England vs Australia is not the semi-final on Thursday, but England’s route to that stage has already been set by a five-win run and a knockout against New Zealand. They reach The Oval unbeaten in Group 2, and South Africa now wait after finishing second in Group 1.
Hartley backs England form
Alex Hartley called England “the best [England] team I have seen for a good few years” and said, “England are playing their best cricket for years.” She added: “I am going into the semi-finals nervous, because we haven't seen them under pressure and it's where England have crumbled and failed over the last three or four years, but I am very confident.”
That mix of praise and doubt matches the numbers. England have five wins from five in Group 2, with the run starting on the opening night when they piled up 219-1 in an 89-run victory against Sri Lanka. After that came a nervy four-wicket win over Ireland, when Nat Sciver-Brunt injured her calf.
Wyatt-Hodge and Dean step up
England did not wobble after that injury. They brushed aside Scotland, West Indies and New Zealand, with Danni Wyatt-Hodge leading the tournament’s run-scoring and Charlie Dean standing in ably for Sciver-Brunt. Charlotte Edwards was brought in at the start of last summer after the Ashes clean sweep down under, and the side has not looked like a team short on answers since.
That depth is why England move into Thursday’s semi-final with South Africa carrying momentum rather than just results. South Africa finished second in Group 1 behind Australia, and Australia’s win over West Indies on Tuesday secured their place in Sunday’s final at Lord's. England now have to turn a clean group record into a knockout performance, after South Africa beat them in both the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final and last year’s 50-over World Cup meeting.
The Oval and South Africa
The issue is no longer whether England have played well enough to get here. They have. The issue is whether they can do it again at The Oval, against a side that has already beaten them twice in the same kind of match. Hartley said she did not want to “put the mockers on them,” and that fits the mood around this team: impressive, settled, and still carrying the weight of five knockout losses across the past nine years.
England’s group stage has answered one question. Thursday asks the next one.
