England race to 10-wicket win, Jones finishing 40 not out - report
South Africa bowled out for 69
Spinner Smith starts collapse with three wickets
Two wickets each for Sciver-Brunt, Ecclestone & Dean
England's next match against Bangladesh on 7 October
Highlights: England dominate South Africa in emphatic ten wicket win
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
This is not an easy opening game. Yes, England are favourites today but South Africa can be a dangerous team at times.
England will not be taking today for granted, that's for sure.
Right, the anthems are done and the players are out in the middle.
Remember, England won the toss and elected to field.
Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits will open the batting for South Africa. Lauren Bell will kick things off with the ball for England.
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
No real surprises with England winning the toss and bowling first.
My only surprise is they have only got one seamer. They have obviously seen in the other games that spin worked well and are backing their spinners.
Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer in Guwahati
Hello from Guwahati, where it is once again very hot and humid - but the sun sets at around 5.15pm here so the conditions are likely to change quite suddenly. The first two hours in particular are going to be tough for England in the field, with the ground currently taking the full force of the sun.
This is a match-up that favours England, though - they have a 6-2 record against South Africa in World Cups.
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Image source, Getty ImagesWhat do you think of England's World Cup chances? Can they go all the way under Charlotte Edwards? Will South Africa cause them problems?
Get in touch to let us know your thoughts! (But please remember to pop your name at the end of your message).
Image source, Getty ImagesAs for Alex Hartley's standout player in South Africa's squad, she selected all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.
"She's played over 100 times for South Africa now. As a bowler, she's consistent in the middle overs with plenty of variations and is a powerful striker with the bat.
"What I like most about her is her competitiveness, similar to Kapp, and she enjoys the big occasion - she took an important 3-19 in the T20 World Cup semi-final win against Australia."
South Africa have reached the past two Women's T20 World Cup finals and are back-to-back semi-finalists on the 50-over stage.
However, they're yet to get their hands on silverware at either tournament.
The Proteas sit fifth in the ICC rankings and have a mixed record in ODIs since the last World Cup, winning 17 of their 37 matches.
However, Marizanne Kapp is the number two-ranked ODI all-rounder, with Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk also inside the top 20.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Women's World Cup is under way with eight teams vying for the title.
Ahead of the tournament, former England spinner and 2017 World Cup winner Alex Hartley made her predictions and picked a player to watch from each side.
For England, she selected Emma Lamb, who lost her place under previous head coach Jon Lewis but was recalled after an impressive domestic season.
Nat Sciver-Brunt on England's World Cup hopes
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt says that her team are "chalk and cheese" compared to how they felt after the Ashes defeat at the beginning of the year.
Sciver-Brunt took over as captain after the 16-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia, which saw Heather Knight removed from her position alongside coach Jon Lewis, who was replaced by Charlotte Edwards.
The all-rounder now prepares to lead England in a World Cup for the first time.
"Everyone feels really relaxed and feels pretty confident in what we've done in terms of the preparation," Sciver-Brunt told BBC Sport.
"We are just in a better place coming from about eight, nine months ago in Australia when we were feeling pretty low as a side. I think from that we're pretty much chalk and cheese."
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland women's winter of turbulence led them to a summer of soul searching.
A disastrous T20 World Cup group-stage exit at the hands of West Indies was glossed over by beating South Africa away, only for a full-scale implosion down under as Australia inflicted a 16-0 defeat in the multi-format series.
Change was inevitable: Jon Lewis and Heather Knight out, Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt were quickly ushered in.
Now, they are about to enter the pressure cooker again.
BBC Sport's Ffion Wynne looks at England's expectations and who will be their key players.
Here's how England's World Cup schedule looks:
Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer in Guwahati
Two very different XIs there, which is interesting.
England have, essentially, one and a half seamers in Lauren Bell and Nat Sciver-Brunt, while South Africa have got four pace options.
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell.
South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Image source, Getty ImagesSouth Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt: "It looks slower than we thought it would be. This is a beautiful ground and we don’t mind having a bat. If it is on the good side we can put a good total on.
"We want to take it one game at a time. This is such a long tournament to get focused for so you need to be present and in the moment."
On their new coach: "He has been amazing. He has changed a lot of things. He is all about playing brave cricket and bringing out the best in the girls. And he is great at motivational speeches so we should be pumped!"
On their line-up: "We have four seamers and we bat quite deep as well."
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: "There's a quiet confidence in the way we want to go about things.
"With the ball, we'll be looking to take wickets at every opportunity and we want to build innings with the bat.
"It's such an achievement for Heather Knight to be winning her 150th cap."
Image source, Getty ImagesNat Sciver-Brunt, leading England in a World Cup for the first time, has won the toss and elected to field.
Hello there.
It's day four of the Women's World Cup and time for England to get their campaign under way.
Up first for Nat Sciver-Brunt's side, it's South Africa in Guwahati.
Toss and team news coming up.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wolvaardt,caught and bowled Smith Wolvaardt, caught and bowled Smith | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 100.00 |
Brits,bowled Smith Brits, bowled Smith | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 71.43 |
Luus,bowled Bell Luus, bowled Bell | 2 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 18.18 |
Kapp,bowled Smith Kapp, bowled Smith | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 66.67 |
Bosch,leg before wicket, bowled Sciver-Brunt Bosch, leg before wicket, bowled Sciver-Brunt | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 120.00 |
Jafta,bowled Ecclestone Jafta, bowled Ecclestone | 22 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 61.11 |
Tryon,caught Capsey, bowled Sciver-Brunt Tryon, caught Capsey, bowled Sciver-Brunt | 2 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20.00 |
de Klerk,caught Knight, bowled Ecclestone de Klerk, caught Knight, bowled Ecclestone | 3 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 27.27 |
Klaas,bowled Dean Klaas, bowled Dean | 3 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 23.08 |
Khaka,not out Khaka, not out | 6 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 50.00 |
Mlaba,bowled Dean Mlaba, bowled Dean | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 37.50 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 8, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 8 Extras, no balls 0, wides 8, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 8 | |||||||
Total,69 all out 20.4 overs Total,69 all out 20.4 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bell | 4.0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6.00 |
Smith | 4.0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.75 |
Sciver-Brunt | 3.0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.66 |
Ecclestone | 6.0 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.16 |
Dean | 3.4 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.81 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
9 for 1 (1.2 overs) | Wolvaardt |
12 for 2 (3.1 overs) | Brits |
17 for 3 (4.4 overs) | Luus |
19 for 4 (5.1 overs) | Kapp |
31 for 5 (8.1 overs) | Bosch |
38 for 6 (10.1 overs) | Tryon |
48 for 7 (13.1 overs) | de Klerk |
60 for 8 (16.5 overs) | Klaas |
60 for 9 (17.3 overs) | Jafta |
69 for 10 (20.4 overs) | Mlaba |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beaumont,not out Beaumont, not out | 21 | 35 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 60.00 |
Jones,not out Jones, not out | 40 | 50 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 80.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 9, byes 0, leg byes 3, total 12 Extras, no balls 0, wides 9, byes 0, leg byes 3, total 12 | |||||||
Total,73 for 0 14.1 overs Total,73 for 0 14.1 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kapp | 4.0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.25 |
Tryon | 3.0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5.66 |
Klaas | 4.0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 |
Mlaba | 2.0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 |
Khaka | 1.1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11.14 |
