ICC Women’s World Cup analysis: England Women chase fifth World Cup triumph; hotly contested opener against South Africa Women
England Women will look to bring home the ICC Women’s World Cup trophy for the fifth time this autumn as Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side kick off their campaign against South Africa Women on Friday, October 3.
The tournament is set to be a closely contested one, with plenty of challenging encounters that lie ahead.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Oliver Shorland analyses the England Women’s potential trajectory to a World Cup triumph and the key performers that will help them achieve it.
Key catalysts for England to reach the final
Emma Lamb
The Lancashire Women all-rounder has been in fine form with bat-in-hand recently, scoring 60 runs against Australia and 81 against India.
Nat Sciver-Brunt
England captain Sciver-Brunt top-scored against India last month with an unbeaten 122 from 105 balls.
The Tokyo-born all-rounder is also tidy with the ball having taken 12 wickets with an economy of 7.94 in the last edition of the WPL (Women’s Premier League).
Sophie Ecclestone
An ever-present in England’s side since leaving school, Ecclestone’s rise to be one of the women’s game’s top bowlers at the age of 26 has been exceptional.
Bowling left-arm spin, Ecclestone provides a tricky match-up for many of the top batters in the world.
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Players to watch in the opener against South Africa
Laura Wolvaardt
Despite inconsistency recently, Wolvaardt is a stalwart of the Women's T20 circuit, clocking in 3,203 runs in her franchise career so far.
She made her debut for South Africa as a teenager - and she has over 6000 runs for the Proteas across both the T20 and ODI format.
Wolvaardt also holds the record for the highest individual score for South Africa in women's ODI’s, notching up 184 runs against Sri Lanka in April 2024.
Marizanne Kapp
After making her ODI World Cup debut in 2009 - it’s fair to say that Kapp is a veteran on the international scene.
The Port Elizabeth-born all-rounder has taken 253 wickets across her career to date, notably reaching 150 ODI wickets in 2023.
Kapp has averaged a score of 35.5 across her 16-year ODI career.
Karabo Meso
Another player for England fans and players to look out for is youngster Karabo Meso.
The 18-year-old has been around the Proteas set-up since she was 16.
The World Cup may see a major tournament debut for Meso, who looks to be South Africa’s future behind the wicket.
Although she only has a handful of international experience under her belt, the tournament may prove to be a springboard for the young South African to showcase her skills on the global stage.
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England’s chances to reclaim the trophy from old foes Australia
Well, the signs have been promising in the lead up to the tournament with England managing to overcome both India and Australia.
This will be the first real test for new captain-and-coach pairing - Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards, both of whom were appointed in April of this year.
The England Women’s coach, speaking to Sky Sports, said that her side are “on the right track” ahead of their first game against South Africa.
England will be hoping this is somewhat of a bounce-back tournament after a 16-0 loss in the multi-format Women's Ashes earlier this year - and a failure to get out of the group stage in the T20 World Cup in 2024.
England Women upcoming World Cup fixtures
England will kick start their competition against South Africa on Friday before playing the six other qualified teams in a round robin format where the top four will progress to the semi-final match-ups.
The two victors will thereafter face off in the final for the ultimate prize on November 2.
