South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first against hosts England in the second semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at The Oval on Thursday. The winner of the high-stakes clash will take on Australia in Sunday’s final.
England received a major boost ahead of the knockout encounter with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt returning to the playing XI after recovering from the calf injury that had sidelined her since the team’s second match of the tournament.
Nat Sciver-Brunt returns as England make one change
Sciver-Brunt walked straight back into the side, replacing Sophia Dunkley in England’s only change. Dunkley impressed during the captain’s absence, registering scores of **57, 14 and an unbeaten 49, but made way for the returning skipper.
England head into the semi-final unbeaten in the group stage and will be aiming to end their recent knockout struggles against South Africa.
South Africa also make one change
The Proteas made a solitary change to their XI, bringing in experienced all-rounder Sune Luus in place of Dane van Niekerk.
After winning the toss, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt explained the decision to field first. “It’s quite a hard ground to defend on,” Wolvaardt said.
She admitted that South Africa are yet to produce their best cricket despite reaching the last four. “There’s still room for improvement, but I think that’s an exciting thing—to reach the semi-finals without having had our best game yet.”
Wolvaardt also recalled South Africa’s recent success over England in ICC knockout matches, including victories in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final and the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final.
“We can draw back on those memories, but they’re a quality side on their home turf, so we’ll need to play well.”
England confident ahead of knockout clash
Sciver-Brunt revealed that England would also have opted to bowl first had they won the toss but insisted her side is confident after an unbeaten group-stage campaign. “Everyone is feeling really confident in what they’ve done. We’re in a good spot and hopefully we can perform out there today,” the England captain said.
With a place in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 final on the line, both teams will be looking to deliver their best performance of the tournament.
Playing XIs
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
England Women: Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
