ENG vs SA Highlights, Women's World Cup 2025 1st Semi Final: Laura Wolvaardt century, Marizanne Kapp fifer power South Africa to 125-run win; reach first-ever ODI World Cup final

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Goes even fuller, on off, Capsey plays a punchy drive towards mid off.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Fuller in length, curving back into the right-hander, on off, Alice pushes it to cover.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, On a good length, around off, Nat Sciver-Brunt solidly blocks it out.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, A bit of nip back into the right-hander, on a short of a length, on the off pole. Nat Sciver-Brunt lets the ball come to her. Ends up leaving a small gap between the bat and the pad as she looks to defend. Ekes out an inside edge onto the pads.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Bowls it on a good length, around off, Nat Sciver-Brunt rides the bounce and taps it down on the off side.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Wide! This slides down leg, Nat Sciver-Brunt attempts the glance but misses.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Slightly fuller, outside off, Nat walks into the drive and hits it towards cover, where Annerie Dercksen dives to her right but cannot prevent the ball from going past her. The ball gets deflected behind off her hands for a couple of runs.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, On top of off, on a short of a length, Nat stands tall and chops it down beside the strip on the off side.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, On a back of a length, on top of off, Nat Sciver-Brunt stays on the back foot and jabs it to mid-wicket.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Full and outside off, Alice Capsey gets a good stride in and blocks it right under her eyes.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Fuller in length, slanting back in, on off and middle. Alice Capsey eases the drive with a straight bat to mid on.

Ayabonga Khaka to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hurls it in a good length, outside off, Nat Sciver-Brunt gets closer to the line and hangs her bat out to play the line. The ball catches the outside edge and dribbles down to deep third for a single.

Ayabonga Khaka to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Goes past the bat! This angles in and then straightens off the deck, on a short of a length, in the corridor of off. Nat Sciver-Brunt has a feel for the delivery and gets beaten on the outside edge.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Lands it on a length, outside off, Alice Capsey pushes at the ball slightly and gets it off the outer half towards deep third for a single.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, On a back of a length, outside off, Alice Capsey steers it towards point off the back foot.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Keeps it in and around the off pole, Nat Sciver-Brunt walks across to get behind the line and keeps it out on the off side. Another maiden from Marizanne Kapp!

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, And again! Bowled from a bit wide on the crease and the length is dragged back slightly, outside off. Nat Sciver-Brunt leaves it alone.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Full and shaping away, inviting the drive. Nat resists and lets it go through.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Goes fuller this time, on the off pole, Nat Sciver-Brunt watchfully defends.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, In the corridor of off, on a nagging length, Sciver-Brunt walks across her stumps and is down the track. Ends up defending outside the line and the ball drops at her feet off the inside edge.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Attacking the stumps, on a good length, Nat Sciver-Brunt gets her bat out in front to defend.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, This comes back into the right-hander, on a length, on off, Alice Capsey is solid in defence.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Beaten! In the channel on off, on a back of a length, Alice pushes at the ball away from her body and gets beaten on the outside edge.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, At 111.5 kph, around the off pole, on a length, Capsey covers the line and taps it to cover.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, Nipping back a bit, on a good length, on middle. Alice Capsey gets right behind it to defend.

Ayabonga Khaka to Alice Capsey, FOUR! Alice Capsey is up and running! First runs off the bat in the chase. Short and wide on off, there to be put away, Capsey gets on top of the bounce and cuts it between point and cover-point. Annerie Dercksen dives to her left and ends up diving over the ball. It goes under her body and races away.

Alice Capsey walks out next.

Ayabonga Khaka to Tammy Beaumont, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! England are getting a taste of their own medicine from the game in the league stage. Good length wide of off, Tammy Beaumont shuffles across around her right and looks to run this down to the third man region. Gets a faint edge and is caught by the keeper. Tammy sends this upstairs and UltraEdge shows a clear spike as the ball is next to the bat of Tammy Beaumont. England loses Tammy and a review. 

Ayabonga Khaka to Tammy Beaumont, WIDE! On a length wide outside off, Tammy Beaumont pokes at it but misses out. Wided.

A double-wicket maiden. WOW! South Africa Women are all over the English side. Ayabonga Khaka will operate with the other new ball.

Marizanne Kapp to Nat Sciver-Brunt, Pitched up, on off, Nat Sciver-Brunt gets on the front foot and dabs it down on the off side. What a start for South Africa. A double wicket-maiden!

Marizanne Kapp to Heather Knight, OUT! DRAGGED ON! Two wickets in the first over for Marizanne Kapp! The chase could not have started any worse for England! Kapp drags the length back and it is outside off. Knight hangs on the back foot and looks to play it away on the off side with an angled bat. She goes at it with her hands and her feet go nowhere. The ball catches the inside edge before bouncing into the stumps. A three-baller for Knight.

