The Proteas Women put in an exquisite bowling performance to reduce England to 189-9 in the first ODI in Worcester.
England elected to bat first but struggled to get going as the South African seamers battered the England batsmen.
With four bowlers in the top 10 of the ICC rankings – Marizanne Kapp (third), Shabnim Ismail (sixth), Ayabonga Khaka (eighth) and Dane van Niekerk (ninth) – the Proteas bowlers proved their worth.
Ismail (3-25) got the ball rolling with a perfectly crafted inswinger that smashed into Amy Jones’ off-stump, the 24-year-old contributing just 19, including four boundaries. Ismail struck again in the seventh over by removing the experienced Sarah Taylor for two.
Kapp (1-51) continued her opening partner’s good start by removing captain Heather Knight (4) lbw in the following over, which rattled the World Champions at 29-3 after 7.5 overs.
The Proteas Women continued to dominate when Khaka (3-42) came in at the 10-over mark and struck off her first delivery, a beautiful inswinger that clipped Tammy Beaumont’s (six) inside edge and crashed into her middle stump.
At 39-4, England managed to climb to 61-4 by the 17th over before Khaka’s double strike. First to go was Natalie Sciver (16) followed by Danielle Wyatt (seven) two balls later.
Proteas T20 Player of the Year, Chloe Tryon (1-21), placed her mark on the contest when she dismissed Jenny Gunn (four) to knock England to 80-7 in 28.3 overs and then 97-8 with a brilliant run-out to remove Anya Shrubsole (seven) six overs later.
Katherine Brunt and Laura Marsh put on a formidable ninth-wicket partnership of 51 before Ismail’s exquisite cutter crashed into Marsh’s middle stump, which reduced England to 148-9.
Brunt was England’s top performer: her half-century resurrected her side’s innings. She contributed an unbeaten 98-ball 72 (eight fours) as England managed 189-9 in their 50 overs.
Photo: Tony Marshall/Getty Images
