Key events:
Kapp is gone, c Cross b Sciver 12 (South Africa 73-4)Oh dear oh dear. What a way to go. Looking to bully Sciver, Kapp claps one down the ground but doesn’t catch it clean. Cross takes a good tumbling diving catch at mid-on but that is a sorry way to end an innings that was just starting to get going. South Africa back in their hole.
22nd over: 69-3 (Wolvaardt 30, Kapp 11) Dean’s over is milked for a few singles. Wolvaardt is into the 30s and Kapp is into double figures. A slight lift for the Saffas but England still bossing it.
21st over: South Africa 66-3 (Wolvaardt 28, Kapp 10) Laura W, get some of that! That Kapp thwack in the previous over has given things a lift. Wolvaardt decides to join the party and smears Ecclestone up and over wide mid-on for four. It’s not timed to perfection but well enough to take it to the fence.
More of that please! Photograph: Matt Lewis/ECB/Getty Images20th: South Africa 62-3 (Wolvaardt 28, Kapp 6) Hallelujah! Thank you Marizanne Kapp. That’s some oomph, some Protea fire. It’s only worth four but this bunt down the ground is a signal to Dean that the South African batter won’t be stymied without a fight.
19th over: South Africa 54-3 (Wolvaardt 26, Kapp 0) ‘Eccelstone keeps it tidy’ CTL V. I’ll be using that one again and again. England have put South Africa in a little box and chucked the keys in the bin. Just one single to Wolvaardt means Eccelstone is 1-6 from five overs.
18th over: South Africa 53-3 (Wolvaardt 25, Kapp 0) Spin from both ends now (making my job a little trickier) as Charlie Dean enters the scene. Wolvaardt takes a single and Kapp can’t add to the score, but she is trying to force it. She crunches one to mid-off but can’t pierce the field. Some impetus needed otherwise we might be staring at a one-sided contest.
17th over: South Africa 52-3 (Wolvaardt 24, Kapp 0) Another maiden for Ecclestone and this one also snares the wicket of Luus. She’s been like a python, strangling South Africa with her metronomic offies. World class. That’s what she is. World class. Nothing loose, at the batter, bowling to her field. It’d be easy to be overly critical of the Saffas but credit must go to England.
Wicket! Luus b Ecclestone 7 (South Africa 52-3)That was coming from a mile away. Luus’s stagnant stay at the crease comes to a merciful end as she yorks herself trying to ease Ecclestone’s full ball into the covers. It was a soft stroke in a soft innings that came to a soft end. Disappointing from the skipper but that’s what a cluster of dot balls will do. England in the pound seat.
16th over: South Africa 52-2 (Wolvaardt 24, Luus 7) Cross restarts with a maiden. South Africa need to crack on here. Wolvaardt’s faced 41 balls, Luus 26. Pressure is building. Something has to give.
And how!
15th: South Africa 51-2 (Wolvaardt 24, Luus 6) That’s drinks. England’s opening hour thanks to Brunt’s two wickets in a sensational spell of swing bowling.
Ecclestone has kept the pressure on with some tidy spin. This last set was her most expensive as it goes for three. Luus with a single through point and then a couple squirmed down to fine leg brings up the half century for the Proteas.
But it’s been 31 balls since the last boundary. They’ll need to get going here, and sharpish.
14th: South Africa 48-2 (Wolvaardt 22, Luus 5) That’s more like it from Cross. Amy Jones is up to the stumps and it’s a ring field with a slip still in place. England putting the squeeze on with stump to stump bowling as the run-rate drops below four (it’s been below four for a while but I’ve only noticed now). Just a single for each batter. Someone’s got to give it the hurry up sooner or later.
13th over: South Africa 45-2 (Wolvaardt 21, Luus 4) Ecclestone is just a delight, isn’t she? Teasing flight and a twirly action. She’s pretty accurate as well. Just a single apiece for the batters towards the sweeper on the off side. The South Africans are playing her with extra caution today. Luus declines the offer to drive one that was drivable. Perhaps a wise move given Brunt’s double strike.
12th over: South Africa 44-2 (Wolvaardt 20, Luus 3) Cross is a touch straight to end off an otherwise faultless over. Luus gets off the mark with a flick of her wrists and a couple taken down to deep third. She takes another one down there to keep the strike.
Haven’t seen the replays, but I think you’re on to something here.
