All-round England cruise to fifth Women's T20 World Cup final

It's all set for an England-Australia Sunday finale after Nat Sciver-Brunt's team shattered South African hopes in the second semi-final of the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Friday.

For the first half hour, those hopes burned bright. The Marizanne Kapp-Shabnim Ismail pairing cut through, leaving England in 23/3. That included Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who finished with a tally higher than any other in a single Women's T20 World Cup edition (294). She was cleaned up by a Kapp special.

Across the Powerplay, SA were admirably disciplined, sending down exactly one full ball on a dry pitch with variable bounce.

But a counterattack was quietly brewing. Sciver-Brunt, back in the side after injury, combined with Heather Knight for the highest stand for any wicket in a Women's T20 World Cup knockout – 133. Running hard between the sticks, they ensured timely boundaries, utilising the crease well to find angles behind square. There was a distinct change of gears by the 15th over mark.

The 17th and 18th overs yielded 31 runs combined, with Knight reaching her fifty by clubbing a six over midwicket. Sciver-Brunt tore into Nadine de Klerk with a flurry of leg-side hits. Nonkululeko Mlaba claimed them both in the 19th over, but by then, England had set themselves up for the fourth-highest total in Women's T20 World Cup knockouts. The last ten overs yielded 101 runs.

The chase had to be spearheaded by the in-form Tazmin Brits, and she set off briskly. Laura Wolvaardt muscled Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith down the ground but was caught repeating the same shot. Brits could have been caught at 23, but a difficult one-handed attempt couldn't be held.

But SA pushed along without really chasing the required run-rate, perhaps too fixated on caution. Brits kept going even as partners disappeared. By the time Kapp was beaten in the air by Dean in the 11th over, SA had only mustered 68 runs.

Lauren Bell's second spell took out Sune Luus, leaving Brits with de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, and a mountain to climb. Much like the others, she too was beaten in the air as spinners tightened the coir. Tryon tried on with de Klerk, but boundaries were far and few. Aside from Brits, no other batter crossed 20. Bell picked up a couple more in the 19th over, and they eventually ended up 40 short.

It secured England's fifth entry in a Women's T20 World Cup final and extended their winning streak to six. For the third time, South Africa have endured a semi-final heartbreak.

Brief scores: England Women 169/5 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 75, Heather Knight 58; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-25, Shabnim Ismail 2-31) beat South Africa Women 129/8 in 20 overs (Tazmin Brits 51, Laura Wolvaardt 17; Lauren Bell 2-28, Charlie Dean 2-32) by 40 runs