Marizanne Kapp to Heather Knight, Keeps it full, around the off stump, Knight presses forward and taps it to cover.

Marizanne Kapp to Heather Knight, Fuller in length, attacking the front pad, Heather Knight brings her bat out in front of the front pad to keep it out.

Heather Knight walks out at 3.

Marizanne Kapp to Amy Jones, OUT! TIMBER! Marizanne Kapp produces a beauty! This is the nip-backer from Kapp, on a good length, on off and middle. Amy Jones leans ahead with her bat out in front but is nowhere near the pitch of the ball. Jones leaves a yawning gap between the bat and the pad. The ball jags back to go through the gate and knock down the stumps. A two-ball duck for Amy.

We are back. The English openers, Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont, are out in the middle looking to give England Women a good start. Marizanne Kapp will look to break the backbone of this chase with wickets early on for South Africa Women. 

Marizanne Kapp to Amy Jones, Kapp is right on the money straight away! On top of off, on a good length, Amy Jones gets on top of the bounce and stabs it down on the off side.

... The Run Chase...

England face a monumental task, needing to chase down the highest total in a Women's ODI World Cup semi-final to stay in contention. With their talented batting lineup, they have the potential to pull off a remarkable comeback. The stage is set for an electrifying second half of the match, and fans are in for a thrilling ride. Let's see if England can rise to the challenge and make history. We will be back soon.

Tazmin Brits, the South African opener, is in for a chat. She shares that she is glad to have witnessed the knock from Laura Wolvaardt. Mentions that the plan was to show more intent in the Powerplay. Admits that she was struggling but Wolvaardt took the pressure off her. Tells that this is a good batting wicket and hopes that the ball does a bit under lights. Feels that it will be important for her bowling unit to stick to the basics and target the stumps as much as they can. Shares that looking at the stats, they felt 270 would be a good total on this track and are pretty chuffed to end up with 319.

England's bowling performance was underwhelming, despite favorable conditions with cloud cover, as South Africa's aggressive batters took full advantage of the opportunities. However, Sophie Ecclestone stood out, delivering an impressive spell of 4 for 44 in 10 overs. Other bowlers struggled to replicate Ecclestone's success and the side leaked far too many boundaries towards the end. Lauren Bell took a couple while Nat Sciver-Brunt scalped one as well. Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean took a beating and went wicketless in this key game.

South Africa's openers, Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, aggressively targeted the English bowlers, preventing them from settling into a rhythm. Wolvaardt was outstanding from the start, while Brits faced some initial struggles but managed to hold on, contributing to a 116-run partnership for the first wicket. However, South Africa's momentum was briefly disrupted, with the team losing three wickets for just three runs, slipping from 116/0 to 119/3. Marizanne Kapp joined Wolvaardt, and they stabilized the innings with a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Wolvaardt then unleashed an explosive batting display after reaching her century. She added 89 runs with Chloe Tryon, contributing 68 of those runs. After Wolvaardt's departure, Nadine de Klerk and Tryon added 28 runs in the last two overs, ending the innings on a high note.

It appears that the cricketing gods had other plans for Laura Wolvaardt and South Africa. Despite Laura's preference to bowl first, as she quoted at the toss, fate had different plans, and they ended up batting first instead. But what a batting display it was! Laura Wolvaardt's masterclass of 169 runs propelled South Africa Women to a massive total of 319.

Lauren Bell to Nadine De Klerk, A single to end the innings! Pace off from Bell, outside off, Nadine De Klerk gets low and drags this full ball towards deep mid-wicket for just one. South Africa finish with 319 on the board!

Lauren Bell to Nadine De Klerk, FOUR! Not entirely convincing but Nadine De Klerk gets the result! This is on a length, outside off. De Klerk walks across her stumps for the scoop. She does not have the pace to work with and gets into a bit of a tangle. She still manages to get it over the keeper and Sophie Ecclestone's chase from short fine leg goes in vain.

Lauren Bell to Chloe Tryon, Slower and fuller, on off. Chloe Tryon swings hard to force it through the off side. Gets an inside edge onto the pads and it dribbles behind to the left of the keeper for one.

Lauren Bell to Nadine De Klerk, A well-directed bumper from Bell, over the right shoulder. Nadine De Klerk tries to slap it down the ground but the ball gets big on her. She ends up slicing it back over the bowler's head. Nadine was struggling to make her ground at the bowling end but Nat Sciver-Brunt at mid off decided against throwing.

Lauren Bell to Nadine De Klerk, Wide! Bell goes for the bumper but it sails over the batter's head. Wide given for height.

Lauren Bell to Nadine De Klerk, FOUR! Nicely done! Leg-cutter from Bell, trying to keep it away from the batter's arc, full in length. Nadine De Klerk picks the slower one and holds her shape to loft it over cover for a boundary.