Key events
Thanks for your company today. I’ll leave you with Raf Nicholson’s report – bye bye.
England’s net run-rate is 3.77. That can only come down, but even at this stage it feels like that is worth half a point.
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s reaction
[How pleased are you?] Yeah, massively pleased! Everyone was really on it in the field and we had a few first-ball wickets as well. It’s a captain’s dream.
[On Linsey Smith] She stuck to her strengths. She’s a left-arm spinner who can swing the ball, so we knew she was a really good match-up [against the in-form Wolvaardt and Brits]. We knew that was an important partnership to break.
[On England’s spin attack] And Sarah Glenn’s on the bench as well! We’re really blessed to have so many talented cricketers. It’s making selection difficult.
South African captain Laura Wolvaardt’s reaction
Definitely not the way we wanted to start the tournament. It wasn’t our best day with the bat but saying that haven’t become a bad batting side overnight. We’ve shown a lot of resilience in the past. There’s still a long tournament ahead of us and we’ll be looking to put this behind us as quickly as we can.
England bowled really well with the new ball. Linsey Smith was excellent; we probably didn’t expect that much swing and could have played straighter lines. We were a bit push-y at the ball as well and could have been a bit more calm.
The message is to keep trusting what we’ve done in the past. In a tournament like this you need to have a short memory when you have games like today.
The player of the match is Linsey Smith
Yeah, really delighted with how we went. To start like that was really special, but most important was that we got a big win today.
Lottie [England coach Charlotte Edwards] told me yesterday I’d be opening the bowling, which I was excited about. It’s a tough challenge but conditions really suited me today.
[What’s the key to your success so far] I think just backing myself and not overcomplicating it too much. Keep it pretty simple, bowl at the stumps as much as possible. And yeah, it came off today.
There’s huge talent in the squad and everyone’s pushing for places which is always good. We [the spinners] all offer different things so hopefully we can keep learning individually and as a unit.
England were on top from the eighth ball of the match, when Linsey Smith dismissed Laura Wolvaardt with her second delivery at a World Cup. Smith struck in her next two overs as well, bowling Tamzin Brits and Marizanne Kapp, and South Africa never recovered.
England win by 10 wickets with 215 balls remaining
14.1 overs: England 73-0 (Beaumont 21, Jones 40) Tammy Beaumont finishes the job by working Khaka off the pads for four. A perfect start to the World Cup for England, who have beaten a good South Africa side by a margin that is difficult to comprehend.
14th over: England 69-0 (Beaumont 17, Jones 40) Three singles and a couple of wides, both on height, in Klaas’s over. England need one to win.
13th over: England 64-0 (Beaumont 15, Jones 39) Amy Jones hurries England to the brink of victory with successive boundaries off the new bowler Ayabonga Khaka, both whipped brusquely through midwicket.
Bigger tests await Jones, whose World Cup will probably be judged on her performances against the big two, but she’s batted nicely today.
12th over: England 55-0 (Beaumont 13, Jones 31) Jones flicks Klaas for a single to bring up a largely serene fifty partnership with Beaumont. She has the measure of this pitch now and gets four more with a stylish clip over midwicket off Klaas.
Saying which, Jones is almost undone by the pitch next ball when she offers a return catch that is dropped by the bowler Klaas. The lack of pace surprised both Jones, who mistimed her stroke, and Klaas, who reached to her right and put it down.
11th over: England 48-0 (Beaumont 13, Jones 26) Jones skids back to cut Mlaba for four, a perfectly placed stroke between point and backward point. There are no fielders anywhere near her next boundary, a thumping drive back over the bowler’s head.
10th over: England 39-0 (Beaumont 13, Jones 17) Jones drags successive deliveries from Klaas off middle stump for two and then one. Realistically, England were never going to romp to 70 for 0 in eight overs; this approach is fine and will still give their net run-rate a huge boost.
10th over: England 34-0 (Beaumont 12, Jones 14) The left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba replaces Marizanne Kapp, who bowled a threatening spell of 4-0-13-0.
A quicker delivery to Beaumont zips away for a couple of leg byes, the only runs from a decent first over. England are going to win this game but their openers are not finding it easy to score on this pitch.
8th over: England 32-0 (Beaumont 12, Jones 14) The right-arm seamer Masabata Klaas comes on for Chloe Tryon. She starts by bowling fullish and straight, a tactic that makes sense both on the pitch and against these two batters, who are strongest through the off side.
Two runs from the over.
7th over: England 30-0 (Beaumont 11, Jones 13) Jones blasts a straight drive that is well stopped in her follow through by Kapp. England look mindful of this slightly awkward pitch and are not doing anything funky with the bat.
6th over: England 29-0 (Beaumont 11, Jones 12) Jones gets her first boundary with a cut through the covers off Tryon. The fielding from Klaas wasn’t the best and once the ball got through the infield it was always going to reach the boundary.