Commentary discussing whether there should be a review for the second LBW shout and whether there was an edge, but I suspect the *real* reason is that Knight had already made a Horlicks of the first review in the first over … #ENGvSA @danielgallan
— VoiceOfTheMysterons (@Mysteron_Voice) July 11, 2022 11th over: South Africa 41-2 (Wolvaardt 20, Luus 0) Time for spin as Brunt takes a deserved breather and Sophie Eccelstone – tormenter of the Proteas in the World Cup semi-final – gets into her work.
It’s a tidy start, as you’d expect. Nice and full and bringing Wolvaardt forward. There’s a couple of leg-byes down to fine leg but none off the bat.
10th over: South Africa 39-2 (Wolvaardt 20, Luus 0) Gorgeous drive from Wolvaardt. Best in the game for my money with that shot. Cross is too full and Laura W won’t miss out. She’s a little streaky though with another wafty drive and a thick edge flies to deep third for a single.
9th over: South Africa 34-2 (Wolvaardt 15, Luus 0) A wicket maiden that could have been a double, if not a triple. Brunt has been magnificent. An original decision of out against Goodall is overturned as it pitches outside the leg stump. No matter. The next ball is edged to first slip and Goodall is sent packing. Her captain might have joined her soon after as she’s also pinged on the pads. Brunt celebrappeals. No review. No need. She’ll get ‘em next time.
Brunt is on fire! Goodall c Knight b Brunt 5 (South Africa 34-2)Katherine Brunt is making this ball talk, and sing, and belt out Shakespearean soliloquies. After trapping Goodall on the pads and seeing an original decision of out overturned on review, Brunt brings her length back and angles it across the left hander. A prod of the bat means it takes the edge and nestles neatly in the skipper’s hands. Brunt lets our a mighty roar. She know’s she’s bossing this game right now.
Katherine Brunt is bossing it Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters8th over: South Africa 34-1 (Wolvaardt 15, Goodall 5) As expected it’s a change in personnel with Kate Cross into the attack. Usually miserly, she’s kicks off with a pretty costly half-dozen. A two and a one from Wolvaardt proceeds a sweetly timed flick from the left-hander Goodall, who also takes a single to round things off.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Andrie Steyn stuck on the crease, playing around that front pad. Brunt’s inducker sees the back of another opening batter. #ENGvSA #FrontPadWatch
— Ananya Upendran (@a_upendran11) July 11, 2022 7th over: South Africa 26-1 (Wolvaardt 12, Goodall 0) Breakthrough with a peach of a ball. It’s the classic set-up. Away, away, away, away, away, IN! And it traps Steyn dead in front. Just a single at the start of the over means Brunt is now 1-5 after 4. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Wicket! Steyn lbw Brunt 14 (South Africa 25-1)That’s no less than Brunt deserves. She’s been bang on from the moment she opened up. She’s been probing with away swing on a tight channel but this one’s straighter and maybe moved back in off the seam. it pins Steyn on the pad and it’s plumb. Quality bowling from a quality bowler Steyn never looked comfortable against Brunt.
Steyn walks after losing her lbw wicket off the bowling of Brunt. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters6th over: South Africa 25-0 (Steyn 14, Wolvaardt 11) Steyn finds the middle of her bat for the first time with two textbook perfect leg glances. The first is through square leg and the second is finer. There’s no-one on the leg side between deep fine leg and a straight-ish midwicket so probably best not to bowl on the pads. Sciver can’t get her lines right, though and Steyn takes nine from three balls before Wolvaardt milks a single into the off-side. Expensive set for Sciver. That may be her last for now.
5th over: South Africa 15-0 (Steyn 5, Wolvaardt 10) It’s a tad sloppy out there. Except for Brunt, who is brilliant and probing away with lovely out swing around a fourth stump line. Back to the sloppiness: A bunt to mid-on from Steyn is fumbled (first mistake) and then thrown to the bowler’s end (second mistake) and then to the keep’er end where it almost goes for four overthrows. Thankfully Brunt restores order with four dot balls to Wolvaardt. Her three overs have gone for just four so far.
4th over: South Africa 14-0 (Steyn 4, Wolvaardt 10) There’s a mix-up and it looks like Steyn has barbecued Wolvaardt. Good thing the English were feeling generous. Danni Wyatt at point is on her heels and takes an age to reach it. Had she been sharper I bet that would be one down. It’s not. Two singles from that tighter over from Sciver, who dragged her length back.
