England’s World Cup dream ended in humiliation as their top order collapsed to one for three—the single run being a wide—in a 125-run semi-final loss to South Africa. The Proteas, led by heroes Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp, advanced to their first-ever 50-over final.
The chase of 320 was always going to be tough, but England’s start was calamitous. Marizanne Kapp delivered a brutal double-wicket maiden, bowling Amy Jones with a “nip-backer” and forcing Heather Knight to chop on. The top three batters were all dismissed for ducks.
Kapp, who finished with five for 20, was the executioner, but Laura Wolvaardt was the architect. The South African captain played an extraordinary innings of 169, single-handedly lifting her team to 319 for seven.
After reaching her century, Wolvaardt exploded at the death, scoring 69 runs from just 28 balls. England, who had been in the game at 202 for six thanks to four wickets from Sophie Ecclestone, saw their death-bowling plans shredded by Wolvaardt’s power.
Despite a maiden ODI fifty from Alice Capsey, England never threatened. Kapp returned to break the only meaningful partnership and clean up the tail, capping a dominant performance and etching her name in the record books as the tournament’s all-time leading wicket-taker.