The English Team v South Africa – Women's Cricket World Cup Starts
Quiet now! All discussions have ended, for the time being, and England's global campaign is about to begin. The bad news is, they face a challenging match with South Africa as their first rival. On the upside, they start with a tough game opposing the Proteas. Success today could provide immediate impetus for England and legitimise the measured self-belief of their pre-tournament chatter.
Pre-Tournament Momentum
An impressive triumph versus the Aussies during their final preparatory match has increased that confidence, even if the personal contributions from Alice Capsey (remaining unbeaten on 88) and Sarah Glenn (5 for 32) gave Charlotte Edwards a slight selection headache.
Edwards is a serial winner, thus there is no risk of England setting their sights low. However, looking broadly they are in the slightly unusual position where their tournament benchmark is quite obvious.
Competition Outlook
Falling short of the semis might come as a small upset, despite the advances from historically weaker sides. Making it to the championship match ahead of either Australia or India, the primary frontrunners to claim the title, would represent a major feat. And if England win it… no, let’s not go there. It’s much too premature for that sort of talk.
The game today starts at 10.30am BST.
