Browsing: maiden

It needed two historic performances from the South African womenâ€s teamâ€s captain and premier batter, Laura Wolvaardt, and their premier all-rounder and pacer, Marizanne Kapp, to sink England in their semi-final clash at the ICC Womens World Cup 2025.

On Wednesday in Guwahati, Wolvaardtâ€s side became the first-ever South African team, men or women, to reach the final of an ICC ODI World Cup after they beat Nat Sciver-Bruntâ€s England womenâ€s team by a huge margin of 125 runs in the first semi-final of this competition.

ICC Womens World Cup England vs South Africa Semi-Final: Report

The Protea women had begun their campaign with a disastrous 10-wicket defeat against England but now knocked the same opposition out of the tournament through an outstanding batting display from Wolvaardt and a marvellous bowling show from Kapp.

Wolvaardt recorded the third-highest individual score by a batter in Womenâ€s World Cup knockouts, her 169 almost single-handedly leading South Africa to 319, the highest total for the Protea women in World Cups.

In the defence of their total, Kapp and South Africa came out all guns blazing, as they had England tottering for 1/3 in the second over, with all of the top three batters dismissed for ducks.

Skipper Sciver-Brunt rebuilt Englandâ€s innings with Alice Capsey through their 107-run fourth-wicket stand, with both batters scoring half-centuries. But once that stand was broken, England collapsed, going from 108/3 to 194 all-out, with Kapp finishing with terrific figures of 5/20 in seven overs that included three maidens.

Apart from losing the toss, South Africa had put the right foot forward from the onset of the contest. Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits set up a solid foundation with a 116-run opening stand.

England did force a mini-collapse, picking up three wickets for only three runs. But Wolvaardt combined with Kapp for a 72-run stand before England bounced back with three quick wickets in a space of 11 runs.

However, from 202/6 at the start of the 41st over, Wolvaardt, who had been playing the anchor role, exploded, finding an able partner in Chloe Tyron, who hit 33* off 26 balls, while Wolvaardt hammered 169 off 143 balls, which included 20 fours and four sixes.

Their partnership of 89 (47), followed by a 28*(12) stand between Tyron and Nadine de Klerk, gave South Africa the momentum they needed to finish their innings on a high.

England vs South Africa Semi-Final Report: England lost 1/3 in 1.1 overs

Englandâ€s run chase was dented in the first seven balls with three strikes, and from thereon, a win for South Africa became more and more inevitable.

They will face either India or Australia in the ICC Womenâ€s World Cup final on Sunday in Navi Mumbai. For the unversed, South Africa have never won an ICC World Cup (ODI or T20I) in either menâ€s or womenâ€s cricket. Sunday beckons a historic opportunity for Wolvaardtâ€s team.

Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.

Source link

The Indian women’s team has kicked off their ICC ODI World Cup campaign with a 99-run victory over Sri Lanka.

The margin of victory might suggest a facile win, but it was not easy going for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team as the underrated Lankans showed fine skills and abundant spirit through the match.

At one stage, batting first, India were reduced to a precarious 124-6, the strong top order back in the pavilion in an ungratifying sequence of unforced errors, with an unexpected setback looming over the stadium in Guwahati city.

It took a brave, stroke-filled partnership of 103 for the seventh wicket between all-rounders Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur that helped India reach 269, which proved beyond the Lankans.

The win ensured important points but raised some searching questions about the top order batting, widely considered as the strongest aspect of the team as India seek their maiden world title having finished runners up twice in World Cups in the last decade.

In the 2017 ODI World Cup, after a string of impressive wins, including a stirring one over Australia in the semi-final, India fizzled out against England in the final.

In the 2020 T20 World Cup final at Melbourne in front of a record crowd of more than 85,000 India fell apart against home team Australia.

Despite not winning the title, reaching the final in the 2017 and 2020 editions put India in the upper echelons of women’s cricket. The Indian team has since been a force to reckon with.

Women’s cricket in India goes back more than half a century. The Women’s Cricket Association of India came into existence in 1973. The national team played its first Test in 1976 against West Indies.

But the next three decades and more were defined by an utter lack of support for women’s cricket from the cricket establishment, sponsors and fans.

While the country threw up some high quality players like Shantha Rangaswamy, Diana Eduljee, Shubhangi Kulkarni and Fouzia Khaleeli, women’s cricket in India wallowed in penury and a lack of playing opportunities.

The turning point came in 2006-2007 when the BCCI, heeding the ICC’s programme to develop women’s cricket, integrated it into the Board.

This opened up access to resources – financial and infrastructure facilities, providing security and opportunity, which not only made the players feel wanted, but also triggered off the desire to excel. Most importantly, this meant they could play overseas matches, which was earlier rare.

The prowess of Indian women cricket has started coming through clearly ever since. The exploits of ace batter Mithali Raj, who holds the record for most runs in a sterling 20-year career, and pace bowler Jhulan Goswami who has sundry milestones to her credit too, earned Indian women’s cricket global encomiums.

In the past decade, stellar performances by the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemima Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and others saw Indian women’s cricket’s stock rise rapidly and higher.

The BCCI’s decision to introduce pay parity between male and female players for all formats went a long way in boosting the self-esteem of women cricketers. The launch of the Women’s Premier League, a sister version of the IPL although with fewer teams and considerably lower fiscal muscle, has seen an explosion in fan interest. These factors have triggered a massive interest in young girls to play the sport, opening up a robust pipeline for talent from across the country.

Women’s cricket in India is blooming, but will reach stratospheric heights if Harmanpreet Kaur and her team can win the ODI World Cup, says former captain Diana Eduljee.

“It can have an impact similar to what happened when Kapil Dev’s team won the 1983 Prudential Cup,” she says.

But can India break the jinx this time and win the World Cup?

Much of the discussion so far has focused on the team’s upcoming match against Pakistan on Sunday in Colombo – it comes at a time when conversation around the melodrama surrounding the recent India-Pakistan men’s match during Asia Cup final is dominating headlines.

But in women’s cricket, India’s record against Pakistan is overwhelmingly superior. The real threat for India in the World Cup comes from other teams.

ICC rankings have Australia at number one. India were number three, but have edged ahead of England after the victory against Sri Lanka. But England, New Zealand and South Africa can’t be taken lightly.

Experts say that India has the talent and experience to take on all of them and playing at home gives them an extra advantage.

Also, India’s lead-in form has been impressive. In June, India beat England in a T20 series there for the first time. Though the format was different, the result should give some psychological advantage in the ODIs too.

In a World Cup warm-up series against old nemesis Australia, India lost 1-2, but matched the Aussies blow-for-blow right through.

Matching the Aussies on talent alone may not be enough to win the title though. India will need to show steely nerves, sustained form, fitness and mental toughness and deep ambition to make this campaign path-breaking.

Beating Sri Lanka on Tuesday was a great start but the road to the title is strewn with many stiff challenges.

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.

Source link

Image credit: Oman Cricket NEW DELHI: Oman on Monday named a 17-member squad for their maiden Asia Cup appearance, set…