England versus South Africa. A World Cup semi-final that – if the rest of the tournament is anything to go by – is likely to go to the wire. Heather Knight at the helm, facing off against Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt and co. If that all sounds familiar, it’s because it was exactly the situation faced by England on their path to world domination five years ago, at home in 2017.
On that occasion, at Bristol, England were left relying on an unlikely hero with the bat – Anya Shrubsole. With England eight wickets down and needing two runs to win from the last three balls, Shrubsole stuck out her bat and flayed a boundary through point: cue heartbreak for South Africa and relief for England. The good news, if you are English, is that Shrubsole will be available for selection in Thursday’s repeat of the 2017 semi-final, at Christchurch, after being rested against Bangladesh.
