ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 | Semi-final 1: England vs South Africa | Preview and Predictions

With the league stage done and dusted, we move to the semi-finalists, the first of which pits England against South Africa in Guwahati.

There was little to separate the two teams in the league stage, with England finishing second and the Proteas finishing third. All signs point to a cracking encounter.

For the first semi-final of the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, here we present our preview and predictions.

ICC Women’s CWC 2025 | Semi-final 1: ENG vs SA | 15:00 IST, October 29

Nat Sciver-Brunt & Co have ticked off all the boxes coming into the knockouts, with the English bowlers in particular having had a couple of strong outings heading into the semi-finals.

Linsey Smith has been leading from the front with the new ball, while supporting acts from Sciver-Brunt, Charlie Dean, and the ever-reliant Sophie Ecclestone have resulted in regular wickets while giving barely anything away.

England’s batting, on the other hand, has also fallen into place. After a slow start by the top order, the experienced trio at the top — comprising Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, and Heather Knight — has come to the fore and done the heavy lifting in the last couple of games. England have a long batting line-up, with Ecclestone at No. 9 more than handy with the bat, which gives the batters at the top more freedom.

South Africa, meanwhile, come into the semi-finals after Australia broke their five-game winning streak in their final game of the league stage. Their two biggest stars this tournament have been captain Laura Wolvaardt, who has led from the front with the bat and is the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, and Nonkululeko Mlaba, their highest wicket-taker.

Left-arm spinner Mlaba has been miserly and chipped in with wickets whenever Wolvaardt has handed her the ball. She has also been ably supported by the likes of Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, and Chloe Tryon, all of whom form a strong bowling attack for the Proteas, though comparatively they do lack depth in that department.

With the bat, while Wolvaardt has led from the front, the likes of Suné Luus, Tazmin Brits, and Marizanne Kapp have all scored plenty of runs as well and come into the semi-finals on a high.

The Guwahati ground has seen quite a few games this World Cup, but with this being the first game here in 19 days (also the final game of the competition here), the strip will be fresh and prove to be a challenging track for batters. England’s strong all-round bowling attack gives them the edge here, and so we back them to reach the final.

Fantasy XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Tazmin Brits, Heather Knight, Nadine de Klerk, Marizanne Kapp (vc), Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Nonkululeko Mlaba

Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Winners Prediction: England