Richard O’Hagan has a theory on our crowd conundrum:
“I wonder if the ECB have fallen between two stools here. I recall that the idea of playing this series midweek was so that schools and colleges could bring pupils, but a lot of the public schools where they have girls cricket teams (and which produced the likes of Issy Wong) have already broken up for the summer.”
I reckon that’s a fair point.
3rd over: South Africa 13-0 (Steyn 3, Wolvaardt 10) Brunt has got Steyn on toast here. Sumptuous away swing on a nagging length has the opener dabble at one. it finds the outside edge but doesn’t carry to Heather Knight at first slip. The batters scramble a single. Wolvaardt guides one to deep third. I don’t reckon Steyn appreciates that but she does navigate the final delivery. Another top set from Brunt.
2nd over: South Africa (Steyn 2, Wolvaardt 8) Boom! That’s the trademark Wolvaardt who nails back-to-back drives through the covers in that Nat Sciver over. Lovely stuff from South Africa’s alpha.
1st over: South Africa 1-0 (Steyn 1, Wolvaardt 0) That’s a top, top start from the veteran Katherine Brunt who is on the money immediately. Her first two balls whizz past Andrie Steyn’s bat. The second one even prompts a (rash) review for caught behind. Nothing doing though. No matter, the rest of her set is tidy enough with just a squirmed single down to fine leg.
Is there anybody out there? Five minutes to go. The players are making their way out for the anthems. Am I doing the game a disservice by mentioning the vast swathes of empty seats? I get that the calendar is rammed and the Commonwealth Games looms large over the horizon, but it’s a real shame that this first ODI is scheduled on a Monday. It’s also hot (have I mentioned how hot it is?) and that’s perhaps keeping a few fans away til later. I was at Trent Bridge yesterday and it was rocking. Pity we won’t get that sort of atmosphere today.
Heather Knight (left) and Sune Luus with the trophy. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/ECB/Getty ImagesHistory suggests it’ll be an England walkover, but not if you take recent history into account. Overall it’s a wash with the home side in the ascendency. However, they’re 1-1 this year. Anyone’s game.
England v South Africa
Women’s ODI series
Head to head
ENG 40-9 SA
1 no result
In England
ENG 15-5 SA
Last 5 years
ENG 4-2 SA
England have won all nine previous bilateral ODI series they’ve played against SA.
Recent form
England WWWWWL
South Africa LWLWWW#ENGvSA
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 11, 2022 A few tweaks for England as well. It’s a rejigged team from the World Cup final. Sophia Dunkley up to three with Danni Wyatt, who opened in that showpiece event in April, drops down to six. Emma Lamb, who impressed in the Test in Taunton, opens up.
Our XI for the first ODI of the series!
South Africa win the toss and will bat first.
🏴 #ENGvSA 🇿🇦
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 11, 2022 A few changes for South Africa. Lee may be gone but the Proteas welcome back bit hitter Chloe Tryon so should still pack some punch in the middle order.
South Africa win toss, bat firstAs expected, the skipper who wins the coin flip has chosen to bat on what looks like a flat deck. And that’s exactly what Sune Luus chooses to do.
Lizelle Lee leaves a legacy.
“That’s a tell-tale sign of a proper hot day.” So says the estimable Nick Friend of The Cricketer while spying the high density of floppy hats from the South Africans. That’s nine out 18 by my count. That sort of day.
PreambleGood day and welcome to Northampton where it is COOKING! It’s a proper scorcher out there with some of the outfield looking in desperate need of a drink. I’m guessing so will the players across a day expected to reach 30°C. Not that these two teams need help bringing the heat.
As Australia continue to set a blistering pace in the women’s game, England and South Africa are vying for that contender’s spot. England have triumphed in three of the last five ODI encounters, most recently in the World Cup semi-final in March where Sophie Ecclestone claimed 6-36 in a 137-run win. But South Africa edged their group stage match and will back themselves to challenge their hosts today.
They’ll have to do so without the power-hitting opener Lizelle Lee as she unexpectedly retired from all international cricket this. After the damp squib that was the Test in Taunton, everyone will be itching for a result to inject some life in this multi-format series.
I’m Daniel. I’ve got you covered for the first innings.
Toss at 1:30, play at 2pm.