It was meant to be a walkover for England – a suggestion that had riled the South Africa captain, Sune Luus, before this semi-final. “Oh, that’s great, there’s no pressure on us then, we can just go out and enjoy it,” she had bristled at one reporter during the pre-match press conference.
And enjoy it they did – from the moment Luus won the toss and chose to bat, through a 96-run opening partnership between Tazmin Brits (68) and Laura Wolvaardt, who both struck half-centuries; before a quickfire 27 off 13 from Marizanne Kapp helped South Africa reach the dizzy heights of 164 for four. “We were the underdog today, and being the underdog makes you want to do better,” as Brits put it afterwards.
