England's perfect run meets familiar semifinal nemesis

From the group of death, South Africa came out alive. Maybe not in the most convincing fashion; stumbling at times, making the campaign more difficult for themselves than they would have liked. But they have reached The Oval, to play yet another World Cup semifinal, facing up to an opposition they have outdone a few times in recent years, at this stage.

But recent history is one thing, and an in-form England at home is another. With Nat Sciver-Brunt returning from her calf injury, the hosts are facing a different challenge - who sits out? The out of form player has found form; the in-form players are awaiting consistent returns. It's an envious position to be in heading into such a critical game, but they are unlikely to be complaining about it. However, South Africa's troubles might just be the envy for England, who haven't been quite pushed in their group stage contests.

They have come so far in the World Cup unbeaten, and barring the Irish scare, almost unscathed. England have carved the perfect turnaround after a forgetful couple of years in international cricket. But Sciver-Brunt claims the team has settled in better to the new coach and captain over the past year. However, much like South Africa, they aren't short of concerns.

England have dropped 16 catches so far in this tournament - the most by any team, taking only one out of every two opportunities that have come their way. It's not been an issue with any specific player, with six of them contributing to the team's overall tally.

On a surface, where run-scoring should be comfortable, the big battle will likely be between the South African bowlers and the in-form English batters. In the reverse battle, England have the form rolling in their favour. Many of South Africa's match-winners are yet to showcase their potential with the bat, and they wouldn't like it anymore than to touch their peaks as the tournament reaches the climax.

When: Thursday, July 2, 2026, 6:30 PM Local Time/11:00 PM IST

Where: England vs South Africa, 2nd semifinal, The Oval, London

What to expect:The first semifinal may not have offered an adequate showcase of the easy-scoring surface that was on offer, but expect a high-scoring encounter in the second semi, which will be played on the same surface, with 62-meter boundaries all round. All women's T20 matches played at this venue this year have been won by the chasing teams.

Team News:

England:Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was suffering from a calf injury and missed England's last three games, has recovered and is set to return for the semifinal clash

Probable XI:Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

South Africa: Dane van Niekerk, who is playing purely as a batter in the side, hasn't had much of an impact so far. South Africa might be tempted to bring back Kayla Reyneke for her big-hitting skills.

Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Dane van Niekerk/Kayla Reyneke, Sinalo Jafta, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba

Did you know?

• The last two times the two sides met in World Cup semifinals (in 2023 and 2025), both those contests were won by South Africa

• South Africa have reached the final of the last two T20 World Cups
• England have won every World Cup played at home
• Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the leading run-getter in this World Cup, has been dismissed a combined 12 times by South Africa's new-ball pair of Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail

What they said:

"The 50-over World Cup, I just sort of started my journey as captain, and a bit of change in leadership and the coach as well. So it sort of feels now that everyone is sort of settled into the way we're doing things and have really grown in confidence in their abilities. And I think that has been shown out on the pitch with different people, choosing their moment to shine and to show people what they can do." - Nat Sciver-Brunt, England captain

"A little bit frustrating in those games (against Pakistan and Bangladesh) where we probably could have gotten over the line a bit easier, but I think at the end of the day we won, we got the points in the bag, and we're moving forward. We have definitely chatted about it though, that if we do find ourselves in a similar position to maybe kill the game earlier." - Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa's captain