown, England book their places alongside their arch nemesis in the summit clash and haven't they desereved this?

The England players are smiling from ear to ear, the fans are celebrating in the stands at The Oval and this is a sight to behold for the hosts. Head coach Charlotte Edwards comes out and there are hugs all around. She embraces her skipper, the champion that Nat Sciver-Brunt is and she has stood up once again, coming out of an injury and here leading her side from the front taking her side out of a hole after being reduced to 23/3 courtest a fiery spell from Kapp and Ismail with the new ball

South Africa won the toss, they started off like a train and it looked like the Proteas were hell bent on creating some history but once Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight got together at the crease in the 4th over in the first innings it was all England from there on

A highest-ever partnership of 133 in a T20 WC knockout game, Sciver-Brunt and Knight got fifties each. It looked like they would get over 180 and to South Africa's credit they did pull it back in the last couple of overs to keep it down to 169 which was a par total on this surface

Then it was the turn of the England bowlers who were absolutely clinical, professional and played like a true home side. They fielded well too, adding to the choke they put on the South Africans who started off solidly with the bat in the powerplay. Laura Wolvaardt started well but Ecclestone's stunning catch at mid-on saw her back and South Africa just could not simply get any partnerships from 43/1 at that stage

Not a single six in the run chase, just not good enough from the Proteas. Brits did get a fifty, she took 44 balls for that though and it was a bit too slow as she struggled to break free. The likes of Kemp, Bell used their cutters brilliantly and the troika of the England spinners put them on a leash not allowing South Africa to breakthrough anytime in that run chase

19.6 Linsey Smith to Shabnim Ismail, THAT'S IT! ENGLAND OUTCLASS SOUTH AFRICA! England storm into the World Cup final with a commanding display! South Africa are brushed aside as the hosts set up a blockbuster title clash against Australia on Sunday. Good length on the middle and off. Ismail flicked it around the corner for one, that'll do.

19.4 Linsey Smith to Nadine de Klerk, drops it short on the off-stump, de Klerk went back to heave, but inside edged it into the on-side for no run.

19.2 Linsey Smith to Nadine de Klerk, walks across off-stump to sweep, but top edged it over mid-wicket, fielder charges in as it falls short.

19.1 Linsey Smith to Nadine de Klerk, slides the length delivery on the leg-stump, de Klerk backed away and slices it past the covers. Kemp with the chase, slides and stops it as they get just two.

47 needed from the final over, for what that is worth. de Klerk finally on strike but it is a bit too late now. Linsey Smith to round things off with the ball

18.6 Lauren Bell to Ayabonga Khaka, OUT! TIMBER! Bell has another, England on the verge to reach the finals here. Back of the hand slower one, dips it full on the stumps. Khaka swings and misses, through to rattle the stumps.