Group B, Sharjah
England chase 125 to win by seven wickets with four balls to spare
Sciver-Brunt hits unbeaten 48 and Wyatt-Hodge makes fine 43
SA 124-6 (20.0 overs): Wolvaardt 42 (39); Ecclestone 2-15
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Spin, spin, spin.
England are rattling through the overs with leg-spinner Sarah Glenn into the attack, who will be grateful that her drop of Tazmin Brits earlier did not cost too much.
South Africa have slowed down a bit since Brits' dismissal, with Anneke Bosch just getting settled into her innings alongside the skipper Wolvaardt, who has 28.
Katherine Sciver-Brunt
Ex-England bowler on BBC Two
I'll be harsh, I've not been impressed with England's bowling.
In T20 cricket, there's no room for mistake, you've got to be so disciplined.
Four runs are worked off the rest of Ecclestone's tidy over.
A good point from Firdose there about avoiding Australia, although Heather Knight keeps telling us that England never think about playing Australia.
How much do we actually believe that, by the way?
Firdose Moonda
Cricinfo writer on BBC Sounds
I think the winner of this game may well avoid Australia in the semis, assuming that Australia win their group.
Another!
It's another difficult chance, with Wolvaardt getting a thick edge after playing off the back foot to Sophie Ecclestone as the left-arm spinner gets her trademark extra bounce.
But it bursts through Amy Jones' gloves. Certainly not easy, but we've seen Jones take catches of that class before. She'd expect to take it.
Brits' departure makes absolutely no difference to Laura Wolvaardt as she unveils her glorious off-drive for the first time in this match. It's a sight to behold, with the ball racing away for four.
37-1 may not seem like a huge powerplay score but considering the low scores in the UAE so far, it's a very decent effort.
Firdose Moonda
Cricinfo writer on BBC Sounds
Well, after all that conversation on how great the batting has been!
But you can't blame Brits for taking that shot at the end of the powerplay.
This is where it gets really interesting, South Africa's middle order hasn't been used yet in this tournament.
Brits c Gibson b Smith 13 (SA 31-1)
Third time lucky!
Tazmin Brits' luck runs out as she tries to make the most of the final over of the powerplay, skipping down the track to Linsey Smith but perfectly placing the ball into Danielle Gibson's hands at long-on.
Frustration for Brits but it's been a positive opening stand.
Smith removes Brits for 13
Kieran Parmley
Cricviz analyst
In the eight games so far, the side that has scored more runs inside the powerplay has gone on to win seven of them (India vs Pakistan the only outlier).
Given that trend, it's no surprise to see plenty of intent from South Africa's batters so far.
With just one run from the first five balls, Laura Wolvaardt gives herself some room and drives sweetly over the covers for a couple. Again, an example of that lovely timing but with the ball just plugging in the outfield.
Here's the first chance that England put down off Brits earlier. Granted, a very difficult one!
Brits survives after Knight drops a difficult early chance
Daniel Norcross
Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds
Sarah Glenn had it in her hands but couldn't keep it.
Another life for Tazmin Brits!
The opener tries to sweep Charlie Dean but the ball plops up off the glove with some extra bounce. It flies to Sarah Glenn at short fine leg, who dives forward and gets two hands on it, but the ball bounces out as her forearms hit the ground.
A tricky chance but one that should've been taken.
Heather Knight keeps switching her bowlers, not allowing the South African openers to settle with Sciver-Brunt coming back on.
But Laura Wolvaardt maintains her aggression, working the ball through the leg-side for four with exquisite timing. We haven't seen any batter able to time the ball as well as this at Sharjah so far.
Firdose Moonda
Cricinfo writer on BBC Sounds
I'm impressed with the running so far, we haven't seen teams able to rotate well here.
Daniel Norcross
Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds
This is a really bright start for South Africa.
The trial by spin continues as Charlie Dean replaces Nat Sciver-Brunt after the all-rounder's opening over.
She starts well with three dots to the right-handed Brits before dropping one too short to relieve all the pressure, with the opener pulling the ball to the ropes for four more.
A big reason for Smith's selection is her ability to bowl in the powerplay, which she has done brilliantly in domestic cricket for years and started very well against Bangladesh on Saturday.
But South Africa take a healthy eight runs from her first, rotating the strike well after Wolvaardt's early boundary.
Firdose Moonda
Cricinfo writer on BBC Sounds
I'm excited to see how South Africa play today.
England have had it over against us historically but this is a South African side that is ready to go.
We'll get an early look at Laura Wolvaardt's approach to spin, as Linsey Smith is on to bowl the second over.
And her intent is pretty clear - Smith's first ball is driven off the back foot for South Africa's first boundary.
Kieran Parmley
Cricviz analyst
Laura Wolvaardt - T20 Head to Head vs England's spinners:
England will really fancy their spinners against South Africa's key batter today.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wolvaardt,bowled Ecclestone Wolvaardt, bowled Ecclestone | 42 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 107.69 |
Brits,caught Gibson, bowled Smith Brits, caught Gibson, bowled Smith | 13 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 68.42 |
Bosch,bowled Glenn Bosch, bowled Glenn | 18 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 69.23 |
Kapp,bowled Ecclestone Kapp, bowled Ecclestone | 26 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 152.94 |
Tryon,bowled Dean Tryon, bowled Dean | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 40.00 |
Dercksen,not out Dercksen, not out | 20 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 181.82 |
Luus,run out Sciver-Brunt Luus, run out Sciver-Brunt | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50.00 |
de Klerk,not out de Klerk, not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 100.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 1, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 1 Extras, no balls 0, wides 1, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 1 | ||||||
Total,124 for 6 20.0 overs Total,124 for 6 20.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sciver-Brunt | 4.0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 8.50 |
Smith | 4.0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 8.00 |
Dean | 4.0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 6.25 |
Ecclestone | 4.0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3.75 |
Glenn | 4.0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 4.50 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
31 for 1 (5.1 overs) | Brits |
71 for 2 (13.2 overs) | Bosch |
88 for 3 (15.4 overs) | Wolvaardt |
99 for 4 (16.6 overs) | Tryon |
110 for 5 (18.1 overs) | Kapp |
114 for 6 (19.1 overs) | Luus |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bouchier,leg before wicket, bowled Kapp Bouchier, leg before wicket, bowled Kapp | 8 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 40.00 |
Wyatt-Hodge,stumped Jafta, bowled Mlaba Wyatt-Hodge, stumped Jafta, bowled Mlaba | 43 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 100.00 |
Capsey,caught and bowled de Klerk Capsey, caught and bowled de Klerk | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 118.75 |
Sciver-Brunt,not out Sciver-Brunt, not out | 48 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 133.33 |
Knight,not out Knight, not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 0, byes 5, leg byes 2, total 7 Extras, no balls 0, wides 0, byes 5, leg byes 2, total 7 | ||||||
Total,125 for 3 19.2 overs Total,125 for 3 19.2 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kapp | 4.0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 4.25 |
Khaka | 3.2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 6.30 |
Tryon | 3.0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 8.33 |
Mlaba | 4.0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 |
de Klerk | 4.0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 5.75 |
Luus | 1.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
16 for 1 (4.3 overs) | Bouchier |
50 for 2 (8.5 overs) | Capsey |
114 for 3 (17.6 overs) | Wyatt-Hodge |
