The Proteas won the toss and elected to field first. This decision looked spot-on early on, but despite a dream start with the ball, South Africa was unable to land the knockout blow when it mattered most.

The Proteas had England in serious trouble at 23/3 inside the fourth over, largely thanks to a fiery opening spell by Marizanne Kapp. After a difficult first over, veteran speedster Shabnim Ismail also bounced back brilliantly to pile the pressure on the hosts.

Marizanne Kapp once again struck early. Photo: ICC

However, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt once again showed her class with a match-defining 75 off just 47 balls, while former skipper Heather Knight provided the perfect support with a composed 58 off 47 deliveries. Their partnership helped England recover and post a competitive 169/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

South Africa will look back on the middle overs as a missed opportunity, with too much leg-side bowling allowing Sciver-Brunt and Knight to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking.

Nonkululeko Mlaba was the pick of the Proteas bowlers with an impressive 2/25 in her four overs, while Ismail claimed 2/31 and Kapp was outstanding with figures of 1/16.

Heather Knight. Photo: ICC

In reply, South Africa made a promising start with the bat as Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits shared a 43-run opening stand. However, the momentum shifted when captain Wolvaardt fell for 17 off 15 balls in the sixth over.

Brits fought hard to keep the chase alive with a determined 51 off 45 deliveries, but the lack of support and failure to build meaningful partnerships ultimately proved costly.

The Proteas were restricted to 129/8 in their 20 overs as England’s bowlers took control. Seamer Lauren Bell led the attack with 2/28, while the spinners tightened the screws. Charlie Dean impressed with 2/31, Sophie Ecclestone took 1/21, and Linsey Smith added 1/25.

While South Africa will be disappointed to exit at the semi-final stage, they can take pride in reaching the last four. However, they will also admit they never quite reached their full potential during the tournament and struggled to find consistency with the bat.

Proteas Women coach Mandla Mashimbyi admitted England deserved their place in the final and said the tournament’s two strongest teams will battle it out for the trophy.

“Without trying to take anything for granted, I think if you get to the semis, you must have done something right,” said Mashimbyi.

Nat Sciver-Brunt. Photo: ICC

“I think we did do something right, maybe not in the best way in terms of how we wanted to do it. But at the end of the day, you want to get World Cup wins, and we did get that.

“But today you’ve got to give credit to England. I think they were really good. They were incredible. And to be fair, two of the best teams in the tournament are in the final.”

Mashimbyi added while South Africa’s bowling unit delivered throughout the campaign, their batting never quite fired on all cylinders.

Laura Wolvaardt. Photo: ICC

“I think with the ball we were really good throughout the campaign. We managed to strike in the power play in most games and control the middle overs. The only thing I would say is that we probably didn’t bring our best from a batting point of view. We were way off from where we know we can play.

“We are a power team, and today was probably testament to us not scoring enough boundaries. If you don’t score boundaries in T20 cricket, you’re going to be found wanting.”

England will now face Australia in Sunday’s blockbuster final at Lord’s in London, with the first ball scheduled for 16:30.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek sm