Toss South Africa Women chose to bowl vs England Women

South Africa have opted to bowl against defending champions England in the 2022 ODI World Cup semi-final at the Hagley Oval in pursuit of their maiden berth in a world tournament final in this format. The ground had witnessed rain overnight but the sun was out at the toss of this day-night fixture.

In this rematch of the 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final, South Africa went in unchanged while Anya Shrubsole, the Player of the Match of the final of that edition, slotted back in for England after being rested for the previous game, against Bangladesh. Freya Davies, who had filled in for Shrubsole, made her way out.

South Africa captain Sune Luus anchored her decision to bowl to let her bowlers make the most of the slightly windy conditions in Christchurch and the fresh surface, which, according to the pitch report, appeared to have a brownish tinge and was a touch on the slower side. Her opposite number, Heather Knight, too, wanted to chase but was optimistic her side's performance in the back end of their league-stage campaign will help them put up a strong performance.

England are coming off four back-to-back wins, a superlative turnaround from their campaign-threatening three successive losses at the start of the tournament. South Africa, meanwhile, clinched a final-ball cliffhanger against India, runners-up of the 2017 ODI World Cup, in their last outing to finish the league stage with five wins from six completed matches, and a washout against West Indies.

The experienced pair of Lizelle Lee and Luus are making their 100th ODI appearance and will be expected to make a mark in this high-stakes fixture to help South Africa avenge elimination at the hands of England in the 2017 World Cup semi-final.

England 1 Tammy Beaumont, 2 Danielle Wyatt, 3 Heather Knight (capt), 4 Natalie Sciver, 5 Amy Jones (wk), 6 Sophia Dunkley, 7 Katherine Brunt, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Kate Cross, 10 Charlotte Dean, 11 Anya Shrubsole

South Africa 1 Lizelle Lee, 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 Lara Goodall, 4 Sune Luus (capt), 5 Mignon du Preez, 6 Marizanne Kapp, 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Trisha Chetty (wk), 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Masabata Klaas, 11 Ayabonga Khaka