5th over: England 23-0 (Beaumont 10, Jones 7) A beautiful full-length delivery from Kapp to Beaumont somehow misses both the inside edge and the off stump.
There’s an unsuccessful LBW review later in the over when Beaumont is hit outside the line by another terrific delivery. A desperate review, but that’s understandable in the circumstances.
4th over: England 21-0 (Beaumont 9, Jones 6) Tryon is attacking the stumps from round the wicket, the same as Linsey Smith. England’s openers have the advantage of knowing what South Africa did wrong, not least playing for turn that wasn’t there, and have so far looked comfortable.
3rd over: England 19-0 (Beaumont 9, Jones 5) A potential run-out chance goes begging after a loose throw from extra cover, though I’m pretty sure Jones was safe anyway.
Beaumont moves England four runs closer to victory with a forceful pull behind square. Excellent judgement of length because it wasn’t that short from Kapp.
2nd over: England 14-0 (Beaumont 5, Jones 4) South Africa are also opening the bowling with a left-arm spinner, Chloe Tryon in this case. Beaumont drives her second ball in the air but wide of the cover fielder and away for four; an otherwise accurate over is spoiled by a delivery that whooshes down the leg side for five wides.
1st over: England 5-0 (Beaumont 1, Jones 4) Early wickets are South Africa’s only hope of a miracle so Marizanne Kapp starts with two slips. Amy Jones is beaten by a delicious outswinger that only just misses the off stump; the rest of the over is not fit to report unremarkable.
Time for the England run-chase (sic). It wasn’t the easiest pitch on which to score so it’ll be interesting to see how England play this – do they think only of run-rate and maybe sacrifice a few wickets, or would they rather take a bit longer to secure a thumping win by nine or ten wickets.
Musical interlude
South Africa’s lowest ODI scores
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51 v New Zealand, 2009 World Cup
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63 v Pakistan, 2019
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69 v England, 2025 World Cup
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75 v Bangladesh, 2012
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77 v England, 2013 World Cup
Lauren Bell’s reaction
What a start that was! Linsey set the tone and every bowler did their job. We couldn’t be happier with that start.
Linsey is such a skilful player and swings the new ball so I think she’ll be really important for us moving forward.
The pitch was pretty skiddy and the spinners bowled well, but hopefully… we’ve restricted them to a pretty good score! It’s a dream start and I don’t think we could be much happier.
England need 70 to win
That’s an unimaginably good start to the World Cup for England, who have wiped out a strong South Africa team for just 69. Linsey Smith, making her World Cup debut, set the tone by striking in each of her first three overs.
She was taken off with figures of 4-2-7-3 but the wickets kept on falling. Sinalo Jafta, who hit 22, was the only batter to reach double figures. Yikes.
WICKET! South Africa 69 all out (Mlaba b Dean 3)
Nonkulululeko Mlaba misses a slog sweep and becomes the sixth South African to be bowled in this innings. One rattle after another.
20th over: South Africa 67-9 (Khaka 5, Mlaba 3) South Africa’s lowest score – overall and at a World Cup – is 51 all out against New Zealand in 2009. A teenager Marizanne Kapp played in that game
“Did they change the tournament to T20 from today?” asks Krishnamoorthy V.
It wouldn’t be much of a T20 score either, would it. England need 68 to win.
19th over: South Africa 64-9 (Khaka 4, Mlaba 0) Khaka wallops Dean for four to get off the mark. And why not?
18th over: South Africa 60-9 (Khaka 0, Mlaba 0) England’s toughest fixtures (India and Australia) are at the back end of the league stage, and the manner of this victory will increase their confidence going into the upcoming matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. That Sri Lanka game a week on Saturday feels particularly important.
WICKET! South Africa 60-9 (Jafta b Ecclestone 22)
Make that five South African players who have been out bowled. Jafta wasn’t playing defensively, though: she charged Ecclestone, missed and was cleaned up. No blame attached to her – she’s the only player to reach double figures and had to try something.
This is almost surreal. South Africa are 60 for nine.
17th over: South Africa 60-8 (Jafta 22, Khaka 0) Since you asked, This won’t be the lowest score against England at a World Cup. I’d need to check but I think Denmark were all out for 47 at Banstead on 20 July 1993.
WICKET! South Africa 60-8 (Klaas b Dean 3)
Charlie Dean gets in on the act. Nicely bowled, an offbreak that zipped on to beat Klaas on the outside and hit the top of the stumps.
Four of the eight wickets have been bowled, most of them with the batters playing a) defensively and b) for turn that wasn’t forthcoming.
16th over: South Africa 58-7 (Jafta 21, Klaas 3) Four singles from Ecclestone’s over, plus a play-and-miss from Jafta. Barring a miracle, all South Africa can do now is minimise the damage to their net run-rate and morale.
