T20 World Cup semi-final Eng vs SA - South Africa bowl and bring in Sune Luus against England

South Africa have won the toss and opted to bowl first in the second T20 World Cup semi-final against England at The Oval with a place in Sunday’s final against Australia at stake.

As revealed on the eve of the match, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt returned for the home side after recovering from a calf muscle injury that kept her out of action since their second match of the tournament.

Sophia Dunkley, who has made scores of 57, 14 and 49 not out in Sciver-Brunt’s absence, makes way in a straight swap at No. 3 in the batting line-up as England’s only change.

South Africa also made one change to their starting XI, replacing Dane van Niekerk with Sune Luus.

Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa captain, explained her call at the toss, saying, “It’s quite a hard ground to defend” on, adding that her side were still seeking their best form. South Africa lost their opening match to Australia and produced some nervy performances in victory against Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“Still room for improvement but I think that’s an exciting thing, to reach the semis without having had our best game yet,” Wolvaardt said, who led her side to wins against England in the semi-finals of last year’s 50-over World Cup and the 2024 T20 edition.

“We can draw back on those memories but they’re a quality side, on their home turf so we’ll need to play well.”

Sciver-Brunt said she too would have chosen to bowl first, adding that her team -undefeated through the group stage – were ready to overturn their recent results in knockout games against South Africa.

“Everyone is feeling really confident in what they’ve done,” she said. “Were in a good spot and hopefully we can perform out there today.”

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.

England: Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

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