With a resounding victory against South Africa on Saturday, England achieved their fourth clean sweep in a T20I series thanks to a strong bowling display in Centurion. Charlie Dean spearheaded England’s bowling attack, which held the hosts to 124. Before Dean hit twice, Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell claimed three wickets in the opening four overs. South Africa struggled to an unsatisfactory score after being dropped to 45 for 5 in eight overs.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Maia Bouchier, the England openers, launched an offensive early in the pursuit. Wyatt-Hodge hammered South Africa with her second consecutive half-century. In women’s T20Is, it was only the second occasion South Africa had been humiliated at home.
South Africa’s absence of skipper Laura Wolvaardt, who was ruled out due to sickness, did not assist their cause. Additionally, they rested their top spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and their other usual opener Tazmin Brits.
Filer and Bell strike first
When England decided to bowl, they got off to the ideal start. Anneke Bosch was dismissed by Filer’s strike with the match’s second ball. Filer hit Bosch with a low full ball at 121.1 kph, aiming for an inswinging yorker. Bosch swiped across the line and was bowled. Bell also hit with her second ball from the opposite end, hitting Faye Tunnicliffe for one.
Batting at number three, Annerie Dercksen used the flat Centurion pitch to make her strokes. She scored two more against Bell in the fourth over after hitting Filer for consecutive boundaries. But when she was dismissed, South Africa slowed down even more as she attempted to flick a full ball angling down leg and got a leading edge to mid-on.
Dean exerts pressure and benefits from it
In Centurion, Dean demonstrated one of her greatest assets: her capacity for composure under duress. Sune Luus hit her for three fours: an edge through slips, an inside-out over cover, and a draw behind square. She recovered by forcing her to make a mistake one to cover. After six overs, South Africa was 42 for 4.
In her subsequent over, Dean had South Africa’s substitute skipper, Chloe Tryon, chipping to cover once again, turning that into 45 for 5. She finished with numbers of 3 for 26 after dismissing the threatening Nadine de Klerk at the end. Dean bowled 14 dots in her four-over performance, which was split throughout the three phases, even though she was dismissed for 12 in her first over.
De Klerk and Shangase aid in South Africa’s recovery
By the eighth over, Tryon had fallen for the sixth time, putting South Africa in danger. Nondumiso Shangase and de Klerk wanted to consolidate and prevent England from getting any further opportunities. After five overs, Shangase finally put an end to the boundary drought.
She pulled when Freya Kemp veered off course with her line and length, scoring a pair of fours via the backward square-leg area. The disciplined Dean was then assaulted by De Klerk, who charged and struck her over cover. In order to revive the 50-run alliance with de Klerk, Shangase offered Kemp the opportunity to charge once again.
However, South Africa was delayed considerably and arrived at a poor time by Shangase’s departure. Before Shangase could ground her foot, the ball bounced off her pad and ended up in the hands of wicketkeeper Amy Jones, who ripped the bails off. A few overs later, De Klerk too fell, and South Africa’s innings came to a halt.
The pursuit is dominated by England
England’s skipper, Heather Knight, stated that they will continue to support their aggressive strategy despite their early elimination from the T20 World Cup earlier this year. In Centurion, their batters once again shown their increased commitment on attacking during the powerplay. England scored 61 in the powerplay this time after scoring 42 and 48 in the first two games, respectively.
In the third over of the chase, which cost South Africa 20, Bouchier grabbed the initiative and targeted Eliz-Mari Marx. When Bouchier fell, Wyatt-Hodge was on just 12 off 13 and she had struck five fours and a six. The seasoned opener then hammered Tumi Sekhukhune and Luus for consecutive boundaries as she scored 41 off her next 18 balls. She also lofted Tryon over cover to get her fifty and seal the match for England after tonking Shangase for a six and a four.
