Four-time winners and last tournament’s runner-up England will aim to get off to a winning start against fellow heavyweights South Africa in a clash of heavyweights at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. These are the only two teams that have not started their campaign yet and will be eager to do so weather permitting in Guwahati. Both teams are evenly matched but England have the superior head-to-head record in ODIs and World Cup as well.
England will be led by all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and they boast a mix of youth and experience and will fancy their chances in the tournament. They have players of pedigree and England will fancy their chances of doing well. Up against them will be South Africa led by Laura Wolvaardt. South Africa also has a strong team and have been in decent form lately with Marizanne Kapp who will be under the spotlight yet again. Her all-round skills will be on display throughout the tournament.
Overview
England and South Africa are two of the strongest contenders that can challenge Australia for the title. They begin their campaign by facing off against each other at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Friday. Before we go any further, let us tell you that rain is in the forecast for this game and we could be in for a stop start day in Guwahati. England were unable to hold their pre-match practice session due to the bad weather.
Six teams have already played a game each, with India, Australia, and Bangladesh beginning with victories against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Pakistan respectively. England have a new captain at the helm, with Nat Sciver-Brunt taking over the leadership from Heather Knight. Knight is part of the squad and will feature as a player only.
Knight led England to the final in the previous edition of the World Cup, where they were defeated by Australia at the Hagley Oval in 2022. England come into the tournament with momentum, having registered warm-up wins against both India and Australia results that should give them a confidence boost.
The four-time champions, England, boast a well-balanced squad, with the likes of Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, all capable of turning games around with the bat on their day. Add to that the all-round abilities of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and the dynamic Alice Capsey, and England have a formidable batting line-up. In a major boost, Sciver-Brunt is expected to bowl as well after playing as a batter only since the WPL earlier this year.
In the bowling department, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, and Linsey Smith will be key figures, especially with spin friendly conditions expected across most venues during this World Cup. Lauren Bell has been in terrific form with the new ball and has developed a strong partnership with Emily Arlott in England’s seam bowling department.
For South Africa, they have come agonisingly close to an ICC trophy in the last two T20 World Cups as they lost the finals to Australia in 2023 and to New Zealand in 2024. South Africa come into this World Cup on the back of a 2-1 series win over Pakistan, followed by another victory against the same opponents in a warm-up game in Colombo. Their second warm-up match, however, was washed out due to rain.
Laura Wolvaardt will lead the Proteas Women, and she will be crucial at the top of the order alongside Tazmin Brits, who has been in red hot form scoring centuries for fun in recent outings. Marizanne Kapp remains a proven match-winner capable of turning the game single-handedly on her day. The likes of Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, and Annerie Derecksen add flexibility and balance to the squad with their all-round abilities.
In the spin department, Nonkululeko Mlaba is the only front-line spinner, but she will have support from part-time options like Sune Luus and Chloe Tryon. Ayabonga Khaka leads the pace attack with her experience and pace with a wealth of seam options gives Wolvaardt a healthy selection dilemma when it comes to picking her fast bowlers.
In Women’s World Cups, these two teams have met 8 times. England have dominated the rivalry winning 6 of those encounters while South Africa has come out on top twice.
So, the stage is set for an epic battle and it remains to be seen which team comes out on top and builds early momentum as games come thick and fast in this Women’s World Cup 2025.
Head-To-Head
Overall speaking, both teams have played against each other 44 games. England have come out on top 35 times while South Africa has won 9 times. In World Cups like we mentioned, England leads the head-to-head 6-2. In the last 10 matches, it is 8-2 in England’s favour with England also winning the last two fixtures in South Africa in December 2024.
Pitch & Weather Report
A fresh pitch is likely to be used in Guwahati for this game. Spin will come into play as the game wears on which we saw in the India Sri Lanka contest. Overall, we expect the pitch to be batting friendly with the pitch offering good bounce and carry which means both pacers and batters will be in the contest. There may be slight variation as the innings progresses but not much deterioration which will keep batters interested. Spinners will come into play in middle overs with slower balls and bowling in right channels.
According to the weather forecast, the match day could witness showers with the IMD issuing thunderstorm alerts. However, a washout at this stage isn’t on the cards. We might well see a reduced contest if the rain is persistent.
Predicted/Probable Playing XI of both sides
Here, we will try and predict the playing XIs of both sides:
England XI: Amy Jones (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Emily Arlott, Lauren Bell.
South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Nat Sciver–Brunt: The England captain has started to bowl again and this makes a massive difference to the balance of the side. When she played as a batter only, it created little problems with regards to balance but now with her batting and bowling, it adds a new dimension to the side. Sciver-Brunt is in good form and England will be hoping she carries that forward in this tournament for England to do well in this tournament.
Sophie Ecclestone: Sophie Ecclestone is England’s Number One bowler in this format. Against India in July-August, she looked rusty after coming back from a long lay-off but has come back into the groove now. She is a dependable bowler and can be an insurance in containing runs and getting wickets. Plus, she can score vital runs lower down the order and finish games at will. She will be one of the key players to watch out for England going forward in this tournament and in this game.
Laura Wolvaardt: The captain of South Africa is also one of the mainstays of the batting. Batting at the top of the order, Laura will be expected to give the team good starts and she forms a good opening pair with Tazmin Brits who is also in red hot form. Laura Wolvaardt holds the innings together and then has the ability to go long and big in this innings. South Africa will look to their skipper to score runs in bulk and take the team to a healthy position.
Marizanne Kapp: South Africa’s premier all-rounder and match-winner Marizanne Kapp is a central figure for South Africa. She has the ability to contribute with the new ball and is prolific with bat in hand. Kapp has been in tremendous form lately and would like to carry the form forward in the future games. Kapp can score big and quickly just like she did recently against Pakistan and she is a dangerous batter to say the least. Kapp will hope to carry her scintillating form in this tournament, and if she is on form, it will go a long way for South Africa doing well in this tournament.
Key Stats/Records to look forward to in this clash
- Nat Sciver-Brunt with 4089 runs needs 10 more runs to become the 3rd highest run-scorer for England Women ODIs.
- Marizanne Kapp with 3303 runs is 14 runs away from becoming the 3rd highest run-scorer for South Africa Women ODIs.
- Sune Luus is 11 runs away from completing 2500 ODI runs.
- Amy Jones is 61 runs away from completing 2500 ODI runs.
- Sophia Dunkley is 19 runs away from completing 1000 ODI runs.
Possible/Predicted Outcome of the Match.
It’s a clash of heavyweights in Guwahati today. Both England and South Africa have players of pedigree and champion players, so this is more of battle of equals and a heavyweight battle at that. Both teams will compete for the title and would like to get a win. Anybody can win on the day. But looking at current form and history, we reckon England have a slight edge over South Africa who cannot be taken likely either. So, The England team will start as slight favourites.
Let’s see how things unfold in this battle of heavyweights later today. One will hope that the rain stays away and we get a full game in. Rain is threatening to reduce or washout the game. We shall see how things unfold in the afternoon when play gets underway in Guwahati.
Also Read: ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: Bangladesh Register Impressive Win In Colombo