Proteas bat first against England in World Cup semi

England won the toss and put South Africa in to bat in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 semifinal at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

South Africa made just one change to their side, opting for an extra batter with Anneke Bosch replacing Masabata Klaas. England remain unchanged.

Speaking at the toss, Laura Wolvaardt said that she would have done the same, adding: “but runs on the board in a semifinal is pretty good too”.

Klaas’ experience will be missed, but the South African skipper said they have too often felt themselves lacking in the batting department during the tournament, prompting the change.

The Proteas head into this knockout match off the back of a big loss against Australia and face a familiar foe in England. They started their campaign with a ten-wicket loss against them at the same venue hosting this fixture, they’ll be searching for another slice of history.

Across all 50-over competitions, England hold the aces with 36 wins in their 47 meetings. And they have been denied a chance in the final by England twice before, in 2017 and 2022.

But the Proteas are pretty good at making history and they will be looking for that bit of magic that helped them secure a win over England in the ICC World T20 in 2023. That win at Newlands saw them become the first ever South African side to reach a final of a World Cup.

With plenty of experience in the shorter format with back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024 and will be looking to channel some of that zen in this crunch clash.

ENGLAND: Amy Jones (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba