England defeated South Africa by 40 runs in the second semi-final at the Kennington Oval to cement their spot in the T20 World Cup 2026 final, where they will face arch-rivals Australia.
Notably, the hosts had a rough start to the match, reduced to 23/3 at one stage. South Africa pacers were dominating the proceedings as England needed a strong foundation. That’s exactly what Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight produced. They stitched a match-defining 133-run partnership for the fourth wicket as England finished on 169 for 5 before restricting South Africa to 129 for 8 in reply.
Shabnim Ismail had a cracking start to the game, as she removed Amy Jones with the first ball of the match. With that, she became the first woman to reach 50 wickets in Women’s T20 World Cups. Marizanne Kapp added pressure through a tight opening spell, while Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt-Hodge also fell early as England lost three wickets inside the powerplay. For the visitors, it was all about carrying the momentum, but they struggled.
Sciver-Brunt, returning after missing three matches with a recurrence of a calf injury, counterattacked with 75 from 47 deliveries. Knight supported with 58 from 47 as the pair rebuilt control of the innings through sustained boundary scoring and rotation. Their partnership became the highest for any wicket in a Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final and the second-highest overall in the tournament.
South Africa batters disappointed
South Africa’s chase struggled to gain momentum despite an early platform. Laura Wolvaardt managed only 13 runs before the end of the powerplay after being limited in strike and was later dismissed following a sharp catch by Sophie Ecclestone, who completed a key overhead effort to break the opening stand.
Tazmin Brits top-scored with 51, but England’s bowling and fielding kept the required rate climbing throughout. Ecclestone added another difficult catch later in the innings, while Danni Wyatt-Hodge produced a direct-hit run-out of Sinalo Jafta to underline England’s sharp fielding display. South Africa were unable to recover from regular wickets and were bowled out of contention long before the finish, as England sealed a place in the final against Australia at Lord’s.
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